News for Donor Advisors

Community Insights

Cheerleaders rally fans.

New and Noteworthy Initiatives Worth Learning More About

Folks in the Sioux Falls area are constantly working to make our corner of the state a great place to live for everyone. The following organizations and/or projects have caught our eye and would be grateful for your support.

Sioux Empire United Way

Our United Way helps children, vulnerable adults and people in crisis. Among the programs making a difference in your community are:

  • Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which will deliver the program’s two millionth book to a child later this fall.
  • Better Together, which has 68 volunteers matched with an older adult for social and recreational purposes.
  • The PATH Program, where more than 200 students have direct access to professional mental health counseling in their schools each month.

These are just three examples of how your support of Sioux Empire United Way makes a difference.

Special Olympics South Dakota

Unified Champion Schools brings youth with and without intellectual disabilities together through education and sports to create and sustain school communities that promote acceptance, respect and human dignity for all students.

Black Hills Playhouse

For more than 70 years, the Black Hills Playhouse has been home to emerging artists. For most of that time, the organization has been primarily a seasonal summer stock theatre, attracting thousands of visitors to Custer State Park. More recently, programming has been aimed at providing musical theatre opportunities to children in grades K-8 throughout the state. Today, adults with disabilities in Sioux Falls are the stars of the show.

Family Visitation Center

Adult problems like divorce, domestic violence and substance abuse unfairly impact the lives of children. Family Visitation Center provides more than 140 families every month with safe supervised visits and exchanges.

Ground Works Midwest

Ground Works uses teaching gardens, summer camps and digital computer programs to deliver lessons in education, agriculture literacy, and student leadership. Gardens can be found at a dozen locations in the Sioux Falls area and students from all around the state are learning about agriculture and agribusiness through Ground Works’ “South Dakota Ag in the Classroom” curriculum.

South Dakota Urban Indian Health

South Dakota Urban Indian Health’s mission is to provide total quality medical care for Native American people and the economically disadvantaged residing in urban areas of South Dakota. In addition to medical care, a number of cultural programs are offered at the Sioux Falls office including youth activities, singing groups and women’s programming.

Photo at top: Organized through Special Olympics South Dakota, a United Champions Cheer Team rallies the crowd at Roosevelt High School.