The Cheyenne River Youth Project will be distributing supplies for the 2023-24 school year to Cheyenne River children and families on Thursday (Aug. 10, 2023). The annual School Supplies Distribution is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at CRYP’s Čhokáta Wičhóni teen center.
All contributions need to be in-house no later than Monday, Aug. 7, so CRYP staff members will have time to organize the supplies and prepare for hundreds of excited children. If supplies arrive after the deadline, however, the youth project will continue to collect and distribute them as needed during the final weeks of summer and the first weeks of the new school year.
CRYP’s annual School Supplies Drive is a major component of its Family Services program. To participate in the long-running program, all a local family needs to do is pay a $30 annual membership fee, which covers all family members for the year and provides access to school supplies, shoes, winter clothing, household supplies, baby items, and holiday gifts.
“All members of our Family Services program will be receiving cards in the mail for the August distribution,” advised Jerica Widow, CRYP’s programs director. “To receive school supplies, families must bring their children with them, along with their Family Services card.
“And if a family doesn’t have a current membership but would like to obtain one so they can participate in the distribution,” she continued, “just call our office at (605) 964-8200.”
The grassroots, nonprofit youth organization has been providing school supplies to children ages 4-18 for decades. Many Lakota families on the Cheyenne River reservation simply don’t have the room in their household budgets to purchase school supplies each year for their children.
“We want to provide support to those families so they can fulfill this critical need,” Widow said.
Families who are unable to attend the Aug. 10 distribution may contact CRYP to arrange pickup at another time. The youth project also is coordinating with teachers in schools across Cheyenne River to ensure that their specific classroom needs are met.
In a typical year, CRYP serves more than 500 schoolchildren through the School Supplies Distribution. This wouldn’t be possible without the support of partners and friends across the country, Widow said.
“We’ve built supplies lists for kindergarten through second grade, third through fifth grade, sixth through eighth grade, and ninth through 12th grade,” she said. “You can sponsor a child at one of these levels, and we’ll handle all the shopping and the distribution. If you’d like to contribute a backpack as well, an additional $30 will allow us to incorporate that.”
To sponsor a child through CRYP’s 2023 School Supplies Drive, simply visit lakotayouth.org/school-
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