Staff and Volunteers Combine Forces to Offer Slate of Regular Programs and Special Events
With the 2011 Christmas Toy Drive finally complete, the Cheyenne River Youth Project® in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, reopened the doors earlier this month to its Cokata Wiconi Teen Center and The Main Youth Center. Not only are the two youth centers once again offering regular open hours after school and on Saturdays for meals, snacks, general recreation and socializing, CRYP staff and volunteers have arranged an impressive full slate of winter programs.
As always, basketball is high on the teens’ list of favorite programs, so the youth project launched a “Saturday Night Shoot-Out” on January 14 at Cokata Wiconi. It will take place every Saturday at 7-11 p.m.
“This program is basically a winter version of Midnight Basketball, although we’ve shifted the event forward by two hours,” explained Megan Guiliano, CRYP’s youth programs director. “Local law enforcement is supportive of this new offseason program and has extended the kids’ nightly curfew for those Saturdays.”
Thursdays and Fridays are Movie Nights at Cokata Wiconi and The Main, respectively. CRYP uses a large projector for these events, and staff and volunteers work hard to create a true theater experience for attendees.
“Since we don’t have a movie theater on Cheyenne River, going to a movie means driving an hour and a half to Pierre or nearly three hours to Rapid City,” Guiliano said. “Most people don’t have an opportunity to go very often. We wanted to bring the excitement and fun of going to the movies right here to East Lincoln Street, where the kids can enjoy a night out within walking distance or easy driving distance of their homes.”
At The Main, CRYP recreated the formal theater that was such a hit for a screening of “The Nutcracker: The Motion Picture” prior to the holidays. On Friday, January 6, the 4- to 12-year-olds watched “Horton Hears a Who” in honor of Dr. Suess Week. “We ended up projecting the movie on the ceiling, which the kids loved!” Guiliano said. “They were all lying on the floor with pillows and blankets.”
She also reported that Winter Literacy is continuing at The Main. The program, which started last fall, takes place on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays in The Main’s library and will run through early February. Camille LaPlante, CRYP’s youth programs assistant, has introduced a variety of exciting elements into this long-running, popular program, which allows children read and review books of their choice.
“I’ve incorporated different literary activities in two-week blocks,” LaPlante explained. “For example, the first two weeks will feature a story-building workshop, in which the kids learn specific vocabulary to understand how a story is put together, such as ‘characters,’ ‘setting,’ ‘plot’ and ‘chain of events.’ The next block will incorporate a story-writing workshop, in which they’ll use what they learned about story construction to write their own original piece of work.
“In each two-week block, the children will learn something that encourages them to write more frequently and also gets them more engaged in reading,” she said.
Likewise, at Cokata Wiconi, several popular programs from last fall are continuing in the new year, including the Power of Four internship program on Mondays, Youth Leaders in Service on Tuesdays, the Cokata Wiconi creative writing group on Thursdays and art classes in the art studio on Fridays.
CRYP staff also has launched a new, twice-monthly event at Cokata Wiconi: Girls’ Night. This girls-only Friday evening provides a special opportunity for each teen to have her hair and makeup done while socializing with female staff members, volunteers and the other attendees.
“We had our first Girls’ Night on January 6, and our volunteers put together all the make-up and hair accessories for the evening,” Guiliano said. “In honor of launching Girls’ Night, each teen received a little gift bag with make-up and hair products. “Teens and volunteers alike got their hair and make-up done,” she recalled. “I had a blast. We all chatted, and the atmosphere was very relaxed, open and warm. I even had my hair done!”
As always, the roster of long-term volunteers makes a difference when planning special events at CRYP’s East Lincoln Street campus. On January 11, the volunteer corps hosted “International Night” at Cokata Wiconi, inviting kids, teens and community members to sample foods from their home countries and learn more about their cultures. Featured locations included New Zealand, Australia, China, Taiwan, Mexico and more.
In addition, volunteers from Australia and New Zealand hosted “Aussie Night,” where they worked on aboriginal dot paintings with the children, taught them a musical hand game and cooked an entire meal of native Down Under foods, including pavlova. “The Australian volunteer also led a self-publishing book workshop for the younger kids on January 7, during which each child created his or her own book,” Guiliano said.
To continue encouraging the volunteers’ creativity, CRYP has started an arts-and-crafts project among those who are currently serving. Early each week, the volunteers are given random arts materials and must create an activity for Thursdays and Fridays at both centers.
“Our volunteers are one of our greatest resources,” said Julie Garreau, CRYP’s executive director. “Long-running programs like Midnight Basketball and Main University got their start because a creative volunteer had a good idea. These dedicated people, of all ages, come from so many different backgrounds and cultures; they really do serve as ambassadors to our children, and to our community. “And their next new idea,” she noted, “might just become our next permanent program.”
“We are truly blessed to have people like you who bring some joy into a child’s life during the Christmas season,” one mother said after the holidays. “Thank you so much for making my little girl’s Christmas magical… (and) thanks again for all you have done and continue to do for the children and families on the Cheyenne River reservation.”
To learn more about the Cheyenne River Youth Project® and its programs, and for information about making donations and volunteering, call (605) 964-8200 or visit www.lakotayouth.org. And, to stay up to date on the latest CRYP news and events, visit the youth project’s Facebook “Cause” page. All Cause members will receive regular updates through Facebook.
The Cheyenne River Youth Project®, founded in 1988, is a grassroots, not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing the youth of the Cheyenne River reservation with access to a vibrant and secure future through a wide variety of culturally sensitive and enduring programs, projects and facilities that ensure strong, self-sufficient families and communities.