eNewsletter
helping people help themselves
Children, Youth & Family
Uplifting children, youth and families.


Nick and Katie's Story

Meet Katie, Nick and their children.

Katie and Nick have had their children enrolled in our childcare program for the past three years.

In April of 2012 Katie's husband started having trouble seeing on a Sunday afternoon and Katie took him into the emergency room. Nick went through some tests and was told they would be able to head home as soon as his cat scan came back. When the results came back Nick and Katie found out that he had a brain tumor.

 

Shortly after this visit to the ER, Katie's husband was diagnosed with brain cancer and had to undergo brain surgery, radiation and chemo treatments.  During these necessary medical treatments, he was unable to work.  As a young family they were already struggling to get on our feet.  The devastation of this situation impacted them emotionally, as well as financially. Katie was the only one working, but her paycheck was not enough to cover the cost of childcare for her two children.

 

Katie approached the staff at Volunteers of America, Dakotas and explained her situation.  Debbie, the child care coordinator, let her know about some scholarship opportunities through Volunteers of America that could help her out for the next few months. Because of these scholarships, her children were able to keep attending childcare at Volunteers of America, Dakotas, Katie was able to keep working, and her husband was able to get the life-saving care he needed for his recovery. 

 

Katie stated, "It was a relief to be able to keep my kids in a caring place with which they had become comfortable ...it was one less thing I needed to worry about during this stressful time.  If it had not been for the understanding and help of Volunteers of America, Dakotas, we could not have recovered from that financial blow.  Our credit would have been impacted, and we may not have been fortunate enough to be in the process of purchasing our first home!"

 

Their oldest son is now 6 years old and is almost finished with kindergarten. Their youngest child is still in Volunteers of America's childcare program. Katie also mentioned, "I have never been more impressed with any child care staff than I am with VOA. They have been kind and understanding in working with both of my kids. My children have benefited from the curriculum with VOA and have learned so much."

Rise & Shine

On Thursday, May 1st, Volunteers of America, Dakotas held the 12th annual benefit previously known as the Partners' Breakfast. Guests enjoyed a light breakfast and heard two powerful stories on how Volunteers of America, Dakotas is helping people help themselves. Thanks to our event sponsors, in-kind gifts and donations Volunteer of America, Dakotas was able to raise over $248,000 to help empower people of all ages to become healthier, self-sufficient, productive members of their communities through our four key service areas!

  • Guiding people with behavioral health needs
  • Uplifting children, youth and families
  • Supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities
  • Strengthening those struggling with homelessness
Upcoming Events


Broken Walls Concert
Please join us for the Broken Walls concert at the Bowden Youth Center on Sunday, August 31 at 11:00 a.m. with a meal and fellowship to follow.

Bowden Youth Center Birthday Bash

We're so excited to be celebrating 15 years of the Bowden Youth Center! We want you to discover the Bowden and the impact  it has on this community. We hope that you can join us for an open house on Thursday, September 18 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Homelessness
Strengthening those who struggle with homelessness.

Jesse Walhof is somewhat of a regular at the Sioux Falls Banquet. But he's not there seeking shelter or a hot meal - he's there to offer a hand up to individuals and families through the Street Outreach program. On one of Jesse's visits to the Banquet he met a family of five. The parents and children were struggling to stay afloat, living in a motel and barely making ends meet. Jesse and the Street Outreach program were there to help.  Volunteers of America, Dakotas was able to pay for a weeks' worth of rent at the motel, allowing the family to save enough money to move out of the motel and into their own apartment. In that week, the father found a job. With both parents working toward a more stable future for the family, their three children came to Volunteers of America, Dakotas' Bowden Youth Center to build relationships with peers, get homework help and have fun in a safe, nurturing environment. Today, the family continues on the path to self-sufficiency and has moved to Canton to live in their very own house.

Donor Spotlight
Thank you to Johnson Control

Thank you to Johnson Control for putting on the BBQ and Bowden fundraiser in April. Joan Neilan, Director of Outreach and Community Service, attended the event and was even a judge in the ribs contest. Because of Johnson Controls' support the Bowden Youth Center was able to purchase swimsuits and pool passes for children attending their summer programming.

Volunteer Spotlight



Spirit of Volunteerism Awards

In May the Helpline Center hosted their annual Spirit of Volunteerism Awards Luncheon. At Volunteers of America, Dakotas we are thrilled by our dedicated volunteers that help us serve one of our cornerstones of helping people help themselves. We hope you will take a look at our nominees and all the incredible things they do for our organization and participants.

 

Adult Nominee 

Destiny Wipf visits the Bowden Youth Center and exercises with the students, helps with homework and even teaches sign language. In fact, The Bowden Youth Center staff and youth no longer have "Wednesday" in its classrooms. Wednesday has been replaced with "Destiny Day" and the students look forward to seeing her every week.

 

Youth Nominee

Tiffany Knecht exemplifies what it means to be a true volunteer by every sense of the definition. At Volunteers of America, Dakotas, she led the effort to make sure each Bowden Youth Center participant received a Christmas gift last year. She also played a critical role collecting and giving out hygiene kits for families in need.

 

Group Nominees

The History Club of Sioux Falls volunteers at the Bowden Youth Center, inspiring kids to read. Each Thursday the book club members and the youth read and discuss a book together. At the end of each meeting, the 57 students get to keep their copy of the book to grow their personal library.

 

Raven employees provide one-on-one attention to children at the Bowden Youth Center by going to the facility where they read, play games and help kids with homework. Many of the children who attend the Bowden program are from refugee and immigrant families, and they speak limited English. Raven employees have found ways through their kind efforts to reach these children, using ways beyond words to create long-lasting connections. Raven Industries was the recipient of the 2014 Spirit of Volunteerism Corporate Humanitarian Award for companies with more than 100 employees.

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1309 W. 51st Street, Sioux Falls, SD | 605.339.1199