Thank Yous from PRR Organizations

Updated August 2017

Every year we provide the incoming nursing students at Oglala Lakota College with rolling backpacks and various school supplies.  Here are thank yous for our 2017 efforts!

August 18, 2017

Hi Chris,

Here are some pics – students with donations and of the donations themselves. https://www.pinterest.com/FoPRR/photos-from-friends-of-pine-ridge-reservation/

Your participants are just MOST gracious with their giving and donations!  We’ve even had one of your donors (former or current I cannot remember) here as a visiting Professor on sabbatical teaching this semester.  How great is that?!

Pilamaya! (Thank You!)

Michelle
Michelle L. Bruns, MSN, RN
Assistant Chair
Oglala Lakota College – Dept. of Nursing

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To Friends of Pine Ridge,

I am a first year Nursing student at the Oglala Lakota College of Pine Ridge South Dakota and today I was one of the many students who received the generous donations of school supplies and backpacks you have graciously provided us.  I am a very proud recipient of your generous contribution and investment towards my education and path towards Nursing.

Your heartwarming donation will help me and many others, to be prepared and will assist us throughout this challenging and necessary journey to fulfill our dreams of helping others as nurses. The path we have wholeheartedly chosen is not an easy path but with the help that you have supplied, our journey will be that less stressful and worrisome.  In my culture we use have a word, “Wopila” to express our most sincerest and humble “thank you”, I am very grateful to have your support and help, wopila.

Respectfully,
S.

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Here’s a thank-you letter from Michelle May, the Oglala Lakota College Librarian, for our recent donation drive for office supplies.

8/10/16

Dear Chris and all our Friends of the Pine Ridge,

Thank you so much for providing basic office supplies to the only public library on the reservation. Your generosity has made a huge difference in our lives, and I want to acknowledge the personal commitment that each of you make by donating to our library, thank you!

The accomplishments of Friends of the Pine Ridge, under the leadership of Chris, is remarkable. Your donations are incredibly helpful.

Thank you again, I wish all of you….ALL HAPPY DAYS!!!!

Michelle May, Library Director
Oglala Lakota College Woksape Tipi Academic/Public Library & Archives

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And another from the Principal at Wounded Knee District School.

July 26, 2016

Friends of Pine Ridge,

I’d like to thank you all for the much needed School Supply drive for our students! We are very thankful for your generous efforts to ensure our students get a strong start to their educational journey this school year.

The students will be very excited when we hand out their supplies upon their arrival. We will definitely get pictures of them receiving their school supplies when they return back after Labor Day.

Thank you all again for all you do in making a difference in children’s lives!

Respectfully,

Alice Phelps Wounded Knee District School Principal

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And this one is from the Navajo school in Arizona that we support, Little Singer Community School.

August 2, 2016

Hi Chris

Thank you so much. I wish that you all could see the activity that goes on here when boxes arrive. The students all returned on Monday and we are putting together school supplies for them to use in their classrooms and also for their homework. Words cannot say enough. We are just so grateful that we have people that care about kids – you all do make a difference; so again thank you!

We have some new students that came from other schools and they were surprised that someone other than their parents bought them school supplies!

We wish you all well.

Love,

Little Singer School

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Two thank-you letters from the Oyate Teca Project Youth Center.

June 21, 2016

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for continuing to support our efforts, I can’t express how much your donations mean to our children and to us here at the center.

Our summer program is in full swing and our center is now open daily from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm with the exception of a couple of weekends reserved for our community basketball, horseshoes, and volleyball games/leagues. The children get to enjoy arts and crafts, outdoor water games and learning leadership and team building skills.

Thank you so much for everything you all do, you are truly appreciated.

Rose Fraser
Oyate Teca Project Director

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May 24, 2016

THANK YOU!!!! Chris you are the BEST. So far we’ve received an outdoor movie screen, grill, PA system and 2 canopies. Wow, that is amazing!!!

Thank you to our fabulous friends, you just made us very happy and excited for the summer. Man I still cannot believe the generosity. I wish there was another word for thank you because you all have to know that we really do appreciate everything, EVERYTHING!!, YOU ALL DO FOR OUR PROGRAM.

Things here at the center have been changing, we will be getting two VISTA workers, 10 summer associates “employees” for our summer program, our garden program went from no funding for the past three years, but we continued to do it with your help, thank you, now we have received several grants to help with the cost.

We now have a garden instructor, 4 part time gardeners, funding for supplies and we are hosting weekly garden classes here at the center. Thank you so much for your continued support in helping us keep the garden program going, it truly means a lot to me.

Rose Fraser
Oyate Teca Project Youth Center