Here's how Sioux Falls-area schools are giving back to the community this holiday season
'Tis the season of giving, and schools across the Sioux Falls area are getting into that giving mindset this time of year.
In all corners of the region, students, teachers and school staff are giving back to their schools and communities by making blankets, donating food and money to local causes, and shopping for gifts for those in need.
Here's a list of ways area schools are giving back and how you can help:
Did we miss something? Email education reporter Morgan Matzen at MMatzen@argusleader.com to make sure give-back events and benefits held in our schools are included and covered in this list.
Sioux Falls School District
Project Warm-Up
From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 2, the district will host its 18th annual “biggest blanket-making party around” at Sonia Sotomayor Elementary School. People can join the party or host one of their own with a team, club, youth group, family, friends, neighbors or classmates.
Since the first event in 2006, the district has distributed more than 37,000 new fleece blankets to children and families in the area through the schools and organizations like Child’s Voice, Ronald McDonald Houses, ERFPN Foster Care Clothing Closet, Division of Social Services, Sanford Castle, Avera Children’s Hospital, Habitat for Humanity, The Teddy Bear Den, Chemo Comfort Care Bags, Children’s Inn, Call for Freedom, St. Francis House, and more.
Blanket recipients may be in need due to poverty, homelessness, serious illness, loss of a parent, entering foster care, family crisis, or just need to know that someone cares.
Roosevelt High School projects
RHS students are doing a “Riders Charge for Charity” week Dec. 4-8 where RHS clubs “adopt” a friend at LifeScape and fulfill their holiday wishlist by shopping and wrapping gifts, then writing them handwritten holiday messages.
During the first week of December, homerooms will donate money that will support the Veterans Community Project’s need for hygiene products, food and winter gear, and the RHS food pantry. Homerooms can also donate gently-used RHS spirit wear to be given to peers in need.
Garfield ‘Reindeer Games’
Garfield Elementary School will hold its eighth annual Reindeer Games this winter. The event blesses at least six families with a gift basket of supplies that are purchased by staff who are put into teams.
Staff can also pay one dollar per day to wear jeans in December, and the money raised from that goes to purchase gift cards for the families who receive the baskets the week before winter break.
2021 projects: Here's how Sioux Falls-area schools are giving back to their community this holiday season
Lincoln High School sponsoring Giving Tree
LHS student council is sponsoring the Giving Tree project through LifeScape this year. Classrooms will pick up tags that correspond to a gift someone would like, bring the gifts to the student council advisor’s room, and student council members will wrap the gifts to give to someone in the community.
George McGovern Cares
The counseling office at George McGovern Middle School is taking inspiration from Sioux Falls Cares, an organization that helps families with food, gifts or gift certificates during the holidays, and has created George McGovern Cares to benefit all the families in need in the school.
Memorial Middle School project
In November, students at Memorial will hold a food drive for Feeding South Dakota.
In December, they will do a reverse advent calendar project and “adopt” 10 families in the school that don’t qualify for Sioux Falls Cares and will collect non-perishable items for them from Thanksgiving to Christmas, such as cereal, and purchase families an “experience” gift, too, such as movie tickets and a gift certificate to go out for dinner.
Bishop O’Gorman Catholic Schools
Advent project
Nearly 200 people will stay at the Bishop Dudley Hospitality House on Christmas Eve. This student-led Advent project provides House patrons with a stocking full of travel-size necessities they might not have, as well as some fun items, to share in the joy of the Advent season.
The Advent service project is also throwing a baby shower, which will provide gifts of new clothing, toys, diapers and more to families with babies in the community. All donations will be given to the Teddy Bear Den.
At St. Lambert’s Elementary School, for Advent, classes are doing a penny war and the winning class gets to choose where the donations will go. Holy Spirit Elementary School is doing the same, but raising money for the Perpetual Adoration Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, from Dec. 4-8.
Student hunger drive
Students will bring nonperishable goods or money to their homeroom teacher at O’Gorman Junior High School from Nov. 7 - 21. “Tom the Turkey,” a traveling trophy, is used throughout the competition to give bragging rights to the homeroom who has brought in the most daily funds or food. The homeroom that brings in the most will get a dress-down day Nov. 27.
Food collection
St. Lambert’s Elementary School and Holy Spirit Elementary School are both collecting food for Feeding South Dakota on Nov. 22 in conjunction with Thanksgiving Mass that morning.
At St. Katharine Drexel Elementary School students will bring in canned and boxed goods throughout the month of November to be donated.
Sioux Falls Christian School
Hams for the Holidays
Middle school students will hold this event Nov. 21 and partner with a local church to deliver 65 meals to their peers at Patrick Henry Middle School to be distributed to the students there and go to families’ homes in Sioux Falls to deliver meals to families.
Other projects
Middle schoolers will also raise money to buy toys to deliver to children in need during the Christmas season through a fun event at school. They will also partner with a local church to deliver “caring about people” meals and provide a Thanksgiving meal for families in the free and reduced-price meal programs.
High schoolers will serve at the Banquet West on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
2022 projects: How Sioux Falls area schools are getting into the holiday spirit this year by giving back
Augustana University
Serving and Learning Together projects
SALT is hosting a Teen Town Cookies & Cocoa fundraiser to supply teens with Christmas gifts at 4 p.m. by the Commons Mailboxes on campus. SALT will also serve at the Bishop Dudley Hospitality House 2:30-4 p.m. Nov. 19.
University of Sioux Falls
Blanket making
Students in USF’s service living learning community will be making fleece blankets for First Baptist Church around the holidays.
IMPACT Student Leader Volunteer Night
USF students will participate in this event with Sioux Falls Cares to deliver boxes of food, toys and clothing Dec. 6.
Student athlete advisory committee service projects
This committee has written words of encouragement cards to children at Sanford and Avera hospitals, will make tie blankets, and will do a canned food drive to support those in the area in need in the coming weeks.
Finals goodie bags
COOmmunity Volunteers (a play on the USF Cougars mascot) will put together finals goodie bags for USF students Dec. 6.
Fine arts performances
USF fine arts performances will be happening at the following times, dates and places for local community members:
6:30 p.m. Nov. 20: Madrigal Performance at Dow Rummel Village
4 p.m. Dec. 3: Christmas at USF in Meredith Hall in Jeschke Fine Arts Center. Vocal, theater and instrumental groups perform together.
2 p.m. Dec. 4: USF Choir at Trail Ridge Retirement Community
8 p.m. Dec. 10: Community Band Holiday in Meredith Hall in Jeschke Fine Arts Center
4 p.m. Dec. 12: USF Chamber Orchestra caroling around the USF campus
Baltic
Student-led projects
The school’s National Honor Society will host a blood drive Dec. 1, help with the Angel Tree program this Christmas season, and work with local churches and food banks to deliver meals to families.
The student council will run a fundraiser for the Children’s Miracle Network.
The local 4-H group has a winter clothing drive where students, parents or community members can drop off new or lightly-used winter clothing in a drop box at the school.
Harrisburg
Giving tree
Harrisburg schools hold a giving tree that school counselors coordinate across the district to assist families during the holidays.
Lennox
Secret family Thanksgiving
The Lennox School District’s wellness committee organizes a Thanksgiving secret family giving drive. Staff donate funds to provide fruit, meat and cheese trays to families in the district. Students in family and consumer science classes shop and assemble the trays for families.
The Giving Tree
Community members can visit the display located in First Interstate Bank, ask for a tag at the drive-up window or take one off the display, then buy a gift described on the tag that will go to a child in the community. Wrap it and return it to the bank with the tag on the gift. The Lennox FCCLA will pick up gifts daily and deliver them to families the week of Dec. 18. Applications to receive a gift can be found on the Lennox School District website.
Food drive
Lennox’s intermediate school is conducting a food drive for The Exchange in Lennox. A list of items has been shared with families for items needed. The food drive will end Nov. 21 and volunteers will deliver food Nov. 22.
‘Stuff the Turkey’ winter gear donation
Lennox High School’s student council is organizing this event in which students and staff can bring in winter gear like hats, gloves, coats, snow pants and boots to donate.
Tea
Student-led projects
Students in the National Honor Society are doing a variety of projects this season including Rake the Town, volunteering with The Banquet, Kids Against Hunger, clearing snow from fire hydrants in Tea, and a Jingle Bell Run.
The student council is also hosting the community blood bank in December.
Angel tree
The district office and school board are doing a service project to collect gifts for 220 children in 83 families across the district with support from 115 community sponsors.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Sioux Falls-area schools giving back to the community for 2023 holidays
