Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation Blog
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Archived Blog Posts7/5/08First Wind Turbine Installed on the Reservation*********** Part of S.D. Badlands Management Could Go to Tribe 7/4/08Happy 4th everyone! If you missed the documentary "Election Day" on PBS (parts of it were filmed on Pine Ridge Reservation), you can watch it in its entirety online through July 31st here.************ Kicking off a new donation drive! On your mark, get set... The school supply sales are here! On Sunday through Wednesday your local Staples stores will have No. 2 yellow pencils (8-pack) (limit 2), 2-pocket folders (limit 10), 1/2" and 1" poly binders (limit 4), and .05 oz. bottles of Purell (limit 2), ALL on sale for only ONE CENT! If you purchase the maximum number of items allowed, you'll walk out of there with quite a few school supplies for only 18 cents plus tax. Please swing by Staples early in the week (and take a friend along so they can buy the limit too!) because these items will sell out quickly, they do every year. Please ship them to the Cangleska battered women's shelter for the nearly 1,000 kids in the shelter and in their outreach families who can really use your help. School starts in August on the reservation so classes will be in session before we know it! Ship your school supply donations to:
Via UPS/FedEx:
Via US Mail: Thank you so much for supporting the children! 7/3/08"Election Day," a documentary by Katy ChevignyViewers see the essence of the democratic process, from small-town America to New York. ************ 7/2/08Here's a story and photo showing your Re-Member painting supply donations being used--and they can use more!******************* Organizations Get Federal Grants
7/1/08Volunteers Stage Beer Blockade Outside Pine Ridge******* We can use your help to fill in the blanks for the kids! 6/29/08Tusweca Tiospaye recently held a summer camp for 51 kids and there are now photos up if you'd like to see the kids enjoying their camping activities!Click here, to view the slideshow. While you're there, click on "Tusweca Tiospaye Summer Camp" to get back to the home page and make a PayPal donation to help preserve and teach the kids the Lakota language! 6/26/08Whole Foods Market Donates Food6/25/08Kicking off a new donation drive today for the babies and toddlers! Click here for more info.********** The Patriots Who Killed Custer 6/24/08IHS Hospital in Pine Ridge Expands******* Lakota College Students Learn History of Land Through Internships 6/23/08You may not think your small donation can do much but when it is combined with many others it can make a huge difference in the life of an innocent child. OLCASA recently helped keep a Lakota child in a loving home on the reservation in familiar surroundings rather than being placed into foster care hundreds of miles from the reservation. With more resources and more advocates, the lives of hundreds more such abused children in the court system can be impacted positively as well.Please help change the course of a child's life by mailing your tax-deductible check for $5, $10, $15 or whatever you can afford today! 6/17/08American Indians Work to Preserve Their LanguagesAnd...you can help! Click here to help preserve the Lakota language. ******* Do you live in one of these states? We're still looking for pledges from Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming for our donation drive for abused children! 6/14/08Engineering Grants Offered6/13/08It's Not Just Genetics******* Military Conducts Exercise, Oglala Sioux Tribe Receives Timber 6/09/08Canada to Apologize to Native Students********* American Indian Energy Bar Wins National Appeal ********* A new donation drive--click here! 06/07/08The community surrounding the Oyate Teca Project Youth Center will be celebrating the 4th of July for a full week with lots of outdoor activities for the kids and their families. But...they are lacking equipment for the games. Please take a look! This is fantastic news... Students Leading the Nation at Red Cloud Click here to support the hard working RCHS students! 5/31/08Introducing Oglala Lakota CASA!In 1990, Congress passed the Victims of Child Abuse Act and encouraged the expansion of CASA (court appointed special advocates) programs throughout the nation. Founded in 1997, Oglala Lakota CASA (OLCASA) is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization supporting and promoting tribal court-appointed volunteer advocacy for abused and neglected children. OLCASA supports hundreds of children in crisis each year by recruiting and training volunteers to serve as CASA advocates. OLCASA currently has two dedicated staff members (an executive director and a child advocacy coordinator) and a small number of volunteers who perform many hours of work on each child's case. The advocates visit the children in foster homes and residential facilities, interview parents, caseworkers and medical professionals, and make recommendations to the court regarding the welfare of the children. Oftentimes an OLCASA advocate is the only constant in the turbulent lives of these children, many of whom are victims of sexual abuse. At present, OLCASA is advocating for nearly one hundred children ranging in age from newborn to 17 in the tribal court system. However, due to lack of resources, OLCASA is unable to help hundreds more who are in need. CASA organizations typically receive minimal grant funds from the national CASA umbrella organization and must recruit volunteers and raise additional monies in their own communities to fund the local work that they do on behalf of the children. Unfortunately, on the reservation, much of the population is living in poverty so there are few sources of funds available and OLCASA has undergone recent budget cuts, further reducing its ability to serve the children of the community. Local volunteers must not only donate their time but also cover all of their expenses out-of-pocket, including gasoline, to drive to and from the courts and other far-flung locations on behalf of the children. As in the rest of the country, the cost of gasoline on the reservation is skyrocketing and the advocates often have to travel over 100 miles per trip each way. The budget cuts and increased expenses are having a devastating effect on OLCASA's ability to recruit volunteers and the children they serve. OLCASA advocates for the children and you can advocate for OLCASA by becoming a long distance supporter. Please join us by helping traumatized children, the most vulnerable of the Pine Ridge Reservation population, and send a tax-deductible check or money order to
Oglala Lakota CASA Every dollar counts so any donation, large or small, will make an impact on the well being of the kids! OLCASA will soon have a PayPal account and I will announce that address here as soon as it is available. Since OLCASA is new to the Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation family, I'd like to kick off our support for them by encouraging you to become one of at least 100 donors to join in our 100-Item Challenge campaign by pledging to donate $100 in any increment to OLCASA between now and December 31, 2008. If you'd like to break it down into six monthly donations starting in June, you'll only need to send $17 a month! You'll find more info on the fundraiser here. Thank you so much for making an investment in the future of a Lakota child! 5/25/08On the Reservation and Off, Schools See a Changing Tide----- Tapping into Lakota Cultural Roots, a Spirit Lake Program Helps At-Risk Youth Find Pride and Purpose 5/20/08We can use your help with classroom suppliesfor the Red Cloud Elementary School andsleeping bags for the Emergency Youth Shelter--thanks everyone!5/19/08Indian Country Today, May 19th news article:05/18/08We're kicking off a new donation drive today for gardening tools and vegetable seeds for the Cangleska shelter. Please take a look!--------- Here's a thank you letter to all of you from the Lakota Waldorf School! May 18, 2008 I want to thank everyone who sent clothes for the Children at the Lakota Waldorf School. We are nearing the end of our first year, we will end the year with 12 children. We were able to get a great bus and its been really fun being a bus driver. We also have a grandmother coming in everyday to teach us Lakota language. its was a great year and your wonderful donations helped make it possible. thanks so much! Trisha Lambert teacher 05/16/08We've been working on a kid's clothing donation drive for the Cangleska battered women's shelter and below is a thank you letter I received yesterday.Also, Cangleska suddenly lost the lease on the their Rapid City shelter a couple of months ago and many of you have generously sent cash donations to help with that situation. Please visit the Cangleska site to make a tax-deductible donation via their PayPal button or you can also mail a check directly to them at P.O. Box 638, Kyle, SD 57752. Thanks so much for your support! May 15, 2008 Dear Chris, Thought I’d better check in and give your readers an update on our situation in addition to the BIG thank that you all deserve. You have truly found the best hearts across the United States. I have to tell you...we are surrounded by shoes and clothes and all the other goodies the good-hearted readers of Friends of Pine Ridge keep sending. I had such fun today. I hope all those folks out there who sent goodies can picture the grandma and I in two storerooms and the garage going through boxes and bins. She's oohing and ahhing about how it's new and the little kid's clothes are sooooo cute! Pretty soon the kids are in with us and they're oohing and ahhing and trying on shoes, etc. It was so absolutely lovely! Grandma takes care of seven grandchildren. She kept saying that she didn't want to keep me from my job and I had the privilege of telling her that putting a smile on her face and the faces of her grandchildren is my job! It doesn't get much better than that! As far as our Rapid City shelter situation...thanks to the readers who sent cash since we have to purchase two stoves and a refrigerator. We are fortunate that Indian Health Service has two houses across the street from each other that we will be using as shelter. We have to negotiate a few items in the lease and since it involves government...well, we hope to be relocated in the houses within the next week (or so). In the meantime, the advocates are still busy assisting women and their children. So, much thanks to you Chris and all the wonderful donors who took time out of their busy days to think of us. We do appreciate you all and brag you up all the time. Again, our thanks and remember that the coffee is always on and waiting for you here with us on the Pine Ridge.
Karen Artichoker 5/14/08American Indian Energy Bar Goes National05/08/085/7/08 Indian Country Today news article - A new renaissance - AIHEC provides collective voice for tribal colleges05/05/08Here's a thank you for the Games Donation Drive for Red Shirt Elementary School from the principal. We're still short by a few items so please feel free to send them along!May 5, 2008 Chris/Friends of Pine Ridge, Thank you everyone for all the board games. The librarian has been scheduling special game days to teach the students the vast variety of games you have sent. The students love them and now are caught playing board games before breakfast. The games are not only teaching them strategies, but teaching them cooperation. We are so blessed to have you. Once again thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Barbara, Staff, and Red Shirt Students BTW, Re-Member can still use plenty of CFLs for the Earth Day Donation Drive, and our new Item of the Week is vegetable seed packets. Thanks everyone! 04/29/08Two camping tents have been generously donated to the Emergency Youth Shelter so the staff can take the teens on some camping outings starting in May, but they are still in need of sleeping bags and mats. Click here for info on how you can help the kids get to the lake!4/21/08In honor of Earth Day today, we are kicking off a new donation drive for CFLs (compact fluorescent light bulbs) for Re-Member. We are currently working on a donation drive for Re-Member to send them painting supplies to help with their repair work in the homes of the elders and the disabled. While they are in those homes, Re-Member volunteers will replace all regular light bulbs with your donated CFLs to both help the earth and save on utility costs for many Pine Ridge Reservation families. and please be sure to let me know what you are sending so I can keep track for Re-Member. Thanks so much and Happy Earth Day! 4/20/08A sad commentary on the state of health care for our friends on the reservation.Indian Health Care a National Tragedy 4/17/08Unfortunately there are many elders and disabled people on the reservation living in homes that have fallen into disrepair. The good news is that the Re-Member organization hosts over 1,000 volunteers visitors each year who do home maintenance and repairs for these families, however they are in major need of help with painting supplies.Click here to learn how you can help! 4/16/08As many of you know, we start our donation drives for Christmas gifts for the kids in September. Just wanted to give you a heads up on a great online toy sale at ToysRUs going on now. It's never to early to stash away a few bargains for the little ones!4/13/08Here's an interesting article on native languages: Saving Dying Languages, CU Researchers Help Native Speakers Save History and here's a way you can help preserve, the Lakota language! 4/11/08I'm kicking off a new donation drive today for the Emergency Youth Shelter. The staff would like to take the kids, all of whom come from difficult living situations, camping--however, the shelter has no camping equipment. You can make a difference by donating something from their camping wish list. Thanks for your generosity! 4/10/08Thanks again to all of you who donated uniform components to the Wolf Creek Elementary School Brownie Troop and emergency clothing for the school nurse's office! Here are some thank you letters from the nurse and the troop leader: Dear Friends, Thank you seems such a simple word for how much I (and the girls) appreciate all that you have done for us. Being such a large group with limited resources, any help we get goes a long way. The girls are all tickled with their uniforms and now want to go on a trip to show them off. Hopefully next year we can work something out for them. The patches help so much also. And I can't say how great all the craft stuff and books have helped. I don't know about anywhere else but my girls just love doing crafts. I don't know of any of the schools here on the reservation (elementary) that offer art and the students really miss that so they love it, even if it's just coloring a picture, they are so creative. We are winding down our school year so that means we are getting ready for our annual sleepover. The girls are VERY excited about that, oh to be young again and get excited about sleeping our in the gym at school but we do have a lot of fun--little sleep but lots of fun. Again I just wanted to thank everyone that shared with us this year and I am trying to get out individual thank yous with your receipts. Sincerely,
Chrissy O'Donnell (Click here to see the Brownie troop's book wish list) Dear Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation, I want to thank all the friends who have sent us clothes and shoes for our students. We have been putting all the items to good use and they are much appreciated. Sincerely,
Virginia Lawrence 4/8/08Here's another thank you letter--this one for all of you who donated Easter goodies for the Oyate Teca Project Easter egg hunt and party! Good Afternoon Chris and Friends, I am writing to say THANK YOU for your donations to the Oyate Teca Project's Annual Easter Party that was held on the 3rd of April. There was a great turn out, everyone got a prize from the party and it was lots of fun. We had pizza, soda and chips I think they all enjoyed the day. Thank you again for helping us make this event a success.
God Bless,
4/2/08Here's a news article about the Cangleska battered women's shelter situation: and a thank you letter from the Our Lady of Lourdes Kindergarten teacher: Dear Friends of Pine Ridge, Thank you so much for all the supplies and gifts for our upcoming Kindergarten Celebration in May. Everything we need has arrived in good condition. The cups, plates and napkins will go right along with our springs songs for the program. The food items are greatly appreciated. We even received some cute ladybug magnets. The girls will love the Sonya Pet Salons and the boys are going to enjoy playing with the Gears. Thanks to everyone of you that donated these items that will make our party a very special day. Pilamiya! (Lakota word for Thank You!)
Sincerely, Blog Entries for March 20083/31/08 Here's a thank you letter from the Red Cloud High School kids for the rocket parts! Dear Members of FoPRR, On behalf of the TARC team of Red Cloud High School, Stevie, Dylan, Ashley, Danielle and Willie , we would like thank you for your generous donations. Without your help we would not have been able to pursue our passion of rocketry in participating in the Team America Rocketry Contest. We were very excited when we heard about the contest and the opportunity to build a potential contest rocket. However, with our very low budget we were not able to order the parts needed to complete our rocket. With your generosity we are now able to compete in the contest and we are working hard and giving it our all. On behalf of our physics class High School at Red Cloud we would like to thank you for your generous donations in helping us to build our rocket to compete in the Team America Rocket Contest. Your donation has been very helpful because without your donations our dream of competing in this contest wouldn’t be possible. Again thank you, wopila tanka. 3/30/08 Please take a look at our newest donation drive to send dictionaries and thesauri to the reservation for the library. These are not replacements, they simply have none and no budget to purchase any! By the way, new copies would be terrific, but gently used copies of the titles they need, in good condition, are also acceptable. Thanks so much for your help. Dictionary and Thesaurus Donation Drive 3/29/08 Help! Did you donate the launch controller for the Red Cloud High School rocketry contest donation drive? If so, can you let me know? Apparently it has not yet arrived at the school and the kids are under a serious time crunch. Thanks! Here's a link to it in case you need a memory jog. 3/29/08 The Cangleska battered women's shelter on the reservation helps literally many hundreds of women each year and the majority of them have small children with them, most all in need of clothing. They are in need of clothing for the kids, appropriate for summer weather, from newborn through size 12. New items are very welcome, as are gently used clothing, still in good condition. Shorts, pants, t-shirts, blouses, shirts, and sun dresses would be wonderful as well as socks, underwear (new only please) and athletic shoes. Thanks so much for your help! Click here for details on the Children's Clothing Donation Drive. 3/23/08 It's so unfortunate that Cangleska has lost the lease on it's Rapid City battered women's shelter. If you are lucky enough to be surrounded by loving family and in a safe home this Easter Sunday, please share your good fortune by sending a tax-deductible donation to Cangleska today. Click here to donate via the PayPal button at the Cangleska website--and you don't need to have a PayPal account to donate if you'd like to use a credit card. You can also donate by sending a check or money order made out to "Cangleska, Inc." to:
Cangleska, Inc. Please include a note on your check that the donation is to help with the Rapid City shelter. Or you can go to the PayPal website and donate using this address: paypal@cangleska.org Thank you so much for your support of the good work that Cangleska does for so many women and children in crisis; Happy Easter!
3/21/08 Here's another thank you letter for your generous donations of baby formula and disposable diapers! Chris and Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation: On behalf of the Cedar Face Foundation, 1,2,3...Hi Baby! we are so thankful for your donations; I cannot express enough the heartfelt feelings from our mothers, who appreciate the assistance and, each recognize all of these gifts are from the heart; thank you! We also recognize, these donations cost money, from collecting these gifts, mailing/United Parcel/FedEx, delivery, all has costs; this is appreciated as well, thank you! With your gifts you have helped many of our mothers provide for their precious gifts--their newborns, infants, toddlers, and children especially since our weather has been so unpredictably cold with the many snow storms. With your gifts, you have helped offset costs, so our mothers can pay specific bills for electricity, propane, and food for their families. You and your organization, specifically donors, are our "angels in disguise." We continue to pray for all of you, we wish you health, happiness and may the cycle of life continue with you! Respectfully submitted,
Frederick Cedar Face
3/20/08 There are many women in the Kateri Circle Sewing Group that sew clothing and other items for their families and also make pillows, quilts and other craft items. They can especially use our help at the moment with pillow forms and quilt batting (click here for details) and if you have fabric and/or other sewing notions that you no longer need they would be very appreciative of your donations! 3/18/08 Just got word that the Oyate Teca Project youth center has had to reschedule their Easter Party for April 3rd, which will give us a bit more time to get some goodies out to them for the Easter hunt and celebration. Be sure to take advantage of those after Easter sales, especially for the plastic Easter eggs--they can use about 1,200 of them--and if you can fill them with some goodies, all the better! Supplies for an After Easter Egg Hunt and Party 3/16/08 We're getting very close to finishing off the donation drive for the Brownies but we are still short on uniform shirts. Please let me know if you can donate one for the girls! Brownie Uniforms Donation Drive 3/15/08 Please note the new P.O. address for LOWO:
LOWO The UPS/FedEx/DHL address remains the same:
LOWO
3/14/08 Almost daily one of the children at the Wolf Creek Elementary School ends up in the nurse's office due to an accident and needs a change of clothing. The nurse can use your help with supplies for the kids! Click here for more info: Supplies for the WCES School Nurse 3/13/08 Great job on the Rocketry supplies donation drive for Red Cloud High School everyone--thanks so much for helping the kids! 3/12/08 The Oyate Teca Project youth center is going to hold an Easter party for the community after the holiday, on March 28th (this has since been changed to April 3rd), and they can use your help. Read more here: Supplies for an After Easter Party 3/8/08 Received this letter yesterday from the librarian at the Oglala Lakota College Library, the sole public library available to all residents of the reservation. Thanks so much for your continued support of the Build Your Own Library books project with new books for the kids! Hi Chris, I know many of the donated children's books we get for our Build Your Own Library project are coming from Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation donors and we continue to try and send thank you notes to everyone but we may miss some. Please let those in the organization that continue to help us in any way they can know that they are soooooo appreciated. I wanted everyone to know what we are doing with the Build Your Own Library project and why we have chosen this method rather than only doing summer programs or a month. Thanks, Chris, for all your help. I know your donors well understand that libraries are always understaffed. We have such a struggle trying to organize a structured summer program in all the districts on our reservation; so many children aren't able to attend so we thought we would try to help them build their own little libraries so they can ALL have books in their homes. It was with the intent to get these little people and their brothers and sisters the books to take home that we started this project. Needless to say it has been so rewarding personally and professionally for all of us to receive books that are given with love and no strings and we thank you so much for your interest, time and the generosity that we have all benefited from. With the Build Your Own Library project, one of our targets is preschool children and the picture books you are sending are so loved and treasured. We also accept chapter books and junior high materials and paperback novels for teenagers and adults are also very well received. When we first started we had too tight of a schedule and had not anticipated the response we would get from donors and were just buried in books, but we now have a marvelous system worked out where we can sort the books, box them up and can track the approximate number of books we'll have and children we are able to help. This summer we will put it to the test and once again we will go to each of the 11 districts once every two weeks, have story reading for several hours and make sure everyone has 3 to 4 or more books to take home! During the winter we provide donated books to the Early Head Start, Head Start and day care programs across the reservation. Books are sent home with the children and we replenish them on a monthly basis. We also have Tuesday and Thursday story time when little groups of Early Head Start, Head Start and kindergarten children come into the main library and we read to them. We have boxes prepared to send to their centers and then we put a book in every pair of little hands--it is fabulous to see their little faces; ahhhhh life is good! Thank you everyone!
Michelle May
3/7/08 The kids in the science class at Red Cloud High School are participating in a national rocketry contest, the goal of which is to build and fly a model rocket carrying two raw eggs that achieves a precise flight duration of 45 seconds, reaches a precise altitude of 750 feet, and returns both eggs uncracked! The kids have to design and build the rocket themselves. Unfortunately, they've run out of money from the school budget for this project and are short on parts. I'd like to get some help out to them (and they need these parts as soon as we can get them out there) so they can stay in the competition. Please take a look at the new donation drive for them and let me know if you can donate anything. Thanks so much for helping out the high school kids and encouraging them with the hands-on projects! Rocketry Contest Supplies for Red Cloud High School 3/6/08 The kids in Red Shirt have no community resources available to them and thus have lots of idle time with no outlet. The Red Shirt Elementary School would like to start up some "Game Nights" and open up the school to the students and their families but they need help with the purchase of the games--which is where we come in! Please take a look at this new donation drive listing and donate a game or two to the school if you can. Your generosity will provide many hours of entertainment for these children and their families. Thanks so much for your help; it is so appreciated!
3/5/08 The weather is still inclement on the reservation (there's a chance of snow on Thursday and the low is expected to be 8 degrees)--and Cangleska can still use space heaters and winter coats! 3/1/08 Kicking off three new donation drives today, please take a look!
Easter Goodies Blog Entries for February 20082/18/08 I'd like to share some recent thank you letters from the schools and organizations to whom you've so generously sent donations--thanks again for your continued support! ---------- Friends of Pine Ridge, I'd like to extend my warmest thank you to you all who participated in this Valentine drive for our school. The students are very excited and happy to have received the wonderful cards. Thank you all for all your effort and know that you've touched our children in a positive way.
Pila Miya, (thank you)
------------ Good Afternoon Chris, We would like to send a big thank you for helping us to assist some of our clients to have a very nice Christmas. All the gifts items that were sent were so thoughtful and we could tell that everyone really thought about our clients needs when they selected the gift items that were sent. We were especially grateful that everyone thought about the scare with the toys and had wonderful alternative ideas for the children. Everything that we received were safe, fun and enjoyed by all. We all realize that there are times that are hard both emotionally and financially but with the love of all that gave this past Holiday helped to ease any worry that a child might not have a Christmas. Thank you so much for caring.
VAIC Staff: Rosalie Janis, Linda Bull Bear, Lema Richards, Ricky Gray Grass -------- To all the members of FoPRR who contributed to the Red Cloud School drive for science electronic lab equipment, I no longer know what to say to express my gratitude for all the packages that arrived for this lab class. We stand indebted and amazed in the eyes of your generosity. Some members sent me an exceptional amount of donations this time around, and I recognize their willingness to help others and it is great to see. It is wonderful to have all the supplies together so our kids can do some hands on activities and learn more about electricity, electronics, soldering, etc. As you are able to guess, our kids really like doing the hands on activities where they can see learning in action and they produce something with their own hands and skills. Not to mention some of these projects are just plain cool. Without your support, we would not have been able to do these labs and would be limiting their learning experience . Again thank you so much for your continued support and please know your contributions are being put to good use.
Danny Wouters ---------- Dear Friends of Pine Ridge, I just want to thank you for all the wonderful books and warm slippers that you have recently sent us. Also, those extra special surprise boxes that contain unexpected treats and gifts. The children talk about the people who send them things as if they all know you. Somehow they just know you are kind hearted people and good friends. The warm hand knitted hats are treasured by them, they each got their own one of a kind hat and scarf. The gifts you send keep us warm in many ways. Thank you,
Trisha Lambert ------------- Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation Dear Chris, I'm on the road with our national organization, Sacred Circle, (www.sacred-circle.com). We're conducting a training on developing tribal domestic violence response and strategies. There are many different tribes gathered here talking about the issue and it is exciting to hear about what other domestic violence programs are doing. I think we're making some progress! I wanted to drop this quick note to let you know how thankful we are for your donations. The space heaters are a godsend since we've been experiencing some very cold weather. And children's shoes! My goodness! A visitor asked me if we were opening a shoe store! Oh well, it gave us a chance to brag all of you up. Our thanks for these and all of the other wonderful items your wonderful readers have sent. Wopila tanka (Thank you very much). Blessings and great joy to each of you. Sincerely,
Karen Artichoker
2/6/08 We're getting very close to Valentine's Day and we can use 11 more boxes of cards for the kids at Our Lady of Lourdes elementary school. Here's where to ship some. Update: We've exceeded our goals for the Valentine's Day cards donation drive. Thanks so much to all who donated! Here's a link to a news article, "'Net loss' to Indian Programs in Budget; Advocates Denounce Bush Cuts to Roads, Tribal Courts, Housing" 2/5/08 The population of the OLL Kindergarten class has changed slightly so I've changed our goal numbers to reflect that. Click here for more info on what they need! Blog Entries for January 20081/31/08 ALL of the science kits for Red Cloud High School have been donated--sending a big thanks to all of your who helped with this drive!! 1/27/08 We've met our goal of 50 boxes of Valentine cards for Red Shirt School but are short of our goal for Our Lady of Lourdes school by 43. If you're out shopping today, please pick up a box or two for the school and don't forget to let me know how many you are donating so I can add them to the tally! 1/21/08 Here's a link to a news article, "Tanka Bar Maker Scrambles to Meet Soaring Demand." 1/20/08 And...another new donation drive for boxes of Valentine cards for the kids at Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary School and Red Shirt Elementary School. There are roughly 150 kids at OLL and around 50 at RSS so we can use 200 boxes of cards! You'll find boxes of 32 to 34 count at your local dollar store or drug stores, Target, Walmart, etc. So I can keep count, please let me know how many boxes you are sending and to which school. Ship them here please: Our Lady of Lourdes Goal: 150 boxes; 0 boxes donated
Via UPS/FedEx/DHL:
Via U.S. Mail: Red Shirt School Goal: 50 boxes; 0 boxes donated
Via US Mail ONLY: Thanks everyone! Click here when you want to check on our progress with this drive.
1/19/08 I'm kicking off a new donation drive today for 1,2,3...Hi Baby! They are in dire need of disposable diapers and baby formula. 1,2,3...Hi Baby! highly encourages the new moms to breast feed but not all do for various reasons. They can use any brand and type (liquid or powder) of formula as well as any size or brand of diapers from newborn to toddlers. Please take a look at the specific info and let me know if you can send anything for the babies. Thanks! 1/18/08 It is 9 below zero on the reservation right now! Please send a donation to help with heat for families in need. Send a tax-deductible check to either of the organizations listed below (and please include a note that you want your donation used for utilities help):
Cangleska, Inc.
1,2,3...Hi Baby! ...or you can use PayPal and your cash or credit card donation funds can get put to use even sooner.
Cangleska address for PayPal donations is:
1,2,3...Hi Baby!'s address for PayPal donations is: Even a small donation will make a difference. Thanks so much for helping our friends on Pine Ridge Reservation battle the bitterly cold weather! 1/17/08 Please click here to find a store near you (mine was a Sports Chalet) that sells stuff for Brownies. When you get a chance, please swing by that store and pick up a few of the numerals for the Brownie uniforms (they are brown) for Troop 6502. They need 17 more each (as of now, but check here to be sure) of a six, a five, a zero, and a two and they are only $1.25 each, lightweight and easy to slip into an envelope to ship to the troop leader at this address:
Chrissy O'Donnell If you donate any, please drop me a line so I can update the tally. Thanks everyone! 1/8/08 Here's another thank you letter for your Christmas gift donations, this one from the Emergency Youth Shelter. Dear Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation: Lila wopila tanka!!! Thanks for making Christmas a special day in the lives of our Lakota children. With your help we were able to provide some cherished memories! Pauletta Red Willow, Director Emergency Youth Shelter
1/7/08 OLL Kindergarten Party/Thank You Letters for the Christmas Gifts Thanks for continuing to send donations for the high school science students and the Brownies--we still have a ways to go so please keep up the good work! I'm also kicking off a new donation drive today, for the Our Lady of Lourdes Kindergarten class. Each year the school puts on a party for the children and their families and they can use some help with supplies and gifts for the kids. Please take a look and let me know if you can help out with this one. I've also received a couple of thank you letters to all of you donors for the Christmas gifts that I'd like to share with you; thanks again for all of your efforts, they are so appreciated. From Cangleska: Dear Chris, Well, the elves were busy again this year thanks to your dear readers! We were once again drowning in presents and colorful wrapping paper, bows, and gift bags. Let me tell you, the advocate/elf ears were drooping a tad after marathon sessions of sorting and wrapping presents and getting them ready for delivery. Santa would have been proud - as we are and you all should be. The women and children who spent the holiday at the shelter all had big smiles on their faces because of you all. Everyone got more than enough and I know that your good hearts transformed hardship into a memorable day. Those children will talk about this Christmas as a happy day because of you all. We'd also like to thank those of you who traveled far to deliver items and/or donated cash through PayPal. We know that many of you spent countless hours organizing or cutting your own corners so that you could make a contribution. We appreciate you. We've had a few storms, lots of wind, and some cold days but certainly nothing like the South Dakota of my youth. No big blizzards yet and we are thankful for the moisture. As I write this, the sun is shining and the snow is glistening on the trees. It's a great day to be alive. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all. Best wishes to each of you in the new year. Again, a big wopila (thank you) to each of you. Sincerely,
Karen Artichoker, Director From the Oyate Teca Project: Greetings to all, We are writing this letter to thank you all for the wonderful gifts that you have sent to the people for Christmas, the party was very successful we have had many happy children and adults/elders walk through our door. We love this time of the year we get to see all the happy children and adults/elderly. We had a line of people trailing out the door but we managed to give a gift to every person THANKS to ALL OF YOU. Thank you all for everything you have sent. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Carmelita and the Oyate Teca Project Staff
1/2/08 Five Voice Changer Soldering Kits have been donated--thank you! 1/1/08 Here's the latest update on the needs for the science class:
Old Time Crystal Radio Kit (goal 5; 2 donated--need 3)
Burglar Alarm with Reset Switch Kit (goal 5; 3 donated--need 2)
Whooper Alarm Kit (goal 5; 2 donated--need 3)
Color Organ Display Kit (goal 5; 1 donated--need 4)
Voice Changer Soldering Kit (goal 5; 0 donated--need 5)
Tracking Robot Kit (goal 5; 0 donated--need 5)
Neon Telephone Kit (goal 5; 0 donated--need 5)
AM Radio Kit (goal 5; 3 donated--need 2)
Robot Car Kit (goal 5; 0 donated--need 5) Blinky Robot Kit (goal 5; 0 donated--need 5)>br> http://tinyurl.com/326846 [on sale $12.95] OR
Blinky Robot Kit Teacher Pack (goal 1--need 1)
DC Power Supply (goal 12; 6 donated--need 6) Packs of AA Batteries Packs of 9V Batteries Click here to let me know what you are sending so I can mark it off as donated. Please ship your donations to:
Danny Wouters 1/1/08 I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who supported many Pine Ridge Reservation organizations in 2007 with your generous donations. So many of them are understaffed and underfunded with a huge job to do and your help with donations allows them to focus on their work at hand. You've made a big difference on the lives of many people in need and I wish you a happy and healthy 2008! Blog Entries for December 200712/31/07 Update All of the Jr. Electricity Labs have been donated--thanks so much to the donor who sent them! 12/31/07 There is no room in the budget for such supplies so the kids in the Red Cloud High School science class can use your donations of any of the items listed below. Click here to let me know what you are sending so I can mark it off as donated. Thank you for making it possible for the students to do hands on work in their classroom!
Old Time Crystal Radio Kit (goal 5; 2 donated--need 3)
Burglar Alarm with Reset Switch Kit (goal 5; 3 donated--need 2)
Whooper Alarm Kit (goal 5; 0 donated--need 5)
Color Organ Display Kit (goal 5; 0 donated--need 5)
Voice Changer Soldering Kit (goal 5; 0 donated--need 5)
Tracking Robot Kit (goal 5; 0 donated--need 5)
Neon Telephone Kit (goal 5; 0 donated--need 5)
AM Radio Kit (goal 5; 3 donated--need 2)
Robot Car Kit (goal 5; 0 donated--need 5)
Blinky Robot Kit (goal 5; 0 donated--need 5)
Blinky Robot Kit Teacher Pack (goal 1--need 1)
Jr. Electricity Lab (goal 12; 6 donated--need 6)
DC Power Supply (goal 12; 6 donated--need 6)
Packs of AA batteries
Packs of 9V batteries
Ship to: 12/29/07 One of the most urgent needs at the Cangleska shelter is always shoes and the Darling Shoes website has a terrific sale on through 12/31 and all shoes are $1 or $2. If you check the clearance shoes you'll find some for 50 cents each if they're still there--go soon, many are selling out! All of the shoes are for kids with the exception of some women's clogs in the clearance section.
Ship your tax deductible donation to Cangleska, Inc., 1 Cangleska Road, Kyle, SD 57752. Thanks everyone!
12/27/07 I hope you all enjoyed your holiday celebrations this month and I want to extend a special thank you to all of the donors who so generously sent Christmas gifts to the reservation for the children and elders. Your gifts made a big difference to many families who would have otherwise had no gifts. I'll be posting thank you letters from the recipient organizations here shortly. Be sure to check back starting in September for information on 2008 Christmas gift drives--since there are so many in need we start sending Christmas gift donations very early in the year. You might also want to take advantage of those great after-Christmas sales to pick up a few toys and/or Christmas gift wrapping supplies to stash away for next year's donations. There are a couple of new donation drives I've just added to the website, one for office supplies for the OST Partnership for Housing and one for uniform supplies for the girls in Brownie Troop 6502. Info for the office supplies is located on the home page and if you click on "Urgent Needs" you can read the details on the Brownies. Thanks everyone! 12/21/07 Wow--all of the gifts for the kids ages 0-10 have been covered, thank you so much to the donor who is sending those! Here's the status as of this morning:
Girls age 11-14
Boys age 11-14
Girls age 15-17
Boys age 15-17
12/20/07 I know we're getting down to the wire but we're still short by many gifts for the kids over at the Victims Assistance in Indian Country. Luckily, some online vendors still able to get gifts out to the reservation by the 24th. Thanks so much for your generosity and for helping out with gifts for the kids!
Girls age 0-3
Boys age 0-3
Girls age 4-6
Boys age 4-6
Girls age 7-10
Boys age 7-10
Girls age 11-14
Boys age 11-14
Girls age 15-17
Boys age 15-17
12/9/07 It's Cold Out There! The temperature is going to dip to 11 degrees tonight, with a 40% chance of snow and there are many families living on the reservation in poorly insulated trailers and homes. If you'd like to help keep a family warm this winter, please send a tax-deductible check or money order made out to Cangleska, Inc. with a note specifying that you want to donation applied to the utilities help fund to:
Cangleska, Inc. You can also send a donation via PayPal, using the following address to send funds: paypal@cangleska.org ...or, if you prefer to donate with a credit card, please call 605 455-2244 with your credit card number and let them know you are donating to help a family with propane. Your donation, no matter what size, will make a big difference in the living situation for our friends on Pine Ridge, even $1 will help when we all send one! 12/6/07 VAIC If you are out shopping for Christmas gifts this weekend, please pick up something for one of the children served by the Victims Assistance in Indian Country. Some of these kids have parents who have been victimized by crime but many, unfortunately, are crime victims themselves. Please help us make their Christmas a bit brighter during a difficult time! Here's where we are with this drive at the moment, and we need to get gifts there by December 22nd: Gifts Donated to Victims Assistance in Indian Country:
Girls age 0-3 Need: 35 Thanks everyone!
12/3/07 Cangleska Christmas Drive Completed We did it! Sending a big thank you out to all of your who so generously donated Christmas gifts to Cangleska, Inc. for the children. With the help of all of you donors, this is what we sent; great job everyone!
Girls age 0-3: 203 gifts The Cangleska staff still has a big job ahead of them to wrap and distribute all of these gifts so donations of gift wrapping supplies are still very much appreciated. Christmas Gifts for OTP and VAIC - New Drive The Oyate Teca Project will hold a Christmas party on December 19th at which time they will distribute out whatever Christmas gifts they have collected to the elders and children. The Victims Assistance in Indian Country organization can also use gifts for children and although these aren't listed under the donation drive for the kids, if you'd like to send some gifts for the adult crime victims they assist, they can use 45 adult female and 55 adult male gifts. Please click here for more information on gift suggestions and shipping deadlines on the Christmas gift drive for the OTP and VAIC kids. If you can donate a gift, please report the number of gifts you are donating, the age and sex and for which organization. You can follow our progress with this donation drive here. Thank you so much for your continued support of the children this holiday season! New Blog11/28/07 With a short lead time, I recently put a call out for help with Thanksgiving meals for the Cangleska outreach families and your response was fantastic! Through your generosity, the shelter was able to provide many families with a meal they wouldn't have otherwise been able to enjoy on Thanksgiving Day. Here's a thank you letter from Cangleska for your donations:
November 27, 2007 Dear Chris, Just a quick thank you to all your good readers who took the time to send dollars and goods to make Thanksgiving a lovely day for Oglala families. We divided the goodies between the eastern and western Reservation and sent a few baskets up to Rapid City since our shelter in Rapid City was not able to get all the baskets they needed for the women there. We tend to think that Rapid City (since it's a city) would have more resources but we're finding that is simply and unfortunately not true. They do get more small appliances and used clothing donations since people will drop items off when they move or after a garage sale but it's very difficult to get women into housing and then get them the help they need to get established. Oops! Sorry for the moment of frustration...my intention was to write and thank you for your assistance in getting Thanksgiving baskets out to needy Oglala families. You accomplished that mission and we thank you. I was at a meeting today and one of the men attending was talking about our children and how powerful and healing it is for children when people locally and throughout the United States and world reach out to make a beautiful meal for a child. He talked about children who this year, for the first time, experienced an entire turkey dinner. He said several children told him they would go here and there on Thanksgiving day and eat dinner piecemeal. He said it broke his heart that our children were big-eyed at eating a lovely turkey dinner when it should be the norm for this family holiday. (Gosh, I’m getting teary-eyed, again!) Anyway, dear readers...you all made some big-eyed, greasy faced children last week and we thank you. Sincerely,
Karen Artichoker, Director
On another note, the Our Lady of Lourdes School is no longer collecting toner cartridges for recycling purposes, but Tusweca Tiospaye is. If you have any cell phones, ink jet, laser and/or drum toner cartridges, please package them so they don't break in transit and ship to the address below. Tusweca Tiospaye will recycle them and use the proceeds to fund Lakota language programs. Via U.S. Mail:
Michael Carlow, Jr.
Michael Carlow, Jr. Also, we can still use your help on the Christmas gift drives for the kids and elders; thank you so much for your continued support! |