Arts and Culture

FPF is requesting capital support for construction of the Oglala Lakota Artspace (OLA), which will nurture the development of a sustainable and vibrant reservation-based creative economy by building the economic strength of Oglala Lakota artists on the Pine Ridge Reservation through a culturally appropriate Native arts incubator.

With an intentional effort to increase community and audience engagement in the Black Hills Region, SDPB opened its Black Hills Bureau (BHB) in August of 2017. It is the cornerstone of the effort to enhance vital public broadcasting services for the citizens of South Dakota. The bureau serves as a reporting, storytelling and public gathering hub for outstanding original content produced in the Black Hills. To deepen its community outreach in a more direct way the BHB is making a deliberate effort to be a gathering point for the public. The BHB will broadcast and simultaneously provide a physical meeting space for community members, news reporters and newsmakers to interact, strengthening connections among the communities the BHB serves. More programs will focus on topics and people of the Black Hills Region. SDPB is a vital community resource producing and broadcasting high-quality, commercial-free programs and valuable community outreach projects that educate, enlighten and entertain. By enhancing and expanding the learning experiences currently only available on-air or as webcasts to include interactions with a live audience in the BHB studio, individual relationships with the community will strengthen. The quality of life in the Black Hills Region will improve as the BHB provides opportunities for meaningful face-to-face learning, discussions and interactions.

In 2015 RAI initiated a winter market where Native American artists and craftspeople could sell their work. Many Indigenous people are or will become artists or craftspeople who make a living or supplement their income through their art/craft, selling their work through a circuit of art markets and pow wows around the country. However the market season generally begins in the spring and runs through the fall, leaving a several month gap – including through the holiday season – when this revenue source goes dry. With funding support we created an art market to fill this need, and its success exceeded all expectations. We have now operated for three years, and are ready to take this to the next level. In 2017 we began the process of reaching out to buyers from beyond our region by advertising nationally in high-end magazines that feature Native American art, including Cowboys and Indians, Art of the West, Southwest Art and others. This year we would like to be more aggressive with that effort. All artists have lists of people who buy/collect their work. They meet these artists at larger shows on the circuit, such as Santa Fe. Our plan is to cultivate these buyers with VIP treatment: a buyers’ preview the night before featuring refreshments or a meal, and a chance to interact with the artists. Buyers will be offered special packages combining rooms and transportation, as well as information on other things to do while in the Black Hills.

The Chamber Music Festival of the Black Hills is a local arts organization focused on providing free educational programs and high quality classical concerts throughout the Black Hills. Their goal is to create a significant impact on the community working through collaborative partners to support free educational programs throughout the Black Hills area for all ages. Their focus is on development of sustainable programming with a high impact on the community for underserved communities and at-risk children. Longterm goals include participatory-based programs that increase involvement in extracurricular programs thus reducing the high drop-out rate. Secondary goals are to open new doors of opportunity for the children and our partners. Several of the past participants have received large college scholarships to further their career goals. Funds requested would go to support the organization’s overall educational programs. They currently
are working with the Black Hills Autism program at General Beadle, Black Hills Children’s Home, Rapid City Library and the Sturgis Library, The Boys and Girls Club.

The Days of 76 Committee has set a goal to restore the Native American Indian relationships and to enhance the annual celebration through their participation. The Days of 76 Parade Committee developed a relationship with one family, Gus Yellow Hair. Gus and family have been preforming throughout the Black Hills for the past decade. For several years, the Days of 76 Committee would provide a small stipend for Gus and family to travel from Kyle to participate in the parades. He and his family would provide song and dance demonstrations to a small group of Deadwood residents and visitors, which was very well received. This small family relationship provided the learning experience for the Parade Committee to prepare them for the next steps. In 2017, Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission provided financial support to enable the Parade Committee to contract with four professional Native American Indian performing artists. They learned the time and length of the performances needs adjustment, bleachers need to be provided, all the arrangements were made late and the marketing was limited. The Immediate goals of the Parade Committee is to grow the event in a manner that can be manageable and meaningful for all; the performers, the Committee and especially the audience. The Committee would like to use requested funds to support the recruitment of professional Native American performers to enhance story telling of their culture for the Days of 76 annual celebration.

The CSF Foundation wishes to provide a culturally rich, educational opportunity of a Native American village to be hosted during the Central States Fair. While the Central States Fair has been a staple in the Black Hills region for 72 years, it was in the 72nd year the Board of Directors and staff committed to the forward movement of inclusion and education of the local Native American tribes. The CSF decided there was no better time than now to honor the area’s Indigenous Nations, in which the CSF hosted the first ever "Indigenous Celebration and Expo Day at The Central States Fair," with primary focus on the Seven Council Fires, or the Oceti Sakowin, who emerged from the three divisions of the Great Sioux Nation: Santee-Dakota, Yankton-Nakota and Teton-Lakota. The CSF Foundation wishes to expand on the Indigenous Celebration & Expo Day by providing an interactive Native American village. The goal of the expansion plan is to continue the education and art sessions with local Native American's, set up four additional tipi's, and provide educational materials throughout the Native American village. This village will be set up the entire fair session this year, which allows people to learn as they wish. The first Saturday being the full day of educational activities and art.

The Black Hills Unity Concert is a free concert bringing top quality Native, non-native, and other indigenous performers together to educate and inspire people from all walks of life. The Black Hills Unity Concert is structured to provide an opportunity to have Lakota elders share their wisdom. Through the power of arts and music, the Black Hills Unity Concert raises the consciousness of attendees to the ecological crisis facing the Earth. The concert portrays the important role that sacred sites (like the Black Hills) can play in restoring this balance. In addition to the inspiring music, dance, and poetry we offer workshops on traditional or environmental topics for all participants, with a specific emphasis on engaging youth for the tribal communities on the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations.

Black Hills Community Theatre (BHCT) is celebrating its 50th season with a stellar array of musicals, plays and special events. The organization continues to grow and increase the quality of all its productions under Artistic Director Zach Curtis, who has been with BHCT for just under a year. We also have several other staff members who are as new as he or have been with the organization for a little less than two years, but enough time that they all have made contributions to the growth of BHCT. The biggest challenge BCHT faced in the past 20 months had been filling these positions with highly qualified individuals. Now that we have them we would like to keep them. Finding new sources of income to provide better salaries or some basic health benefits is our strongest strategy to prevent further turnover in the staff.

The Lakota Language Consortium (LLC) assists Lakota tribes with language preservation and
revitalization through second-language education materials, teacher training, and media works that raise broad public awareness of the cultural value of the language. LLC is requesting funds to support the 12th annual Lakota Summer Institute (LSI), a two-week program where teachers receive pedagogical and linguistic training in the Lakota language. As in previous projects, the Consortium will also partner with schools to conduct pre-and post-tests to quantify the increase in language proficiency among students using LLC learning materials. The Pine Ridge Reservation suffers from a school dropout rate over 50%, an unemployment rate of 80%, and the second lowest life expectancy in the Western Hemisphere. Increased access to one's linguistic heritage has proven to enhance student motivation, self-esteem, and cultural pride as evidenced by improved attendance and college enrollment rates, lower attrition, and enhanced teacher student and school-community relations. LLC has developed a comprehensive system for language revitalization that includes linguistics, teacher instruction, student education, oversight, and social components. Lakota teachers learn how to use pedagogically correct curriculum and literature across a range of uses. The LSI will develop a new language teacher corps utilizing proven teaching methodologies with a standard, sequenced language curriculum to lay the groundwork for a population of Lakota-language speakers.

The PACRC brings performers and audiences together to experience high quality performing arts events that are offered only in limited quantities by other area venues. The biggest current challenge of the PACRC is to provide the excellent services and facilities expected by users without sacrificing the affordability of the venues. This means finding adequate funding to run the PACRC without passing along unduly high costs to the resident Coalition Member Organizations (CMO's) and other community users of the facility. The PACRC also provides economical and professionally run venues for numerous non-profit organizations including the aforementioned CMOs and independent organizations. This gives each organization the ability to pursue their mission with support from professional staff in a nearly state-of-the-art facility, giving them the opportunity to perform without the stress of managing a facility or the cost of staff to facilitate those events. Some non-profits using the PACRC for first time benefit events are not adept at event promotion and PACRC staff provide as much advise and help with marketing as possible. With the majority of organizations utilizing the PACRC being non-profits, fees and rental costs charged by the PACRC cannot be prohibitively high. That means the PACRC must fundraiser extensively to pay for the costs of staff and upkeep. There is a deep list of donors who support both the PACRC and many of the resident organizations. Grant funds play an important role in augmenting the funds of those private donors.

Our goal is to install a musical instrument area within the park. This area will be handicapped accessible. The goal is for this area of the park to be utilized by all ages and abilities. Another goal is to give children and their families the ability to play and grow. We are working with a local contractor to design an area within the park for this new area. Once this new area is completed, we plan to start with four musical instruments and add additional instruments as the funds become available. Each instrument costs between $2,500 and $5,000 each. Please visit freenotesharmonypark.com to view instruments that are being considered.

Community Development

Hermosa Arts & History Association (HAHA) has an ambitious calendar of events proposed for 2018, but lacks tables, chairs and benches to accommodate classes, visitors, audiences and researchers. In the past, the building has served as a community gathering place. The audience for our programs are youth, adults, and seniors. To have such a place as a community anchor, benefits youth with educational opportunity, challenge, and enrichment. Adults learn too and benefit from convenient and economical events to enjoy with family. Seniors come to be invigorated by memories or new knowledge. Everyone who comes to the HAHA museum and sits in a chair for a program, who works, who researches or who socializes at a table, or perches on a bench to watch...learns and grows. HAHA needs chairs, tables and benches for our participants, visitors, researchers, and audiences. Our request: 60 stackable chairs@19.98ea, 10 folding tables @49.98ea, 10 fold-in-half benches@26.98ea, 1 chair cart@84.98ea Total $2053.38.

Dakota Land Trust (DLT) is in need of a long term strategic plan, updated marketing campaign, restructured forms, upgraded internal policies and procedures. Also, external relationships and educational materials must be developed. Being a new organization there have been challenges with educating potential clients, supporters and partners about the potential which DLT has to serve stakeholders in the community. Completing these tasks with the resources currently available to DLT is a daunting prospect. DLT has one part-time employee and the ability to occasionally utilize the services of employees of its affiliate organization, NeighborWorks® Dakota Home Resources. Completing these tasks and achieving these goals will position DLT for substantial growth long into the future.

Education

Every person deserves access to fresh, healthy meal. Fork Real Community Café is a non-profit pay-what-you-can café in Rapid City, SD. Our mission is to reduce hunger and promote health by offering nourishing, high quality, local food on a pay-what-you-can basis. Fork Real partners with over 60 other cafes in the U.S. dedicated to reducing hunger in our nation. In August 2017, Fork Real became an “Agency Partner “with Feeding SD. As a partner, Fork Real coordinates and plans for food nutrition and food preparation classes. Feeding SD provides Fork Real with low cost food to use in the classes because most of the people who attend have limited income. The project that Fork Real is seeking funding for includes a partnership with Love, INC through their Life, INC classes; four 4-week educational class for families with emergency food needs. These classes will provide education on how to prepare meals for the week in their cooking space (hotel, motel, apartment, etc). These families will cook together, eat together, and learn together. As the needs grow, Fork Real recognizes they must take the classes to where the people are. Mercy Housing and Love Inc have agreed to allow the classes to be held in other locations. The data collected in the pilot class held in January 2018 showed that families want to learn how to cook fast and easy meals, but also want to cook more with whole foods. To conduct these classes, Fork Real needs the physical resources to conduct the classes for free or a minimal fee. Cooking utensils, cookware and food is needed to host the classes. With the partnership with Feeding South Dakota, the food can be bought for a nominal fee as Fork Real is serving people in poverty. The cooking utensils include a cutting board, knife and peeler to prepare the foods. The cookware includes electric skillets and crock pots. These are commonly used tools for cooking in hotel rooms, small efficiency apartments, and rentals. Ultimately, Fork Real Café will be a place where individuals can come together over a meal that has been prepared by volunteers and those individuals who want food service training.

The vast majority of children on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation—nearly 8 out of 10—grow up in poverty or in low-income families, which creates barriers to their academic success. Our students grow up in a region where only 12 percent of the population has a college degree, making it difficult for them to see themselves pursuing a college degree. In addition, nationally, Native American students continue to be underrepresented in scientific fields such as engineering, computer science, and medicine. To address the need that more Lakota youth pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) degrees, Red Cloud has enhanced its educational program to provide students with the equipment, tools, and teaching necessary to increase students’ interest and ability to pursue STEM careers. Red Cloud's goal is to prepare Lakota students to access the innovative STEM careers of tomorrow, with the hope they will bring their expertise to bear on the many challenges faced by the Lakota people on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Lakota STEM Leaders focuses on STEM education and will support students in grades 6-12 (350 students).

Environment and Conservation

Off-road cycling is a rapidly growing sport and one of the few sports that competes well against video games when it comes to youth. Cycling is also one of the few potentially team-based sports that focus on individual efforts, making it more appealing than traditional team sports to a wide range of adults and children. Like many sports, however, off-road cycling has traditionally been seasonal. With the advent of fat tire bicycles and grooming it has become year-round. In order to ride effectively offroad with snow on the ground, the route must be groomed similarly to a cross-country ski trail or snowmobile trail. The frequency of grooming depends in large part on the condition of the snowpack and the frequency of snow events. In some cases it can be necessary to groom every day to every other day, in other cases grooming once per week is appropriate. The funds resulting from this request will help to purchase track sleds that will be operated by volunteers to maintain the currently groomed trail network and expand the trail network in the future. The groomed trail network will be accessible by all Black Hills area residents and visitors, and in addition to providing a needed outlet for exercise and recreation, will also be a boon to economic development through bike purchases and maintenance in the winter Season, and visitation to ride the trails. The trail network will be groomed by volunteers on evenings and weekends, and will use the same active and engaged volunteer base Black Hills Trails has brought to bear on trail projects in the other 3 seasons.

Destination Rapid City (DRC) was formed to foster Downtown Rapid City through economic development, creating a vibrant business district rich in appeal for the Rapid City community and its visitors. Main Street Square provides an iconic landmark for Downtown, a center plaza with waterfall and dancing water fountain, continually changing visual landscape through public art sculptures, and a Downtown gathering area for our local community and visitors. DRC is seeking additional funding to sustain the Downtown Clean Team's operations and initiatives that successfully address the ongoing needs of Downtown. Offsetting operational costs would allow DRC to allocate funds to much needed capital improvements for the team, as well as to continue implementing downtown beautification projects. DRC maintains a 52-block radius of Downtown
ensuring the streets, sidewalks and alleys are attractive and welcoming. In conjunction with these assets, DRC will continue developing plans that effectively engage community members, downtown business owners, andarea organizations in taking ownership of maintaining downtown cleanliness.

The mission of the Black Hills Raptor Center (BHRC) is to conserve and protect native birds of prey and their natural habitats through education, rehabilitation, and research. The BHRC increases community awareness of native birds through education; assists injured and orphaned birds
through rehabilitation and release; and works closely with government agencies, wildlife managers and researchers in research and conservation efforts. The need for a full treatment facility for raptors and other bird species in the Rapid City, SD area is immense. During its seven-year existence, the BHRC has provided supportive care to 311 birds. Eighty-one of these were transported to another facility. The rest were euthanized, dead on arrival, treated and released, or the situation handled over the phone. Despite not advertising BHRC as a rehabilitation facility, BHRC takes in excess of 80 calls per year about injured birds. Another strong indicator for the need of a full rehabilitation center is the fact that local, state and wildlife agency personnel are putting down all injured birds of prey, other than eagles & ospreys, because there is no facility near them. The strategy to address these deficiencies is to build a full education, rehabilitation and research center on the eastern outskirts of Rapid City, SD.

South Dakota Project Learning Tree (SDPLT) advances environmental literacy and promotes stewardship through excellence in environmental education, professional development, and curriculum resources that use trees and forests as windows on the world. Our state and nationally accredited curriculum and programs aim to bring the classroom outdoors and the outdoors into the classroom. SDPLT is a small non-profit that serves its communities in many ways. We offer hands-on, curriculum-based field events for schools, free of charge. Our events serve children from pre-school through high school. Examples of these events include: Kindergarten Nature Day, Lakota Kids Camp, annual Walk in the Forest event, hosting events for partnering organizations, and professional development opportunities for educators. The funds requested would go to
support salaries and program facilitator stipends and travel expenses.

Social Services

Families come to Mercy Housing with a desire to access stable housing and meet basic needs, including health care and healthy food. Residents at our two Rapid City properties have a median household income of $8,820, less than 18% of the Pennington County household median ($51,508), according to the American Community Survey. As a result, our residents have very little money to spend on healthy food. According to the results from the Mercy Housing 2017 Annual Resident Survey, 63.4% of responding residents at Driftwood Estates reported feeling food insecure, and 65.1% of respondents at Northern Heights did. We need funding to secure cabinets with locks for storage of non-perishable items. We do not have the funding available in our Resident Services Program budget to stock food pantries at each property, including perishable items such as healthy fruits, vegetables, dairy, and meat. We want to provide this resource onsite to supplement the nutrition of our residents in conjunction with other health and wellness programs we provide throughout the year, to improve the overall health of our residents. At both properties, the Resident Services Coordinator (RSC) will serve our residents through on-site access to food pantries, open twice a month with fresh produce available once a month.

The Board of Directors of Dress for success understand that there is a great need in our community, to help women find a better world of work. We asked ourselves the question, why are women so discouraged to seek the betterment of themselves professionally? We believe the answer is simple, they don't have the education, mentoring or confidence that comes with knowing how to write a successful resume, create a step by step career plan or just dress for success. An essential part of this process is to find a location that these women can come to in order to receive/obtain an interview appropriate outfit, but also interview skills training, resume review, and even mock interviews. The location will also allow us to fulfill the second and third goals of Dress for Success; to provide those women who are hired with a weeks’ worth of work appropriate attire and an opportunity to network with other women at our Professional Women’s Group. The boutique location will serve as the location for the women’s group meetings where women can network, receive coaching, work on career planning and build lasting relationships. Our goal is to also be gifted enough in-kind donations to suite these 80 women. An appropriate boutique location will have sufficient storage in order to house the attire we receive. Women come in many different sizes and have different styles, so a variety of clothing and accessories are needed.

Rapid City, SD, comparatively, statewide is one of the highest cost of living areas. Median income for Pennington County is $51,523. Our target market family income is within the median income range and below. BHCLF’s primary target market is Native American and low-to-moderate income individuals living in the Rapid City MSA area including the SD counties of Pennington, Meade, Butte, Custer and Fall River. The level of economic distress among their target market area is severe. “Median income for American Indian households in SD is less than half that of white households and significantly less than other households of color according to federal data.
Comparatively while there are 61 banks, credit unions and non-bank financial service providers in the area, the majority of BHCLF’s clientele are unable to access conventional banking institutions to receive credit, either due to low credit scores or no credit score. Financial literacy skills are not a typical skillset and more often than not BHCLF is assisting clients with rectifying their credit in order to gain entry to the financial mainstream, while also qualifying for our lending products. Grant funding will help to accomplish two specific tasks: curriculum creation and development of our entrepreneurship program. The curriculum we seek to create will be suited for those who are a little further out from obtaining credit ie: homeless, displaced individuals, families. Additionally, funding will support the creation of an entrepreneurship program through the utilization of the Indianpreneurship training. The overall goal is to create a safe, interactive non-criticial environment one which encourages self-reflection, learning and appropriate action. The training will cover business planning, marketing and planning, class recruitment and organization, instruction methods and current business development issues.

With no mass transit, family providers are often forced to travel great distances to get to work. Service delivery is expensive, difficult and often unavailable. Good permanent employment opportunities are limited. By larger state standards, there are no major employers. Locals are hard pressed to access not only basic services, but those projects that might improve their quality of life. Families must prioritize their depleted expenditures, and rent is one of the first bills to go unpaid. By far the largest service payments we have provided have been for rent and utility relief. The objectives of St. Vincenct de Paul include: providing a credible voice for and with those living in poverty, grow the Society, and enhance community awareness and acceptance, and develop a special mindfulness among youth, educate all members about the nature and importance of systemic change, and engage those living in poverty in our systemic change making processes, collaborate with, and develop relationships with other faith-based, educational and secular organizations to make poverty visible, create a culture of stewardship and fundraising to address poverty in all its forms. We go into homes and conduct a comprehensive resource and needs inventory with our friends to educate them about existing alternative services in the community, and examine their most immediate needs to help them out of their current situation. We do follow up to track their progress and offer support if problems persist. We plan to apply for funds for rent and utility relief.

As mentioned, the Alzheimer's Association serves the entire state. We have a staff of three people, and have an office in Sioux Falls. However, approximately one-third of the families we serve are from the Black Hills area. We do our best to make trips to the Black Hills nearly every other month, and then try to make the very best use of our time while there. For instance, we will schedule community educations, professional training at long-term care facilities, a fundraising committee meeting, as well as care consultations with families, all in one trip. Nevertheless, the travel costs do add up quickly. A better solution to this challenge, is to engage and train volunteers from the Black Hills Area to help deliver our services and make more resources available to families. Of course, some staff travel would still be required, but by recruiting an "army of volunteers" to help carry out our mission, we would increase our impact in the Black Hills area and raise awareness about what services are available. This grant would fund the initial travel and outreach expenses required to identify volunteers, develop relationships with them, and train them to deliver Alzheimer's Association programs. It would allow members of our staff to come to the Black Hills every month to cultivate the relationships need to build our volunteer base. We anticipate these relationships will boost not only the services we provide, but also our fundraising capacity, as more people learn about our organization. Finding the volunteers who will help us grow the Alzheimer's Association in this way, truly requires boots on the ground. This grant would fund those much-needed "boots".

CHCBH is proposing to implement the Diabetes Vision Screening: Improved Accessibility project which will help diabetic patients in the Black Hills improve their overall health and prevent blindness or loss of vision due to diabetes. CHCBH provides services to a population that suffers disproportionately from health disparities and multiple chronic illnesses, including diabetes. For patients with diabetes, the health consequences of untreated or unmanaged diabetes are severe. Over time, high blood glucose damages blood vessels and can lead to complications that affect the whole body, including vision problems, blindness, heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, nervous system problems, and risk of lower-limb loss. To help diabetic patients better manage their diabetes and improve their overall health, CHCBH’s registered dietitian/diabetes coordinator provides clinical case management for diabetic patients at no cost to all populations regardless of income or insurance status. The proposed Diabetes Vision Screening project will focus specifically on screening for diabetic retinopathy in diabetic patients, a new service to be offered at CHCBH. Diabetic retinopathy is a diabetes complication that can develop in anyone who has type 1 or type 2 diabetes. To address this health issue, CHCBH will use grants/donations to purchase a Welch Allyn RetinaVue 100 Imager which will allow CHCBH’s dietitian/diabetes coordinator to perform annual retinal examinations on diabetic patients at their regular visits and upload the images to the RetinaVue Network (CHCBH will also use BHACF funding to purchase a 36-month contract for the network services).

The HOPE Center is requesting funding to support the day-to-day operational costs of the Center which includes wages and benefits for a full-time Executive Director, a full-time Day Center Coordinator, a full-time Client Advocate, a full-time Programming Coordinator, and half-time Administrative Assistant. These positions provide our guests advocacy and case management-like services which support them with reaching goals and obtaining positive outcomes; perform program development and expansion of services to provide additional opportunities to our guests; participate in community collaborations, networking opportunities, and coalitions; coordinate and implement program goals; and ensure the HOPE Center continues to offer crucial and unduplicated services while working toward long-term sustainability. Funding will support the HOPE Center in providing all of its relationship-based services and programming including the day center, short and long-term storage, critical document storage, mail center, phone center, personal care and household items, Haircuts for HOPE and Spa-ghetti, daily devotional, Lifelong Learning classes, Alcoholics Anonymous, sewing class, Intro to Computers, beading and arts/crafts class, guest advocacy, and the Relationships for HOPE mentoring program. The funding will also allow us to continue to identify gaps in services in our community and seek solutions to fill those gaps while evolving to address our ever changing demographic and the ever increasing need in our community.

Black Hills Works is dealing with a DSP (Direct Support Professional) workforce crisis. DSP staff assist individuals with disabilities to lead a fulfilling life in the community. Without these qualified staff members, we are limited in assisting the people we serve to live full lives in the community. Combined with the high amount of responsibility called for in this position, it is challenging for Black Hills Works to remain a competitive employer as well as an effective service provider. The DSP staffing problem we need to address encompasses the following: Reimbursement rates for developmental disability services by the State of SD have not kept pace with actual costs which include staff wages and benefits. The average wage for DSPs at BHW is just $10.75/hour which equals an annual salary of $22,360/year. According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Living Wage Calculator, the living wage for a single parent with 2 children in Rapid City, SD is $25.53/hour. The poverty rate in that same household is $9.00/hour. Due to low and stagnant wages, BHW’s is experiencing vacancy and turnover rates in excess of 40%. With current funding levels, BHW’s struggles to recruit and retain a caring, qualified workforce because wages are not commensurate with the amount of responsibility required. Through the proposed Certification Program by the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP), BHW will implement professional credentialing through demonstrated skills and training.

Y~ME, Inc. sets goals to promote life choices that yield beneficial effects for individuals, family units, and the community as a whole. The organization's main focus has been in assisting at-risk youth and individuals struggling to overcome poverty and homelessness. Y~ME, Inc. is a fluid organization with ever changing outreach to cover gaps in existing services and bring innovative solutions to existing problematic areas of homelessness and poverty. The need to be addressed will be how to be "Successfully Poor" by navigating existing programs to maximize the use of available resources. The organization’s efforts are transformational because they take already existing programs and supplement with advocacy and recycled resources to help individuals in desperate situations find their way out of the cycle of poverty. In addressing these evident issues, gaps are bridged through supplemental help and/or connecting individuals with "out of the box". Transformation commences now and will continue as our program refuses to accept a belief of "lost causes" and to focus on a successfully poor belief that goes beyond existence to a quality of life to be sought and maintained.

Within this core area we focus on neighborhood revitalization by organizing Block Clubs and other
volunteer projects, working closely with city governments to address the affordable housing issues and being actively involved in policy making. NWDHR offers housing counseling to more than 200 households per year, has assisted 1,180 families into homeownership and completed over 650 rehabs, increasing the GDP of South Dakota by nearly $160M. Obtaining a home improvement loan, finding contractors, sifting through estimates and ensuring quality workmanship is a difficult, time-consuming process best left to those with familiarity of the entire process. NWDHR has experienced rehab managers and a cadre of vetted contractors able to assist homeowners successfully through the rehab process in a timely manner. The immediate goal of this request is to continue to be able to provide this valuable service while causing minimal harm to NWDHR’s bottom line. Currently, losses in the rehab program are being offset by gains from other services. Controlling losses in the short term will allow NWDHR time to retool the program so that it does not continue to generate financial concerns. The long-term goal of this project is to fine-tune aspects of the rehab program with an eye toward self-sustainability.

Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity builds and repairs homes, so families and individuals have a place they can call home. Our vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live. We seek to empower families by building, repairing and selling affordable homes to low-income families who live in temporary or substandard accommodations and do not have access to traditional sources of new home or home repair financing. The requested funding is to help cover program expenses to expand their Home Preservation program. The goal of the program is to help families stay in their current homes by completing critical repairs, eliminating the need for new housing to be constructed. They hope to expand the Home Preservation program to serve 7 families in 2018, 4 of which are rural. Historically, they serve 6 families, on average, per year through this program.

Youth

Then in 2015 when the Northern Hills Family Recreation Center brought the Boys & Girls Club on, it filled a great need that the community desperately needed. The Deadwood Rec and school district both decided to close their after-school programs one year after another. In turn, the Boys & Girls Club is essentially the only after school youth program between both the Lead and Deadwood communities. The summer and after school programming has expanded to serve well over 450 children . The Recreation Center wants to expand their services to other age groups in the community and offer a safe and encouraging environment to those seeking to incorporate wellness into their lifestyles. Now that the first phase of the capital campaign is complete, they are looking to launch the second phase of the campaign. Beyond classroom and community space, the NHFRC hopes to become a unifying community catalyst to help create and move forward ideas on whole person wellness and recreation in the community that is accessible, affordable, and equitable to everyone. This project will be used as a primer for growth among the Lead-Deadwood citizens in a physical, mental, nutritional, and grounded sense of life. We see our efforts leading to long-term growth in our community and an overall better quality and enjoyment of life. Funds requested would go to support continued renovation, expanding the use of community space, connecting people with nutritional guidance.

WellFully is the only organization in Western South Dakota that provides inpatient drug rehabilitation and residential behavioral healthcare for youth in crisis, serving more than 8000 kids since our inception. WellFully’s new Premier Adolescent Care Center will allow us to expand and offer care to this growing number of teens who need help and support to improve their lives. Obesity is an important issue that is facing kids in South Dakota. According to the Center for Disease Control, 32.2% of children and adolescents in South Dakota are overweight and obese. That number has quadrupled in adolescents since the 1980s. Studies show that lack of physical activity and poor diet are direct factors of obesity. Furthermore, there is increasing evidence showing the mental health benefits of exercise in children. According to a study published in Pediatrics (Hillman, 2014) children who were assigned a nine month after-school physical activity program showed greater aerobic fitness than did the control group. They also demonstrated greater attention span and cognitive flexibility. Therefore, one of the ways WellFully will face this challenge is by providing physical fitness opportunities at our Center in the form of a multisports court so that children can engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity of basketball, volleyball or handball. Sadly, there are only three schools in South Dakota which have mandatory daily physical education classes and they are not located in Rapid City. Physical education may only be offered on a single semester basis, leaving two thirds of the school year without gym classes. Therefore, the activity our youth take part in at our Care Center may be the only aerobic activity they will have during their school week.

Black Hills Center for Equality (BHCFE) is seeking funding to support LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming low income youth. 'Free to Be' is is a program consisting of two support groups: one for 12-15 year-olds and another for 16-20 year-olds. It is a therapeutic support group for youth questioning their gender and/or sexuality. The intent of this group is to create a safe supportive environment for young people to develop skills to form authentic relationships, decrease isolation, improve mood, reduce anxiety, practice self-acceptance, and engage in self-compassion. These groups are being led by two local counselors: Mahala Bach and Irene Temple-Summers. Participation in these programs is fee-based and requires permission of the parents. While there is a high demand for this support, there are families who are unable to afford the fees for their children to access this service. The BHCFE is seeking funding to help support scholarship for low-income youth to be able to access this program and to assist with supplies and other supportive materials for therapeutic projects and activities. We have established strong relationships with several area youth groups including the Gay/Straight Alliance at Central High, the Gay/Straight Alliance at Rapid City High School, and Out in STEM at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, and would be able to extend our offerings to this service to youth through schools and other youth groups.

The Boys & Girls Club’s mission is to enable all young people, especially those who need services most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Boys & Girls Clubs of the Black Hills is comprised of 3 Clubs located in Hill City, Hot Springs & Lead/Deadwood. We serve more than 800 youth in grades K-12 through after school & summer programming. With the highest percentage of available parents in the workforce, we know that too many youths in South Dakota are left to find their own recreation and companionship at home without supervision. Youth receive intentional programming in academic success, healthy lifestyles, character, leadership and STEAM. Their main goal is to be able to offer free summer programming to all community youth in grades K-12 in Hill City, Hot Spring and Lead-Deadwood. And with a 60% increase in summer attendance over the past 2 years, the Boys & Girls Club can use all the support they can get.

The operational/institutional capacity BBBSBH lacks is updated technology (updated computer workstations) for our case managers. BBBSBH was notified this year by Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) that they voted and approved to build a brand new technology solution that will replace the current Agency Information Management database (AIM) that BBBSBH uses for case management nationwide. This brand new technology solution increases our yearly affiliate fees to BBBSA by 55% (effective 2019), not including new software and needed technology equipment upgrades. BBBSBH's current computer workstations are seven years old, which lack the technology to support the new system. With the new computer workstations, BBBSBH will better be able to meet our mission and goals by being able to access the new system provided by BBBSA which allows our agency to: Serve more children as a result of saved staff time and increased efficiency. Recruit more volunteer Bigs as a result of a modern, intuitive enrollment process. Run reports easily to more fully understand constituents. Capture additional data on all activities and services provided. Make informed decisions about recruitment and engagement, including which programs are most effective for recruitment and lead to the strongest matches. See a fuller picture of our matches and metrics to strengthen our Agency's performance and our Littles' outcomes. The new system allows the agency staff to: Make quality matches quickly using comprehensive, searchable data. Ensure potential Bigs stay engaged throughout the enrollment process by connecting them to our Agency.This new system also allows us to fully demonstrate the impact of all our mentoring programs for our community. There is not one area of a match that isn't run or completed through this system. Without it, BBBSBH will not be in compliance with BBBSA Standards.

Today, Girl Scouts is, as it always has been, the organization best positioned to help girls develop critical life skills they need to become the next generation of leaders and to change the world in big and small ways! Girl Scouting is unique in that we address specific aspects of girls' lives to improve their safety and well-being and to engage girls in leadership-based learning experiences. Specifically, the Girl Scout Leadership Experience Program focuses on four pillars of learning, namely, life skills, entrepreneurship, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), and the outdoors. Throughout the Black Hills area a very dedicated group of volunteers plans learning activities on a year-round basis, along with each Girl Scout troop actively engaged in skill-building projects. Additional learning opportunities are offered year-round by Girl Scout staff based in Rapid City including camps, workshops and other skill-building activities. The content of the Girl Scout curriculum is correlated by grade level to meet state and national standards in education. Through our outcome-based curriculum, girls learn about themselves and their values and stretch to seek and meet challenges beyond what they might in other settings. Girls also learn to connect with friends, family, and community to create positive relationships and band together on issues of importance to them. In addition, girls are challenged to look and think critically at the world around them and consider how they can best address significant problems they are passionate about solving. Your donated dollars will help to support local program services and offer financial assistance to girls from low-income families.

Two indicators that illuminate the problem we are trying to solve: 50% of Native students in South Dakota graduate from high school, compared to 90% of their white peers; and reservation schools receive 0.8 applications per teaching vacancy. At TFA-SD, we are working toward the day when all Lakota children will be able to practice self-determination. Despite the hard work of talented teachers, committed families, and bright children, our education system does not work to ensure that all Lakota students are able to transcend the systemic challenges of poverty and racism to do whatever they want with their lives. Schools in our communities lack the resources and infrastructure to help students overcome the additional challenges of poverty and the resulting outcomes further reinforce prevailing beliefs about the intractability of the problem. To address this, TFA recruits, trains, and develops exceptional, diverse leaders from our communities and from across the country to teach for at least two years in our state’s most underserved schools. Our activities are rooted in the idea that human capital and transformational leadership are the most important criteria in improving schools and in movement-building. We provide a pipeline of leaders, recruited from top college students and professionals, to our state’s most under-resourced schools. Our corps members teach in nine school districts across the Pine Ridge, Rosebud, and Standing Rock reservations. Close to 100 percent of the nearly 3,000 students in our classrooms are Lakota.

Children’s Home Child Advocacy Center (CAC) located in Rapid City provides a safe, child-friendly location for conducting expert forensic interviews of children who are alleged victims of sexual or physical abuse, or both. Children who have witnessed severe or extensive violence are also interviewed. CAC’s goal is to reduce a child’s trauma by eliminating repeated interviews and medical examinations by multiple investigative parties. An interagency, team approach is used to ensure prompt investigations of the child’s experience. A single interview is conducted by a CAC forensic interviewer who is specially trained in interviewing children for child abuse. This interview is recorded and viewed through closed-circuit television by child protection caseworkers and law enforcement to ensure all necessary information is gathered. In some cases, a medical examination may be necessary and is coordinated through CAC with a pediatric health care provider who specializes in the evaluation of child abuse. Information from both the examination and forensic interview may be used as evidence in child abuse investigations.
After the forensic interview, child victims and non-offending caregivers meet with a child and family advocate to help answer questions, guide families through the court process, and connect the family to needed resources – such as referrals to mental health support. Referrals to CAC generally are provided by law enforcement and Child Protection Services. All interview and advocacy services are provided to child victims and their families at no cost. Nearly 76% of CAC’s operating revenue comes from grants and charitable support from philanthropic organizations and individuals. Support of this program is the basis of this request.

Grants/donations will support us in our work as it is essential to the effectiveness of our programming to train our counselors in evidence-based programs and support their professional development. Their college degrees and certification as addiction counselors is added assurance that the work they do will be utilizing the most up-to-date research in preventing, intervening and treating teen addiction. We have seen an increase in Rapid City students who are reporting significant substance abuse issues. There is an increase in accessibility in our community to marijuana, meth, heroin, and opioids in our community. This increase is supported by research by the "South Dakota Opioid Abuse Needs Assessment" document issued in July 2017 by the SD Department of Health. In order to address this challenge, Lifeways reviewed several professional programs listed on the national register for approved programs on Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA), We selected the Adolescent-Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA), which is also approved by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

American Indian populations are disproportionally affected by a variety of health and social problems, including early initiation of drug and alcohol use, low rates of high school graduation, high unemployment and high suicide rates. Risk behaviors that negatively impact the long-term health and education outcomes of American Indian students are a systemic problem in South Dakota. In addition to substance abuse, these risk behaviors can include gang involvement, bullying, violence, self-harm and suicidal ideation. LCH seeks to form healthy students with a strong Lakota identity by providing 70 lessons over a 7-year period for 2nd through 8th grades.
Participating students receive a 45-minute lesson in a classroom setting, with additional activities to be completed at home or in the community. The lessons incorporate a Medicine Wheel, a Talking Circle, and a toolkit containing all of the classroom materials, literature and audio recordings necessary to complete the lesson plans. Each year the lessons are scaled, expanded, and enriched by grade level using age-appropriate and culturally based pedagogical methodologies. All lessons incorporate the South Dakota Content Standards and comply with the Oceti Sakowin Essential Understanding Standards of the S.D. Department of Indian Education.
The school-based curriculum is delivered in the classroom by LCH-certified facilitators (typically school district staff) who have received a two-day Train the Trainer lesson from LCH program staff. LCH-certified school staff will, ideally, be members of one of the Lakota, Dakota or Nakota tribes with a working knowledge of the Lakota language, cultural practices, and traditions. The program also utilizes non-American Indian instructors, if necessary, who are given cultural and historical training. LCH staff serves as mentors to the non-Lakota instructors so that they are not only oriented to the understanding and application of the curriculum but also strengthened in their cultural competency and awareness.

Camp Invention at Black Hill State University is a collaboration between NIHF and the Rapid City and Spearfish communities, impacting 173+ community members, including children, educators and volunteers. A grant of $10,000 allows 57+ underserved K-6 graders to participate in the program. At a Free and Reduced Lunch Rate of 47% in Rapid City and 29% in Spearfish, the districts have many families who lack the financial resources to afford out-of-school learning opportunities. Unfortunately, that means their children are in danger of experiencing severe summer learning loss and enduring the achievement gap found to happen in low-income households. Inspiring children to be confident about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) is crucial as we educate the next generation: careers in STEM are the fastest growing segment, yet they go unfilled due to a lack of an educated and qualified talent pool. According to the National Science Board, "providing a solid science foundation before children enter secondary school should be the single most important step in improving science education in this country." Camp Invention combats disinterest and empowers participants through activities that show a career in STEM can be exciting.

The Camp POSTCARD (Peace Officers Striving to Create and Reinforce Dreams) experience provides underserved youth with a challenging and fun outdoor curriculum focusing on their self-esteem, leadership and teamwork building activities. A strong anti-drug/alcohol message runs through the week-long camp as youth experience positive mentorships and build trusting and longstanding rapport with their counselors who are law enforcement officers from their respective home communities. These relationships continue as officers and youth return to work and school back in their home communities. Camp POSTCARD youth are selected by their potential to benefit significantly from the camp experience and their economic limitations that may prevent attendance and access to this life-changing opportunity. Camp is provided without cost so that these youngsters may attend at no cost to themselves or their families. Goals for Camp are providing life changing impacts for these youth that are positive approaches to life and lessons that will stay with them as they grow and come through the challenges of growing up in sometimes difficult circumstances. As approximately 80 youth come to Camp, they will come to know hometown positive role models. They learn that they are valued. Life skills, self-respect, leadership, team building and the self-realization that they have the potential to live healthy and happy lives will propel positive futures for these young people as they grow into responsible adults and community leaders.

Equine Assisted Activity and Therapy may include occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, psychotherapy, counseling, psychosocial rehabilitation, and recreational therapy depending on the needs of the rider. This type of program can help those who are challenged with ADD/ADHD; Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cerebral Palsy, developmental delays, Down Syndrome, learning disabilities, MS, stroke; Muscular Dystrophy, PTSD, Scoliosis, Spina Bifada and youth at risk, to mention a few. Demonstrated improvements include better balance, coordination, core strength, muscle tone, flexibility, circulation, and breathing and helps to focus attention, listening to and executing directions, learning patterns, and mastering control of the horse. We are seeking funds to purchase portable aluminum bleachers to use in our riding arena so that parents, friends and family members can watch our riders demonstrate their skills during our practice sessions as well as at our special events. Currently, we have no bleachers and when we hold an event, guests have to bring lawn chairs which makes viewing difficult without standing or to see around people that are standing. We want to provide a safe viewing area for all of our spectators. It is much safer to have people up on a bleacher type of seat rather than ground level where the riders are galloping inside the arena.

A severe lack of space at our E. Adams St. facility limits our outreach to children and families at the same time that the poverty rate for this group in Rapid City has climbed to 20.8%. Of all children currently in YFS’ direct service programs, up to 85% live in poverty, 75% live in single-parent households, 50% are from a racial/ethnic minority population, and up to 35% are homeless or live in unstable or inadequate housing situations. YFS has waiting lists for counseling, childcare, afterschool/summer, and case management programs. What YFS hopes to accomplish is to better meet the needs of underserved families. YFS’ E. Adams St. Building Expansion Project will allow us to serve an additional 2,115 children and their families (900 very low income, 900 low income, and 315 moderate income persons/households annually). The new two-story wing will add 67,525 sq. ft. of program space and 32,794 sq. ft. of outdoor learning and play space. The building will feature 14 infant/toddler classrooms, seven preschool classrooms, six school-age classrooms, offices, staff workrooms, a small gym for gross motor activity, space for the Fatherhood and Stronger Family Programs, a greenhouse classroom, and space for the Maintenance Dept. Health Advocacy program offices and a new afterschool/summer program for middle school youth will be housed in a remodeled portion of the existing building. Girls Inc. and Nutrition Services will remain in their current locations.