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In This Issue
This Winter: Volunteer with CRYP!
CRYP's Sponsor Enrichment Activities
Sponsor a Birthday Cake at The Main
Meet Our Board of Directors
Support CRYP with Amazon Smile, GoodSearch & GoodShop, and Capital One
Check Out Our Needs List
Our Mission
Please Help Bring Santa Claus to Our Children!
Enter Star Quilt Raffle for a Chance to Win
"Home: Cheyenne River Lakota Nation" is Now Available Through Amazon
CRYP Teen Interns Enjoy Minneapolis Art Retreat Weekend
CRYP Receives $25K Grant from O.P. and W.E. Edwards Foundation
WE NEED YOU: Volunteer Positions Now Available
Quick Links
  News

 

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




 

Sponsor Enrichment Activities for CRYP Youth

 

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. 

 

 

 

 

 


Sponsor a Birthday Cake at The Main!
Main Birthday Party 1
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.




Meet Our
Board of Directors
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!



Support CRYP When You Shop Online!
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.

Needs List
Three girls

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


Spanish Class at The Main
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.
 
Join Our Mailing List
December 2015 News
Christmas Toy Drive 2011 (2)
Please Help Bring Santa Claus to Our Children!

Christmas is a little more than two weeks away, which means the clock is winding down for Cheyenne River Youth Project® staff and volunteers as they prepare to bring Santa Claus to 1,500 children across South Dakota's remote, 2.8-million-acre reservation. More than 300 "Dear Santa" letters remain to be adopted - but it's not too late to help.
   
"All you need to do is contact us for a 'Dear Santa' letter, which will contain a child's wish list for Santa and his or her shoe and clothing sizes," said Julie Garreau, CRYP's executive director. "Or, if you would prefer to contribute funds, you can donate through our website. We'll do the shopping on our end, ensuring that every child who wrote to Santa will have something special underneath the tree this year."

Donated funds also help CRYP feed and house the many volunteers who come from around the world to help.

Click HERE to find out how you can support the 2015 Christmas Toy Drive!

Every contribution, no matter the size, makes a difference in the lives of Cheyenne River's children, and their families. Because, really, it's not about the toys.

"We're on our second generation of children now, and the toy drive has gotten bigger than we ever could have imagined," Garreau reflected. "But we've managed to keep it personal. Our children receive special gifts chosen specifically for them based on the heartfelt wishes they shared, based on who they are. We work hard to make that happen, because it shows them that they are loved, they are treasured, and they are important. That's the spirit of the season for us, and it means everything."


Ten Days Remain in CRYP's Annual Holiday Star Quilt Raffle

There's also still time to enter for a chance to win an authentic, handmade Lakota star quilt in our annual Holiday Star Quilt Raffle. Tickets are on sale until Thursday, December 24, and on Saturday, December 26, CRYP staff will announce the lucky winner who will be receiving a beautiful queen-size Lakota star quilt.
   
This year's quilt is titled "Winter Watercolors." Bonnie LeBeau, a Cheyenne River Sioux tribal member, hand-crafted the art-inspired quilt for the holiday raffle.
   
"We love the theme of this quilt because it resonates on more than one level," said Julie Garreau, CRYP's executive director. "Here, at The Main youth center and the Cokata Wiconi ("Center of Life") teen center, our kids are always involved in artwork. One of the most popular mediums, particularly with the little kids, is watercolor. When I look at this quilt, I see a celebration of winter color and holiday festivity; I also see a celebration of our children, their creativity, and the healing power of art."
   
Garreau noted that the public can support this important fundraiser in three ways: buy tickets, offer to sell tickets, and help spread the word by telling family and friends and by sharing raffle details through social media.

Click here and enter for your chance to win!



Order "Home: Cheyenne River Lakota Nation" Today!
 
Four years ago, a Colorado-based creative team embarked on a fine-art photography project designed to celebrate life on the Cheyenne River reservation, home to four bands of the Lakota nation. Richard and Heather Steinberger, a photographer-writer team from Bailey, Colorado, joined forces with Evergreen, Colorado-based photographer Matt Normann to develop a coffee table book that would introduce Cheyenne River's landscapes, flora and fauna, communities, traditions and residents to a larger audience.
   
Matt Normann and Richard Steinberger.
That book is now available to the public through Amazon, and the creative team has announced that 100 percent of the proceeds from book sales will benefit the 27-year-old, not-for-profit Cheyenne River Youth Project® in Eagle Butte. CRYP will use those funds to meet needs wherever they are greatest, from youth programming to family services.

"We've always strongly believed that Cheyenne River's story is one of hope, not one of despair," said Julie Garreau, CRYP's executive director. "So when Heather, Richard and Matt first approached us with the idea for this project, we were very excited. Our community really got behind them, and the end result is a beautiful book that really was a team effort. We're all very proud of it."

The creative team also has made limited-edition fine-art prints available for purchase; 100 percent of the proceeds from these sales will support CRYP as well.
   
To order books, click here .

Be sure to also click "See all 3 formats and editions" - three versions are available, from 8x10 to 11x13, in hardcover and paperback. To order more than 10 copies, please contact the creative team at heather@timberlinemediallc.com, as discounts may be available for large orders.
   
For more details about the project, and to order prints, visit cheyenneriverfineart.com and click "Photography."


CRYP Teen Interns Enjoy Minneapolis Art Retreat Weekend    

On November 13-15, the Cheyenne River Youth Project® took its second cohort of art interns on a weekend art retreat that gave the eight teenagers an unparalleled opportunity to experience the Minneapolis art scene. CRYP staff members accompanied Xzanndria Norris, 15, Jaymalee Turning Heart, 14, Tori Jensen, 16, Ranger Gunville, 16, Nathanial Fast Wolf, 13, Donovan Moran, 13, Maxwell Peacock, 14, and Edward Norris Jr., 13, on their two-day adventure in the big city, which is home to two of their art instructors.
   
After arriving at the Hyatt and enjoying a movie night on Friday, the teens embarked on their art tour Saturday morning with a two-hour stop at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, followed by beverages and lunch at Espresso Royale and Uncle Frankie's Hot Dogs. During the afternoon hours, they had the chance to tour the art studio belonging to Peyton Scott Russell, their lead art instructor, and tour some of the city's most famous murals with Peyton and with Biafra, also a CRYP guest instructor.
   
The Cheyenne River community had the chance to become acquainted with both Peyton and Biafra through the art internship program's first cohort last spring - and through the RedCan graffiti jam in July, in which both men were featured artists. They contributed murals to CRYP's Waniyetu Wowapi (Winter Count) Art Park and to select sites along Eagle Butte's Main Street, which remain on view today.

Saturday evening concluded with supper at Pizza Luce. On Sunday, the Cheyenne River group visited the Walker Sculpture Garden and Birchbark Books, had lunch at the Teppanyaki Chinese Buffet, and then made the long trip back to Eagle Butte. 

CRYP Receives $25K Grant from O.P. and W.E. Edwards Foundation
 
CRYP has announced that it has received a $25,000 grant for 2016 from the Red Lodge, Montana-based O.P. and W.E. Edwards Foundation. The 27-year-old, not-for-profit, grassroots youth organization will use this much-needed funding to support daily operations at its large East Lincoln Street campus and to continue expanding its culturally sensitive, enduring and engaging youth programs throughout the year to come.
   
According to Amy Hyfield, the O.P. and W.E. Edwards Foundation's executive director, CRYP was a perfect fit.
   
"Ever since we were introduced, we have been impressed with the fantastic job they have done in serving the Cheyenne River community," she said. "Their tireless dedication, innovative and coordinated use of resources, continual advocacy and obvious success in engaging and teaching their young people are what keep us involved."

Hyfield said the foundation was particularly impressed with the Winyan Toka Win garden, Midnight Basketball, and the RedCan graffiti jam (pictured above).

Click here to learn more about this important CRYP partnership.
Volunteers 2006
WE NEED YOU!
Volunteer Positions Are Available Now

Although we will have a full house during the Christmas Toy Drive, once we get into January, CRYP will once again be facing a critical shortage:

VOLUNTEERS!!!

CRYP needs to staff its Main youth center and Cokata Wiconi teen center each day, operate the Keya Cafe and Keya Gift Shop, manage Family Services distributions, and so much more. The youth project's 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 volunteers 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!

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, Instagram and Twitter.

Sincerely,
 
All of us at the
Cheyenne River Youth Project