This month is a very special month for the Cheyenne River Youth Project. We have now officially been serving our community for 25 years.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the story, we opened our doors in 1988; our first home was the former Little Brown Jug bar on Eagle Butte's Main Street. We became known affectionately as "The Main," and we dedicated ourselves to providing Cheyenne River's children with a safe, nurturing, positive place to learn, create, play and enjoy healthy meals and snacks, giving those most at risk a real opportunity to develop into healthy, well-rounded individuals. 

We've grown a lot, adding our 4,500-square-foot youth center (still called "The Main") and 26,000-square-foot Cokata Wiconi teen center in 1999 and 2006, respectively. We also now incorporate a 2-acre, naturally grown garden called Winyan Toka Win, and we operate the reservation-wide Family Services program.

The Old Main, founded 1988.

It can seem like a lot has changed, but at its heart, CRYP is the same organization. We are here to take care of our local youth, to teach them to be proud of themselves and their identity; to easy the daily burdens on their families; and to support the growth of self-sufficient, vibrant communities across Cheyenne River. We've been pursuing that mission for 25 years, and we anticipate continuing to do so for another 25.

To commemorate this milestone in our history, our staff and volunteers are working hard on a yearlong calendar of special events. These events will take place each month from now until September 2014; we're kicking off the celebrations with our Harvest Festival on October 9.

We hope you can join us for some of these events, because we couldn't have reached the 25-year mark without your ongoing friendship and support. Thanks to you, we're serving our second generation of kids, and we've been able to stay true to our grassroots origins. So this yearlong celebration is rightfully yours, as well.