Volunteer Sioux Falls 08
On Saturday, September 27th, over 450 area residents took part in Volunteer Sioux Falls, an inaugural community-wide initiative focusing on volunteer service.
The event's organizer, The HELP!Line Center, started the day with a Community Rally at the Empire Mall where 71 local volunteers were presented with the President's Call To Service Award, an honor given only to volunteers who have served more than 4,000 hours in their lifetime.
After the rally, volunteer groups mobilized throughout the Sioux Falls area, lead by 10 Volunteer Sioux Falls Ambassadors, to undertake volunteer projects.
"One Day. One Community. Hundreds of Hands." This group of people set out to change their town. These photos and testimonials prove with a united community, everyone achieves more.
Creating a Children's Library,
Good Shepherd Center
Ambassador John Henkhaus
John and his team of volunteers took on a project to promote literacy at the Good Shepherd Center, a daytime drop in shelter for homeless men, women and children. They collected gently used books, and painted a reading area at the shelter a vibrant yellow. Adding in carpet, bean bag chairs and shelves of books completed the look. John said of his volunteers, "We took a room that had no life, and boy did we give it LIFE!" Maria Rae, the director of the center, said "The volunteers went way above and beyond what I was imagining. I've had staff say they could see themselves sitting down and reading a book to the kids
Mural Painting at Children's Care 
Hospital & School
Ambassador Chrissy Klesh
Chrissy and 30 artistic Augustana students spent over four hours painting six large murals for the residence halls at Children's Care Hospital & School. The 100+ kids who live at the hospital chose the art work, and the creations were put on canvases that will be hung on the dormitory walls. A few of the CCHS students assisted with the painting. The images included a tree house scene, Old McDonald Farm, space images, hot air balloons, and sports scenes. Chrissy said meeting the kids who live at the school made the project even more special. "Our project at the Children's Care Hospital and School was meaningful and fun. We were given a tour of the facility before we began painting murals, and it was great to see where our murals would be hung, and to meet some of the children."
Big For a Day, Big Brothers Big Sisters
Ambassador Yvonne Hawkins
Yvonne invited her network of co-workers and friends, plus local college students, to help promote mentoring for area youth who are on the BBBS waiting list for mentors. Yvonne and her crew of 15-18 volunteers spent Saturday with unmatched Littles through Big Brothers Big Sisters at an area park, exposing these kids to positive adult role models through fun activities. Many of the mentors spent time teaching the kids to fish, while other mentors held wild games of baseball and quiet games of bean bags. Yvonne said her goal was met in hopefully helping to create long-term matches. "Several of them bonded with the Augie students they were paired with. And several Augie students left the event interested in becoming a BBBS mentor in the future," she said
Helping Seniors 
Ambassador Melissa Beck
Melissa and two teams of Good Samaritan Society employees helped elderly individuals remain living independently. Melissa and her group partnered with the South Dakota Alzheimer's Association to clean up the yard of an elderly couple, painting a shed and taking out a bush. Another group of 20 Good Samaritan employees prepared Senior Food Boxes at the Community Food Bank. Melissa said, "Our volunteers at the Community Food Bank boxed 1,600 boxes of food. It was a wonderful experience all around and the Good Samaritan employees that participated were so excited with the difference they made in the community."
Family Connection
Hospitality Home Clean Up
Ambassador Carmen Toft
Carmen and the Sioux Falls Up & Coming served as a group highlighting the commitment many young professionals have to community service. This group spent their day with fall yard clean up at the Family Connection Hospitality Home on Minnesota Avenue. Many hours and trips to the dump later, the landscape of the house had been transformed. Amy Pokela, the director for Family Connection, said, "Family Connection cannot say enough good things about Volunteer Sioux Falls. With the help of Sioux Falls Up and Coming, we were able to remove two loads of yard waste to the dump. The house looks like the stately Victorian it once was. Thank you to our volunteers for their hard work."
Pettigrew Heights Clean Up 
Ambassador Nate Helling
Nate and the Sioux Falls Seminary partnered with the Bowden Youth Center, Volunteers of America, the City of Sioux Falls, residents of Pettigrew Heights, and First Christian Church to clean up the Pettigrew Heights area. Ellis & Eastern Railroad also joined the cause. The idea started out simple. Small groups of people would walk the area and pick up litter. The results were huge, with over 125 volunteers lending a hand. By the end of the day 700 pounds of yard waste and 2,440 lbs of rubble had been collected and hauled to the dump by volunteers. Another group of volunteers delivered a Needs Assessment, on behalf of the City, door to door in the area asking neighbors for feedback on revitalization efforts. Still other volunteers worked on a Seminary building, and one group of volunteers even stopped to help other volunteers paint a home. Finally, 200 volunteers and neighborhood residents ate lunch together and shared friendship at First Christian Church. It was a day with many partners working together and achieving great success.
Children's Interactive Art Installation
Ambassador Alan Wieskamp
Alan and his co-workers at TSP spent the weeks leading up to Volunteer Sioux Falls designing an inter-active act piece to entertain children at the Family Visitation Center. Family Visitation Center will move early in 2009, and this creation is sure to be a highlight of its new location. Alan and his team will now spend weeks constructing the project. Aaron Wimmer of the Family Visitation Center said of the design, "We are thrilled with the creativity and thoughtfulness. Alan and his team certainly created a piece of artwork that will truly create a warm and welcoming environment for our children."
Canoeing With McCrossans
Ambassador Downtown Lions
The Downtown Lions Club wanted to create a day of fun and positive mentoring for youth who live at McCrossan Boys Ranch. The Lions arranged to take 8 young men out canoeing for an afternoon at Wall Lake. Afterward, they enjoyed lunch together before playing football and throwing bean bags. The at-risk youth earned the right to come on the special outing through good behavior. The experience was so positive the Downtown Lions are already looking forward to canoeing with the boys again next year!
Girl Scout Camp Clean Up 
Ambassador Rachel Gage
Rachel's project changed the landscape of the Girl Scout Camp on Wall Lake. Here is what she wrote about her experience during Volunteer Sioux Falls. "We had a fabulous group of volunteers from MetaBank, Lloyd Companies, and other area businesses that partnered with Girl Scout leaders and troops to do a fall clean-up at the Girl Scout Camp at Wall Lake! Volunteers scraped and re-painted buildings, built shelves, organized storage, and created colorful crafts. This wonderful team of all ages was so positive, vibrant, and hard-working, truly exemplifying how much can be accomplished when a diverse community works toward a common goal. My favorite part of the day was watching little girls in XXL bright yellow volunteer t-shirts that looked like dresses on them, running all over the camp, working and playing!"
Scarves for Hope
Ambassador Margaret Sumption
Margaret and a group of almost 30 volunteers made an effort to support area cancer patients for their Volunteer Sioux Falls project. Margaret and her friends set up an efficient assembly system, producing scarf kits to make head wraps for women who have lost, or who will lose, their hair to cancer treatment. The pattern for the project came from Scarves For Hope, and the scarves will be made by quilters across the state. The head wraps will be donated to the American Cancer Society for distribution. That day, Margaret told a local reporter, "This scarf is an opportunity to reach out to a woman undergoing cancer treatment to let them know that we care about them and help them feel more comfortable about their bodies."
And Hundreds More Hands!
In addition to the many Ambassador projects Sept. 27, scores more area volunteers gave their time that day. SALSA, the Serve & Learn Student Association, painted a mural at a daycare. Another group knitted hats for kids. Some families helped at Habitat homes, while others painted at the Sertoma Butterfly House. Thank you to those individuals who gave their time for Volunteer Sioux Falls!
