Less than eight weeks remain before the Christmas holiday, and staff and volunteers at the Cheyenne River Youth Project® are immersed in preparations. Not only are they hard at work on the 2015 Christmas Toy Drive, which seeks to bring holiday joy to 1,500 children across the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, they’re hosting CRYP’s annual Star Quilt Raffle, and they’re preparing to unveil a very special new addition to the holiday season: the CRYP Festival of Trees.
Area businesses and organizations are invited to each decorate at tree at the Cokata Wiconi (“Center of Life”) teen center. Participating groups must register by November 13, and they may decorate their trees on November 18, 19 and 20. The trees will make their public debut on November 21 during the Holiday Artists’ Market.
“We’ll be providing the trees, but the participating groups will bring their own lights and decorations and decorate those trees however they see fit,” said Tammy Eagle Hunter, CRYP’s youth programs director. “It’s an opportunity for each organization to unleash its creativity, which is always fun, but it’s also a beautiful opportunity to demonstrate fellowship and good cheer as we go into this holiday season.”
After the November 21 premiere, the trees will be available for public viewing from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through Christmas Eve. Eagle Hunter advised that the youth project might provide later evening hours between mid-December and the holiday.
“We encourage our local businesses, organizations and groups to consider sponsoring a tree, because we truly believe it will be a rewarding collaborative effort between CRYP, our local organizations and families in our community,” said Julie Garreau, CRYP’s executive director. “Together, we can bring an extra measure of Christmas joy and magic to our children and their families by transforming Cokata Wiconi into an indoor winter wonderland.
“I encourage anyone who is interested in participating in the event to give us a call,” she continued. “We can’t do this alone – we need our friends and neighbors to collaborate with us on what we anticipate will be a rewarding creative effort.”
To find out more about how you can support CRYP’s Festival of Trees, call the East Lincoln Street campus at (605) 964-8200, and for details about this year’s 2015 Christmas Toy Drive and how you can help, click here.
There’s also still time to support the toy drive through CRYP’s annual Star Quilt Raffle. Tickets are on sale until Thursday, December 24, and on Saturday, December 26, CRYP staff will announce the lucky winner who will be receiving a handmade, queen-size Lakota star quilt titled “Winter Watercolors,” handmade by Cheyenne River Sioux tribal member Bonnie LeBeau.
The public can support this important fundraiser in three ways: buy tickets, offer to sell tickets, and help spread the word by telling family and friends and by sharing raffle details through social media.
Tickets are $1 each or $5 for a six-ticket packet. To purchase tickets, send cash, checks or money orders to: Cheyenne River Youth Project, Attn: Winter Watercolors Quilt, P.O. Box 410, Eagle Butte, SD 57625. You also may pay online through this website. Simply click the “Donate Now” button on the home page, or “Help CRYP” in the navigation bar above, and put “Winter Watercolors” in the notes section when paying with a credit card. Do not write the word “raffle” anywhere in the payment.
To sell tickets, please send an email to Tammy Eagle Hunter, CRYP’s youth programs director, at tammy.cryp@gmail.com. She will send as many tickets as you request; they come in books of six. Once you receive your tickets, along a quilt photo and information sheet, you will be responsible for selling those tickets. All tickets need to be turned in by December 24 so CRYP can conduct the drawing as planned on December 26.
All funds raised through the raffle will benefit CRYP’s Christmas Toy Drive program.
To stay up to date on the latest CRYP news and events, follow the youth project on Facebook (/LakotaYouth), Twitter (@LakotaYouth) and Instagram (@waniyetuwowapi).
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.