THANK YOU to
DQ & the Cheyenne River Community!
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We're excited to report that the 2013 Sweet Tooth for Youth fundraiser raised $1,507 to support CRYP's youth programming and services - and Lonnie and Jackie Heier of the Eagle Butte Dairy Queen have generously volunteered to donate the balance required to reach our goal of $2,000. Lonnie told us they were happy to do it. "Anyone can write a check," he said, "but what you and your team do is life-changing for so many children. It's inspirational."
As a special thank you to the Heiers, children at The Main painted a sign that now hangs in DQ. They also started some flowers from seeds and planted them in the DQ flower pots, where everyone can enjoy them.
From all of us at CRYP: Thank you, Lonnie and Jackie! And a heartfelt thanks to all the members of the Cheyenne River community who turned out in droves to support us last month. We're deeply grateful to each and every one of you.
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| Shop at Cokata Wiconi! |  |
For those seeking memorable gifts that will support a worthy cause, check out CRYP's Cokata Wiconi Gift Shop, located within the teen center. The shop is overflowing with homemade food items, created with produce from the 2-acre naturally grown Winyan Toka Win Garden. These include corncob jelly, jalape�o jelly, spicy apple chutney, mild and spicy salsa, pickled jalape�os, dried corn, dried tea, apple butter, zucchini pasta sauce and dried jalape�os and chili peppers.
Making use of traditional Lakota foods, the gift shop also features wild plum jelly, wild grape jelly, chokecherry jelly, chokecherry syrup and dried turnips. The staff and volunteers are still hard at work preparing foods for the gift shop, so there is more to come - including strawberry and raspberry jam.
The youth project also sells postcards, ceramic coasters and CRYP T-shirts and sweatshirts through the gift shop, as well as shirts screen-printed on site at the youth project. In addition, the gift shop features prints of "Four Horsemen of the Lakota," a painting by renowned artist and Rosebud Sioux tribal member Lynn Burnette Sr. The prints are available in three sizes.
Every dollar goes to benefit our youth programs and services. To place an order, call (605) 964-8200 today.
Or, if you'd rather order online, simply call us so we can determine your shipping costs, and then make your payment via the "Help CRYP" link at www.lakotayouth.org!
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| Sponsor a Birthday Cake at the Main! |  | |
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 2013! 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 Holly A. Annis VICE PRESIDENT Jeremy Patterson TREASURER Guthrie Ducheneaux DIRECTORS Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy Betsy Mitchell Peggy Gallipo Jeffrey Meyer For more info and bios, click here! |
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Support CRYP with
GoodSearch.com & GoodShop.com!
| 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?
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.
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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! |
| 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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From the Executive Director:
 Dear Friends,
Summer is here, and that always marks a busy time here at the Cheyenne River Youth Project. Now that the kids are out of school, they're looking for things to do... and our staff and volunteers are ready to meet the challenge! Already we've hosted a Sixth-Grade Lock-In, our June Culture Camp, International Night, the season opener for our 2013 Midnight Basketball program and a NETA fitness training certification weekend. All that, plus our regular open hours, complete with healthy meals and snacks, wellness activities, arts and crafts, movies and so much more.
We also officially kicked off the summer growing season with a special blessing and planting session in our 2-acre, naturally grown, pesticide-free Winyan Toka Win garden. The garden is currently three-quarters planted, and Craig Martin, our summer garden coordinator, is busy putting together garden-centric programs for the 4- to 12-year-olds who attend The Main as well as the teens who attend the Cokata Wiconi teen center.  As you'll read below, we did receive a NWAF grant that will allow us to expand our sustainable agriculture initiatives, for which we are deeply grateful. Yet additional fundraising remains necessary. We recently learned that we need to purchase new lawnmowers and a wood chipper. Every dollar at CRYP is carefully budgeted, including every dollar in grant awards, so we're turning to you for help. These new machines are important to our garden and land-management programs here in Eagle Butte, so please consider making a contribution toward their purchase; simply click the "Donate Now" button below, and you can make a contribution through PayPal.
Thank you so very much for your friendship and support. We appreciate it more than we can tell you, and we'll be excited to share photos from our Winyan Toka Win garden throughout the summer months and into the harvest season. Pilamaye,
Julie Garreau
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 CRYP Receives NWAF Grant for Garden,
Hires Summer Garden Coordinator
This summer is going to be a big one for CRYP! Thanks to a grant from the Northwest Area Foundation and a nationwide grassroots fundraising campaign, the nearly 25-year-old, not-for-profit youth organization has been able to undertake a major expansion of its sustainable agriculture initiatives.
NWAF supports efforts across eight states to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable prosperity, focusing on organizations that are doing innovative, cutting-edge work. Its $65,000 grant to CRYP will allow the youth project to hire a sustainable agriculture coordinator and will provide the means to construct eight Farmers Market stands, build an additional garden shed and purchase supplies for managing the 2-acre, naturally grown, pesticide-free Winyan Toka Win garden.
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Craig Martin, CRYP's summer garden coordinator, works with local kids in the 2-acre Winyan Toka Win garden.
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"We're deeply grateful for NWAF's support, since we now have the resources to meaningfully pursue our vision for our garden as well as for additional sustainable systems initiatives like the Farmers Market, the Keya Cafe and our gift shop," said Julie Garreau, CRYP's executive director.
Although CRYP has not yet hired a sustainable agriculture coordinator, it is actively advertising the position nationwide. In the meantime, the youth project has hired former volunteer Craig Martin to serve as its summertime garden coordinator.
Martin helped to kick off this year's growing season on Memorial Day, when CRYP hosted a special garden blessing in Winyan Toka Win. To learn more about Martin, the May 25 garden blessing and the launch of the summer season, click here!
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CRYP Welcomes Tammy Eagle Hunter as New Youth Programs Director
CRYP has announced that Tammy Eagle Hunter will serve as youth programs director for the nearly 25-year-old, not-for-profit organization starting this summer. Eagle Hunter is replacing Megan Guiliano, who will remain on site to mentor Eagle Hunter from May until July.
In her new role, Eagle Hunter will be responsible for program development and implementation at CRYP's Cokata Wiconi teen center and The Main youth center; youth and community outreach; grant writing and management; local fundraising; and managing CRYP organizational partnerships. She also will handle orientation, training and evaluations of new staff and volunteers.
Eagle Hunter was born and raised on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, and she is a tribal member. She graduated from Cheyenne-Eagle Butte High School and has completed coursework at Si Tanka Huron University, Presentation College and Oglala Lakota College in pursuit of her Bachelor of Arts degree in social work. "I really like the not-for-profit arena, and I love doing something for my community," Eagle Hunter said. "I want to give our children a better future. That's what I want to do with my life." To learn more about Eagle Hunter and her vision for youth programming, click here.
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June Marks First-Ever Culture Camp, Plus Special "International Night"
 CRYP launched its first Culture Camp of the summer on Monday, June 3 at the Cokata Wiconi teen center in Eagle Butte. The camp was open to youth ages 4 to 18, and it ran every day that week from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Fifteen children attended this inaugural event; highlights included two days of learning traditional arts with Ray Dupris - projects included ledger paintings, dream catchers, parfleches, beading and canvas painting - and traditional cooking with Tammy Eagle Hunter, CRYP's youth programs director.
The camp ended on Friday, June 7 with the eagerly anticipated "International Night," which was open free to community members of all ages. On this one special evening, volunteers and staff members prepared foods native to their countries and regions, offering a unique and memorable opportunity for cultural exchange. The current volunteer corps is multinational, which allowed CRYP to create a truly globe-trotting experience.
Volunteer Karen Reed hails from New York and Florida, and she shared traditional foods in the African-American community. Mariel Kennedy is from New Jersey, but she focused on her Russian heritage. Dan Woods is from London and prepared English cuisine, while German volunteers Petra Haselier and Judith Tomann shared their country and culture.
The CRYP staff got in on the action as well. Eagle Hunter and Tasina Smith, youth programs assistant, covered native foods. Megan Guiliano, youth programs director emeritus, and Jonathan Stuart-Moore, technology coordinator, prepared Southern comfort foods from Stuart-Moore's native North Carolina. Anthony Potter, youth programs assistant, cooked some favorite American classics, while Craig Martin, CRYP's new garden coordinator, put a fun twist on food from his home state of Indiana.
"We had about 50 people attend International Night, which was a great turnout," Eagle Hunter said. "The kids really loved the food because a lot of it was sweet! We also did a little art show of the pieces they did during Culture Camp, which was fun for everyone."
CRYP's Culture Camps will take place the first week of each summer month. We'll post information about the July camp on our website as soon as it becomes available!
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2013 Midnight Basketball Season Kicked Off on Friday, June 7
 The 2013 Midnight Basketball season kicked off at 9 p.m. on Friday, June 7 at CRYP's Cokata Wiconi teen center. Approximately 75 teens attended the season opener, which included a special MBB breakfast from 12 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Saturday. More than half the teens stayed at Cokata Wiconi to enjoy fresh, hot pancakes and bacon before heading home. "We're very happy with the success of our season opener, and with our first MBB breakfast," said Julie Garreau, CRYP's executive director. "We'd like to host more breakfasts in the future, and we're hoping to get the parents involved, so this becomes even more of a community-wide, family-friendly event during the summer." Created in 1996 by a former long-term CRYP volunteer, Midnight Basketball remains one of the youth project's most successful programs. Held every Friday night from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. in the Cokata Wiconi gymnasium, MBB is open to youth ages 13 to 18 and includes music and refreshments. Throughout the June-to-August summer season, teens may participate in pick-up games as well as organized activities inspired by the NBA All-Star Game, such as a dunk contest, a three-point shootout and a skills challenge. The season culminates with a 5-on-5 tournament, and the top three teams win prizes. "We don't have malls, movie theaters, bowling alleys or arcades on the reservation, so Midnight Basketball provides one of the only positive outlets that Cheyenne River's youth have on a Friday night," said Tammy Eagle Hunter, CRYP's youth programs director and longtime wellness coordinator. "The activities are so much fun that even kids who normally get into trouble around town choose to come to Cokata Wiconi to play ball and hang out with their friends rather than stay on the streets." To learn more about CRYP's Midnight Basketball program, click here.
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First "Run of the Turtles Scheduled for Saturday, June 15!
 CRYP will host its first-ever "Run of the Turtles" on Saturday, June 15. The special family-friendly event, supported in part by the Four Bands Healing Center, is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will include a 1K walk, 1K relay and 5K relay.
Designed to promote courage, perseverance and friendly competition, this community fun walk and relay challenge also will promote diabetes prevention and the pleasure of sharing healthy exercise with family and friends. The event will kick off with a light breakfast at 7:30 a.m. in CRYP's Cokata Wiconi teen center and conclude with a 1 p.m. lunch in the Keya Cafe, announcement of the winners and the handing out of prizes.
"We're hoping to have a great turnout for our first annual Run of the Turtles, because the number of participants will determine whether this does become a yearly event," said Julie Garreau, CRYP's executive director.
To learn more about this year's inaugural ROTT, click here. In the meantime, check out the excitement building among CRYP's youth participants:
"I will run 'cause turtles are slow, and I want to be fast so I can win." ~ Noah, 5.
"There's turtles in the race? They're going to lose!"
~ Tigh, 10.
"I'll run because you said there's going to be food!"
~ Sage, 12.
"I want to run real really fast, but I don't know if I can run far.....is it true there are going to be turtles there? That's cool, but don't you think they would be smart enough NOT to enter a race?" ~ Rozlynn, 10.
"I'll run if you run! It will be fun!" ~ Tia, 7.
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10 Sixth-Graders Bring Joy to Elders, Enjoy First-Ever CRYP "Lock In."
 Ten excited sixth-graders attended CRYP's first-ever overnight lock-in on Saturday, May 4. Held at the organization's Cokata Wiconi teen center on East Lincoln Street, the lock-in was an opportunity to experience the state-of-the-art facility prior to their official welcome as seventh-graders during the next school year.
It also served as a thank-you to the children, who spent the afternoon of Thursday, May 2, making care packages for 11 women who reside at the Cheyenne River Elderly Manor in Eagle Butte. The packages were distributed in honor of Mother's Day weekend. Each care package included a teddy bear, hygiene products, lotion and a homemade card, wrapped in a blanket and tied with a decorative scarf. Each sixth-grader chose a name and gave his or her care package to that woman.
"The best part was delivering the care packages to the ladies," said Megan Guiliano, who has served as CRYP's youth programs director since January 2011 and is now mentoring Tammy Eagle Hunter in that role. "We walked from the teen center to the Manor, care packages in  hand, and each sixth-grader knocked on his or her recipient's door to present the Mother's Day gift. Watching the kids deliver the gifts, and seeing their faces light up when the ladies saw the packages, was very special. All of the ladies gave the sixth-graders a hug, and many of them invited the kids into their apartments while they opened the packages.
"I was very proud of the kids," she continued "Although some were shy at first, they were super excited once they delivered their gifts. Afterward, they talked about how grateful the ladies were, and how they thought it would be fun to do activities like this in the future."
Excitement levels were even higher come Saturday, when the sixth-graders arrived at Cokata Wiconi at 6:30 p.m. for their all-night lock-in. The evening started with  a teen center tour, which gave the children a chance to see such highlights as the dance studio, the library, the art studio and the computer lab. Then the real fun began: walking tacos, basketball, Mafia, s'mores on the patio, flashlight tag, Knockout and movies on Cokata Wiconi's big screen. To learn more about this first-ever lock-in at the teen center, click here.
"We're really looking forward to starting a regular series of lock-ins, because we realize how important it is for our youth to have special activities within their own peer group and to have Cokata Wiconi to themselves," Guiliano explained. "The lock-ins also are a great way to promote community service among our young people. For these sixth-graders, the Mother's Day project was a source of excitement as much as the lock-in was. They were proud of what they accomplished, and of the joy they brought to their elders."
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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.
Sincerely,
All of us at the
Cheyenne River Youth Project | |
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