CRYP’s 2012 College Night Program Will Continue Through Mid-May
Spring is officially here, and the Alternative Spring Break season is in full swing at the Cheyenne River Youth Project® in Eagle Butte. Starting in late February, volunteer groups from universities and colleges around the country started traveling to the 2.8-million-acre Cheyenne River reservation to spend their spring breaks at the 23-year-old, not-for-profit youth organization.
These young men and women are working with Cheyenne River’s teens and children, they are holding fundraisers, they’re helping with facilities maintenance at the Cokata Wiconi Teen Center and The Main Youth Center, and they’re preparing the 2-acre, naturally grown Winyan Toka Win Garden for planting. But that’s not all — each student group also is hosting a “College Night” for the community.
CRYP started the College Night program in 2007, allowing each ASB volunteer group to help educate local teens about applying for and attending college. Now in its sixth year, College Nights remain popular events on the spring calendar.
During its visit, each ASB group makes an evening “College Night” presentation about its school and about college life to Cheyenne River’s middle- and high-school children. The presentation includes information about the application process, degree programs, financial aid and social activities; a lengthy question-and-answer session; and distribution of college literature that guests may take home with them.
CRYP already has welcomed volunteer groups from the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Viterbo University in LaCrosse, Wisconsin; Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska; Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa; and Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.
This week, the youth project will open its doors to groups from Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, and Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Evanston, Illinois. Next will be groups from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin; the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, Kentucky. All College Nights will take place on Wednesday evenings at 5-7 p.m. in the Cokata Wiconi Teen Center’s Internet Cafe (see sidebar).
College Night events are open free to the public, and middle school students are welcome to join the high school students. Many attend College Night events with their families; in addition, students from schools in other western South Dakota communities are encouraged to attend.
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 visitwww.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.
Upcoming College Nights at Cokata Wiconi
March 28 – Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Evanston, IL
April 4 – University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
May 9 – University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
May 16 – Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY
* All College Night programs take place from 5-7pm in the COkta Wiconi Internet Cafe