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 this year! 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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Please Help Bring Christmas to More Than 1,600 Children on Cheyenne River!
By the time fall arrives, countless children are already writing their letters to Santa Claus, already counting down the days until he arrives with his bountiful stocking-stuffers and beautifully wrapped packages. Countless parents are already making their annual holiday to-do lists, hoping that they'll get the holiday cards, shopping, baking, and decorating done on time this year.
Unfortunately, that's not the reality for everyone. When there is no room in the family budget for gifts, much less ornaments or Christmas cookies, the holidays are likely to be stressful and sad rather than merry.
 That's why the Cheyenne River Youth Project started its annual
Christmas Toy Drive more than a quarter century ago. On the Cheyenne River reservation in north-central South Dakota, the unemployment rate hovers near 75 percent, and approximately 60 percent of households with children under the age of 18 fall below the poverty line. Here, too many children would likely have no Christmas at all, so CRYP stepped in to help Santa Claus-and ease the burden on families who have so little.
"These days, we're bringing Christmas to more than 1,600 children in 20 communities across our reservation," said Julie Garreau, CRYP's executive director. "It's a massive undertaking, one that wouldn't be possible without our friends and supporters around the world who send funding and gifts, who volunteer their time, and who spread the word among their families, friends and colleagues.
 "Together, we give Cheyenne River's children the joyous, magical holiday they deserve," she continued. "Children have to grow up fast here. So, for one day at least, we want them to just be kids, and enjoy the kind of Christmas experiences other children have."
Please support us as we seek to bring Santa Claus to our children and give them a holiday season to remember. You can make a donation here:
And, click here to learn more about the many ways you can help! Pilamaye (Thank You)!
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Enter to Win Lakota Star Quilt, and Support CRYP's Christmas Toy Drive
As a reminder: You also can support the Christmas Toy Drive when you enter CRYP's annual Winter Star Quilt Raffle. CRYP will hold the drawing for the winner of the handmade, queen-size, authentic Lakota star quilt on Monday, December 26.
Bonnie LeBeau, a Cheyenne River Sioux tribal member, hand-crafted the seasonally inspired quilt, which has been named "Prairie Winter." All funds raised through the raffle will benefit the Christmas Toy Drive, which will serve more than 1,600 children.
"We're hoping to raise $3,000 this year," said Julie Garreau, CRYP's executive director. She noted that the public can assist with this important fundraiser in three ways: buy tickets, offer to sell tickets, and help spread the word by telling family and friends and sharing raffle details through social media.
Tickets are $1 each or $5 for a six-ticket packet. To purchase them online, simply click the button below, and put "Star Quilt" in the notes section when paying with a credit card. (Please do not write the word "raffle" anywhere in the payment.)
And click
here to learn more about how you can support our Winter Star Quilt Raffle.
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In Case You Missed It:
Welcome to our Lakota Arts "Rezolution!"
Last month, CRYP
released its eagerly anticipated RedCan graffiti jam documentary, which introduces viewers to Cheyenne River's children and the critical role RedCan plays in their lives.
"Ever since we founded RedCan in 2015, we've recognized that it's so much more than a graffiti jam," said Julie Garreau, CRYP's executive director. "We're proud that we created an unprecedented way for graffiti culture and Lakota culture to come together, but as we experienced the first RedCan and then saw the second one completely eclipse the first in terms of outreach and impact, we realized that what we really created is a revolution."
That revolution also is what Garreau called a "rezolution." Not only does RedCan expose Cheyenne River's young people to what has become the largest and longest-running art movement in human history, it encourages them to explore their own unique identities, find their voices, share their stories and truths, and find positive, healthy means of self-expression.
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Eighteen wellness and art interns, newly certified in CPR and First Aid, in the Cokata Wiconi gymnasium.
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CRYP Graduates 184 Teen Interns
In the nearly three years since CRYP launched its
innovative teen internship program at the Cokata Wiconi (Center of Life) teen center, 184 teenagers have completed internships in sustainable agriculture, social enterprise, wellness and art. Not only have these young people gained valuable skills that will serve them well all their lives, they are having a lasting impact on the Cheyenne River reservation's economy.
For CRYP, it's all about the development of the Lakota workforce-and building healthy, resilient, well-rounded adults in the process. Since 2014, the nonprofit youth organization has invested $36,950 in Cheyenne River's teenagers, providing instruction, mentorship, workshops, certifications, real-life job experience and wages. According
 to Julie Garreau, executive director, that's making a difference on more than one level.
"When the kids earn their own money, they're able to buy things they need," Garreau explained. "Even more importantly, they're thinking about how to earn more money, and about their own futures. One teen used his stipend to buy a lawn mower and started providing local lawn-care services. Others have purchased musical equipment. It's really exciting to see that."
She also pointed out that when young people spend their money at local businesses, that supports local families. And, they're easing the burden on their own families by helping to purchase essentials, like school clothes, gas and food.
"But the impact goes even further," Garreau said. "The internships give them work experience, and the job and life skills that will increase their future earning potential. These kids, as they become adults, will be the preferred new hires. And they'll pass on their work ethic, values and entrepreneurial spirit to their own children one day."
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Executive Director Julie Garreau Travels to Mexico on Cordes Fellowship
Last month, CRYP's executive director, Julie Garreau, participated as a delegate in the Cordes Fellowship's Opportunity Collaboration in Cancún, Mexico. Garreau was awarded the fellowship last year but was unable to attend the fall 2015 event in Ixtapa.
Cordes Fellowships are designed for exceptional social entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders who are engaged in poverty alleviation and economic justice enterprises. The purpose of the fellowship program is to open doors, minds and networks for emerging social entrepreneurs and nonprofit executives; enrich the Opportunity Collaboration with new, emerging leaders; and infuse the collaborative discussions with a diversity of perspectives.
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November Hall of Fame:
Brenton Veit
Fifteen-year-old Brenton Veit might have originally signed up for a teen internship at the Cheyenne River Youth Project to earn a little extra money, but he ended up taking home much more than his stipend.
Brenton has attended CRYP programs since he was in sixth grade, taking advantage of the opportunity to get out of the house and spend time with staff, volunteers and friends. Open gym has always been a huge draw, but that's not what makes the youth project special, in his opinion.
"It's the way they treat us," he reflects. "I can just be myself when I'm there."
Seeking to earn a little extra money, Brenton signed up for the Sustainable Agriculture and Social Enterprise internships, working in CRYP's organically grown Winyan Toka Win (Leading Lady) garden and farm-to-table Keya (Turtle) Cafe & Coffeeshop. That wasn't enough; he's currently completing a Wellness internship.
"I've learned a lot and gained so much experience," Brenton says. "I really appreciate what they've been teaching me. Wellness has been great, because I'm earning money, I"m working out, and I'm even getting CPR certified."
When he's not working, Brenton enjoys studying ninth grade science and history at Cheyenne-Eagle Butte High School, and he loves watching and playing basketball. And, he has his sights set on college. His goal?
"To finish, and try to make it big!" he says with a smile.
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Order Now and Get 20% Off
"Home: Cheyenne River Lakota Nation"
This special offer is through Blurb.com. Click the link below to view all available formats, and use code SHOW20 when checking out for your 20% discount.
One hundred percent of the proceeds from book sales benefit the nonprofit Cheyenne River Youth Project®.
For more details about the project, and to order fine-art prints (100% of proceeds also benefit CRYP), visit cheyenneriverfineart.com and click "Photography."
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WE NEED YOU THIS FALL & WINTER!
Volunteer Positions Available Now
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. While we do expect to welcome volunteers to our Eagle Butte campus for the Christmas Toy Drive, we are facing a critical volunteer shortage this fall, and we anticipate another shortage after the New Year.
Please learn more about our volunteer program, and how to apply,
here!
The youth project welcomes individuals and groups for short- and long-term stays.
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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
Sincerely,
All of us at the
Cheyenne River Youth Project
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