Volunteer with CRYP
This Fall!
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CRYP is actively seeking volunteers to work in our Cokata Wiconi teen center and The Main youth center.
If you are interested in applying for our volunteer program, please visit our website and click on the volunteer link for more information.
You also can read our recent article about our volunteer program here.
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| Sponsor Enrichment Activities for CRYP Youth
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The Main youth center and Cokata Wiconi teen center are looking for sponsors to support art and athletic enrichment activities for our after-school and summer programs.
CRYP works hard to introduce the youth who attend our centers to the fundamentals of a healthy lifestyle. As part of these efforts, we will be offering weeklong lacrosse workshops in the upcoming months for both children and teens. In order to hold these classes, we will need to purchase lacrosse balls, sticks, padding, and goal sets.
The art program at CRYP is also looking to expand in the upcoming months. We are looking to introduce kids to many different forms of artistic expression, including graffiti art, pottery, and painting. To allow the kids to experiment with these new art forms, we will have many diverse needs including canvases, paint, paint brushes, clay, glazing supplies, pottery supplies, acrylic paint, spray paint, exterior paint, and sealant.
We are actively looking for people willing to make monetary or in-kind donations to fulfill these needs. You can donate online by clicking the link below or by mailing donations to the Cheyenne River Youth Project, P.O. Box 410, Eagle Butte, SD 57625.
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Sponsor a Birthday Cake at The Main!
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Few days in a child's life are as precious as his or her birthday. Unfortunately, for far too many underprivileged children, that day passes with little celebration - if any at all. CRYP wants to make sure that the young children who attend The Main youth center have the birthday festivities they deserve.
Each month, The Main hosts a birthday party for the children whose birthdays fall during that month. To offset the cost of each party, CRYP seeks monthly sponsors to contribute $40 for the birthday cake. Please consider sponsoring a birthday cake in 2014-15! Every dollar makes such a difference in the lives of Cheyenne River's children.
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Meet Our
Board of Directors
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PRESIDENT
Jeremy Patterson
VICE PRESIDENT
Karla Abbott
SECRETARY/TREASURER
Jeffrey Meyer
DIRECTORS
Guthrie Ducheneaux
Peggy Gallipo
Lonnie Heier
For more info and bios, click
here!
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Support CRYP When You Shop Online!
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What if CRYP earned a donation every time you searched the Internet? Or, what if a percentage of every online purchase you made supported our cause?
Amazon, for example, will donate 0.5% of your purchase price to CRYP when you shop at smile.amazon.com. To make shopping even easier, you can add the AmazonSmile 1 Button to your web browser.
Then there are GoodSearch and GoodShop.
GoodSearch.com is a Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up.
GoodShop.com is an online shopping mall that donates up to 30% of each purchase to your favorite cause. Hundreds of great stores have teamed up with GoodShop so that every time you place an order, you'll be supporting your favorite cause.
And, if you download the
"GoodSearch - Cheyenne River Youth Project - CRYP toolbar," our cause will earn money every time you shop and search online EVEN if you forget to go to the GoodShop or GoodSearch sites first! Click here to add the toolbar.
While you're online, you even can make a secure donation with your Capital One credit card. Simply click here. You even can add an easy-to-use widget for future contributions.
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| Needs List |
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CRYP relies on in-kind donations as well as funding to continue our mission. If you'd like to help, please check out our
Needs List. You also may contact us at (605) 964-8200 if you'd like a copy of our most up-to-date list and price quotes for particular needs. Thank you for your support!
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| Our Mission |
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The Cheyenne River Youth Project is dedicated to providing the youth of the Cheyenne River reservation with access to a vibrant and secure future through a variety of culturally sensitive and enduring programs, projects and facilities, ensuring strong, self-sufficient families and communities.
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CRYP Releases RedCan Trailer
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| CRYP's three-minute trailer, with highlights from the inaugural RedCan graffiti jam in July 2015. |
It's been more than six weeks since CRYP hosted the groundbreaking
RedCan graffiti jam, yet the momentum continues, and word continues to spread.
CRYP has just released a three-minute trailer (click on image above to view), featuring highlights from the inaugural RedCan event, and a full-length, 12-minute version also is available on
YouTube.
RedCan took place on July 8-9 in Eagle Butte and on July 11 in Rapid City's Art Alley.
Participating artists included East Foster from Denver, Kazilla from Miami, Meme from California, Siamese from Rapid City, and Daesk, Biafra Inc. and Wundr from Minnesota's Twin Cities. The artists painted at various sites around the community as well as in the Waniyetu Wowapi Art Park, working alongside native and youth artists and eliciting powerful support from community members.
"It's difficult to describe, the magic that happened on Cheyenne River," said Julie Garreau, CRYP's executive director. "I'm still stunned by it, from the boundless creative energy to the spirit of camaraderie and fellowship among so many different people from different walks of life. Beautiful work was created, yes, but more importantly, RedCan inspired and lifted up an entire community. It was extraordinary, and it was the most powerful demonstration of the healing power of art that I've ever seen."
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Annual School Supplies Drive Serves 500+ Children
On Wednesday, August 19, CRYP hosted its annual
School Supplies Drive distribution in the Cokata Wiconi teen center's gymnasium. Now, just days later, the nearly 27-year-old, not-for-profit youth project has already provided 88 families and 350 children - from Headstart through high school - with the school supplies they need to start the new school year off right.
What's more, an additional 50 families have contacted CRYP, indicating that they weren't able to attend the distribution but will be coming to pick up their supplies in the coming days. That means this year's School Supplies Drive will serve another 150 to 200 children.
Much-needed supplies include backpacks, protractors, compasses, calculators, mechanical pencils, writing tablets, fat pencils, fat crayons, folders, pencil cases, notebook paper, kid-friendly scissors, erasers, glue sticks, pencils, pens and rulers. This annual distribution is part of CRYP's Family Services program, which was founded in 2002 to manage the organization's influx of in-kind donations throughout the year.
"Students and families who attended the distribution event last Wednesday were able to choose which supplies they wanted, and which styles and colors were their favorites," said Tammy Eagle Hunter, CRYP's youth programs director. "And anyone coming in after that day still will be able to take home a pre-filled backpack loaded with supplies."
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CRYP Receives $25K Native Agriculture & Food Systems Grant
CRYP has
received a $25,000 Native Agriculture & Food Systems Grant from the Longmont, Colorado-based First Nations Development Institute. These funds will allow the nearly 27-year-old, not-for-profit youth organization to continue developing its Winyan Toka Win ("Leading Lady") micro farm operation.
CRYP started the
Winyan Toka Win garden in 1999. In the beginning, it was a simple, naturally grown garden designed to provide fresh produce for meals and snacks at The Main youth center. Today, it's a veritable micro farm. Not only does the 2-acre property continue to support healthy meals and snacks for 4- to 12-year-olds at The Main and teens at the Cokata Wiconi teen center, it also provides fresh and processed foods for the weekly Leading Lady Farmers Market, the farm-to-table Keya Cafe & Coffeeshop, and the Keya Gift Shop.
In addition, CRYP engages young children in the garden through its summertime Garden Club program, and teens learn valuable job and life skills through an innovative garden internship program. Community members are regularly invited to participate in special classes that teach valuable skills such as canning and making traditional foods like wojapi.
"As Lakota people, our connection to the earth is a fundamental part of who we are," said Julie Garreau, CRYP's executive director. "Our sustainable agriculture initiatives demonstrate our commitment not only to food security, but to reconciliation, healing, and holistic wellness. Reconnecting to the land and taking an active role in producing nourishing, healthy foods for our communities support our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being as a people."
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Partner of the Month:
Hopa Mountain
This month, we would like to highlight a very special partner that has joined with us many times as we seek to lift up our community from within. Bozeman, Montana-based Hopa Mountain is a not-for-profit organization that invests in rural and tribal citizen leaders, adults and youth, who are working to improve education, ecological health and economic development within their communities.
Hopa Mountain offers a seven principal leadership training programs throughout the year. They are: Hopa Mountain StoryMakers, Youth Leadership Programs, Indigenous and Latino Scholars of Promise, Native Science Fellowships, Strengthening the Circle - Native Nonprofit Leadership Programs, Citizen Leader Workshops and Nonprofit Leadership Training/Affiliate Programs.
"Through the years, Hopa Mountain has been a steadfast supporter of what we're doing here on Cheyenne River," said Julie Garreau, CRYP's executive director. "I graduated from its native nonprofit leadership program, and these days, I help with the leadership workshops. Hopa Mountain has brought me, and CRYP, so far."
Learn more about Hopa Mountain and its partnership with CRYP here!
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August Hall of Fame:
Nate Widow
Here at CRYP, one of our greatest joys is to see our kids grow up, realize their true potential, and pursue their treasured dreams for the future. This month, we'd like to shine the spotlight on one of those kids.
Nate Widow, 20, started coming to the Cokata Wiconi ("Center of Life") teen center in 2001, when he was in 8th grade. He says he first started visiting the center to take advantage of open gym, and after that, he was a regular.
"CRYP is so important for youth in our community, because it really does provide a safe place to express yourself," he says. "The staff members and volunteers wholeheartedly care about you, and wish you nothing but the best. I was always into basketball, and the gym gave me a place to express myself. Now, there's the Waniyetu Wowapi ("Winter Count") Art Park, where young people who love art can express their personalities and passions.
"It's one of the places I always go and visit," he adds, "because it's so much a part of me and my success."
Learn more about Nate's story here!
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NOW HIRING:
Development Director
The Cheyenne River Youth Project® is still seeking a development director to join its staff full time. The salaried position will include benefits, with salary dependent on the select candidate's qualifications, and the position is available immediately.
The nearly 27-year-old, not-for-profit youth organization has experienced dramatic growth in recent years. Founded in 1988, CRYP began as a small, volunteer-run youth center for 4- to 12-year-olds in an old bar building on Eagle Butte's Main Street; today, the youth project operates the new incarnation of The Main youth center (1999) as well as the Cokata Wiconi teen center (2006), the Winyan Toka Win organic garden (1999), the farm-to-table Keya Cafe (2014), the new Waniyetu Wowapi Art Park (2014), and the highly valued Family Services program (2002) at its East Lincoln Street campus.
"For us to continue pursuing our mission and long-term vision for CRYP as a holistic wellness facility for youth and an authentic gathering place for our community, we urgently need a development director to manage our growth activities," said Julie Garreau, CRYP's executive director. "And, while we would prefer to have that person on site in Eagle Butte or within reasonable commuting distance from our campus, we are open to hiring an off-site candidate who is willing to travel to CRYP several times a year, provided he or she is a good fit for us."
For details regarding the application process, and for a full position description, visit our Employment & Internships page.
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WE NEED YOU!
Volunteer Positions Are Available Now
As summer draws to a close, CRYP staff members at the are facing a critical shortage:
VOLUNTEERS!!!
In late August and into the fall months, CRYP needs to staff its Main youth center and Cokata Wiconi teen center, operate the Keya Cafe and Keya Gift Shop, stage the weekly Leading Lady Farmers Market, manage Family Services distributions, and harvest the Winyan Toka Win garden; its staff is simply too small to manage the entire East Lincoln Street campus without volunteer support.
Most people may not be aware that CRYP relies heavily on volunteer support to keep its doors open, its programs running, and its services flowing to the Cheyenne River community. The youth project welcomes individuals and groups for short- and long-term stays.
"In the beginning, it likely was more obvious," said Tammy Eagle Hunter, CRYP's youth programs director. "When the youth project began in 1988 in a run-down former bar on Main Street, it was 100-percent volunteer-run. Although we've expanded to include The Main, Cokata Wiconi, Family Services, Winyan Toka Win garden, Keya Cafe and Coffeeshop, Waniyetu Wowapi Art Park, and full-time staff, we still depend on volunteer support. We simply couldn't continue with our mission in the community without our volunteers."
Learn more about our volunteer program, and how to apply, here!
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Thank you so much for your interest in our youth project, and for your ongoing support as we pursue our mission in the community.
To learn more about the Cheyenne River Youth Project and its programs, and for information about making donations and volunteering, call (605) 964-8200 or visit
www.lakotayouth.org. And, to stay up to date on the latest CRYP news and events, follow the youth project on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Sincerely,
All of us at the
Cheyenne River Youth Project
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