Today, we are raising funds to buy school supplies, food, and a laptop for Okiciyap Food Pantry and Youth Center on the Cheyenne River Reservation. Thank you for any assistance you can provide.
Background: When Okiciyap lost Georgia Little Shield in April 2012, the Isabel community on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota was dealt a terrible blow. Georgia was instrumental in the development of the 501(3)(c) Okiciyap (we help) Food pantry and Youth Center. Last year she found a building, got it moved and set up the pantry. Now, Cindy Taylor and the Okiciyap Board are stepping forward to insure the food pantry and community center project goes forward. Okiciyap dkos group was formed to support the pantry.
School Supplies and Backpacks
From weck's diary last week:
There are 90 K-6th graders and 50 middle and high-schoolers in the Isabel community. Their school and library were closed, and now they must be transported many miles to three different schools. These children don't have the resources to go "back to school" the way so many of us remember; the excitement of shopping for new shoes, clothes and school supplies is tough when you live far away from stores.
Backpacks are in short supply in Isabel, so we are asking you to help. Additionally, we are hoping to stuff the backpacks with school supplies needed by students K - 12.
Cindy: Our parents are allowed to pick what they need as some can buy some but not all, and what is left over will be used at the after school program or if the child runs out and needs it. New and used backpacks are also needed. Please put the word out for our group.
Approx. 50 middle school/high school students:
1. 50 5-subject notebooks (now have 0)
2. 150 pencils (now have 272)
3. 50 or more pens (red, blue, black inks)
(now have 34 red, 140 blue, 95 black, and 20 green)
4. 25 scientific calculators (now have 2)
5. 50 velco or zipper binders to carry between classes (now have 12)
6. 150 2-pocket folders (now have 150)
7. 2 or more graphing calculators with 6x9 screen (now have 0 )
8. 50 adult-sized backpacks (now have approx. 49)
Note: The "now have" notations in the list indicate how many of each item have been sent thus far, so that amount should be subtracted from the original request.
Cindy: I talked with some kids to see if they had their backpacks from last year and surprise some have them from grade school! They need new ones...
Now also have 2-125 pks of flag stickies, 3 5-pack mixed color sharpies, 2 12-pack coloring pencils + 4 packs of 15 + 45, 30 mechanical pencils, 2 100-pk 3x5 index cards, 2 dry erase boards, 2 bic correction tape, 60 sheet protectors, 2 5-pk dividers, 5 mini-memo/assignment notebooks, motivational stickers. 3 alphabet stickers, 3 marble composition books, 16 pencil sharpeners
|
Approx. 90 K-6 students:
1. 90 crayons pks (now have 2 boxes 8-Lg crayons, and 34 boxes Sm crayons, 0 boxes of 16 crayons)
2. 90 scissors small and reg size mixed (now have 13 sm pair, 8 lg pair, 6 safety)
3. 90 rulers (now have 72)
4. 90 protractors (now have 16)
5. 90 washable markers (now have 1 pkg of 16, 4 pkg of 10)
6. 300 wide-ruled, single-subject notebooks (now have 28, + 10 college-ruled)
7. 300 pencils again (now have 352)
8. 90 pencil top erasers (now have 269) or big erasers (now have 36)
9. 90 12" pencil boxes (now have 4)
10. 90 Glue stixs (now have 152) and regular glue (now have 8)
11. 300 2-pocket folders for all k-12, lots of them! (now have 90)
12. 90 small (child-sized) backpacks (now have approx. 20)
13. 90 kleenex (now have 24 small packs)
Note: The "now have" notations in the list indicate how many of each item have been sent thus far, so that amount should be subtracted from the original request.
Warning! Crayons will melt in the heat! Wrap in plastic bags just in case.
|
How to help Okiciyap
Mail new or gently used backpacks or school supplies directly to Okiciyap, c/o Cindy Taylor, Box 172, Isabel, SD 57633-0172. We recommend parcel post with an extra 85 cents for delivery confirmation (provided you are not in a hurry to get a package there, but want to be sure your package arrives). The flat rate boxes are faster.
Order a new backpack or school supplies from a retailer (see list below for links) and have items delivered to Isabel. The post office box is listed above. If you need a street address for delivery please contact Spirit Dancer by private message. If you register with iGive before ordering, the iGive site will send up to $10.00 to Okiciyap and the stores will send a percentage of the purchase (varies with the store). This is an ongoing source of funding for the pantry, and will have long-lasting benefits.
Send checks payable to Okiciyap (address above), and Cindy will fill in the needs of the students where donated items haven't covered a specific item.
Finally, donate to Okiciyap using the ChipIn widget below.
Okiciyap is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, so your contribution is tax deductible.
|
Links to retailers of backpacks in no particular order:
Sears*
Amazon*
J.C. Penney*
Target
Walmart
Kohls
Overstock.
L.L.Bean*
Land's End
Zappo's
eBags*
Staples*
Discount School Supply*
Please consider registering at iGive for stores to donate a small percent when you shop online with them. The stores marked with asterisks donate with iGive. If you sign up, then shop, Okiciyap will receive $10 from iGive and a % from the store. This will also provide ongoing support to the food pantry as you continue to shop online for back-to-school or the holidays.
Here is a brief list of other things that are needed for back to school and beyond (complete lists are available in another diary):
New or Gently Used Laptops (and broadband)
Art Supplies Volleyballs and Nets Children's books
Printer cartridges: Cannon PG-210XL-Black, CL-211XL-Color
Office supplies & stamps, DVD/VHS player Blankets
Kitchen Supplies Clothing for kids Winter Clothing
(new or very gently used) jeans, hoodies, t-shirts, sports bras (new)
new socks and underwear, snowboots, gloves, snowpants
|
Mail to: Okiciyap, c/o Cindy Taylor, PO Box 172, Isabel, SD 57633-0172
|
Food Pantry
Spirit Dancer: I thought perhaps you'd like to know how much it costs for them to make 1 trip to Pierre, SD to get food at The Feeding. It cost $200 in gas for 2 pickups and 1 horse trailer to drive 4 hours round trip. It cost $900 for the food for a total of $1100, this doesn't include expenses like water and electricity the for Okiciyap food pantry. So they need at least $1200 to $1300 for this to help them help others. Of course we aren't their only source of help but as we all know, money is hard to come by unless you are the 1%.
So, please give what you can.
Okiciyap (we help) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization working to provide a Food Pantry, Youth Center, K-12 educational support, GED & Lakota as a 2nd language class support, and other lifelong learning opportunities for youth and adults. More information is available at the
Okiciyap website as well as in the
Okiciyap diaries published thus far by
navajo,
betson08,
Aji,
Dr Erich Bloodaxe RN,
Spirit Dancer,
nomandates, and
weck.
The ChipIn widget is supposed to appear below, but it has been glitchy today:
4:42 PM PT: The ChipIn widget has been glitchy for the past hour or so. I checked our old diaries, and it's not showing up there right now either. All we can do is wait it out, so please bookmark and come back if possible. I apologize for the inconvenience.
5:30 PM PT: Challenge match from NMRed in the comments:
Hey all you folks who can 'only' spare $5-10!
I'll match donations of $5 or $10 for you!
My cap is $150, so come on folks, pull out a $5 or a $10 and help us make sure the children of this wonderful community have the basic tools and supplies they need for a new year of school.
You folks who can donate a fiver or a tenner, one by one, you all give a total of $150 by midnight, MDT tonight, and I'll match it for a total of $300 given to the 'back to schoo'l drive.
That's 3/5 of our goal for today, and would be a big boost to the spirits of the kids and their families.
7:01 PM PT: ChipIn widget is now working. Yay!
Update 1:30 pm Monday:::: School supply lists have been updated to reflect items posted in last night's diary. Thanks, everyone!