Children are back in school on South Dakota’s remote, 2.8-million-acre Cheyenne River reservation, and thanks to the Cheyenne River Youth Project® in Eagle Butte, more than 500 of them have backpacks overflowing with essential school supplies. According to Tamara LaPlante, CRYP’s office manager, the nearly 25-year-old, not-for-profit, grassroots organization distributed 539 fully loaded backpacks on distribution day.
Supplies included backpacks for grades 1-12, protractors, compasses, calculators, mechanical pencils, writing tablets for preschoolers and kindergartners, fat pencils, fat crayons, folders, pencil cases, notebook paper, kid-friendly scissors, erasers, glue sticks, pencils, pens and rulers.
“We all can remember the first day of school, which is such an important day in a child’s life,” said Julie Garreau, CRYP’s executive director. “And we can remember shopping for all the important supplies, all the fun, exciting, colorful things for a new school year. Now imagine facing that huge day without the shopping trip, and without the tools you need to be successful.
“Every child wants to be the same as all the other kids,” she continued. “We want to make sure that our children don’t feel different or disadvantaged, and we want to guarantee that they have a happy first day of school. That’s how it should be.”
CRYP’s annual School Supplies Drive is a major component of its Family Services Program, created in 2002 to manage the increasing amounts of donated supplies that the youth project provides to local families year-round. To participate in the program, all local families need to do is pay a $30 annual membership fee. The one-time payment covers all members of that family for the entire year.
“For that $30, a Cheyenne River family can participate in all of our Family Services distributions, from school supplies, winter clothing and shoes to our long-running Christmas Toy Drive,” Garreau explained. “They also can pick up needed household supplies, including baby items, on a regular basis and can receive heating and home-improvement assistance.”
Surveys have shown that most member households use Family Services once per quarter, although a sizable group does come in once per month. Within the last two years, most households participated in the organized distributions — including the School Supplies Drive.
Christian Relief Services Charities and Running Strong for American Indian Youth were strategic partners in this year’s School Supplies Drive. Other important donors include church groups, service groups and private individuals.
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.