Please accept our sincere “Thank You”on behalf of “OUR” kids and their families for your generous support this Christmas. Your help for families came in the form of child or family adoptions, cash donations, toys, clothing, homemade pillowcases, and gift cards – all representing your love for others in our community. We found a thankful home for each gift donated and used the financial contributions to buy toys and gift cards. You opened your hearts to spread Christmas joy to families currently experiencing difficult times. Thank you so very much!!!

Because of your generosity, “Christmas for Our Kids” was able to sponsor 51 local families with 130 children this Christmas.  You helped to ensure that all the children of Dell Rapids had a Merry Christmas.

Thank you on behalf of  “OUR” kids and their families for your contributions to our 2020 Christmas drive. You have made the “Dell Rapids” difference!

Here are a few excerpts from the many thank you notes sent by the families we helped:

• “Thank you so much for helping makeour holiday even more special!”
• “Thank you so much for your support of our family and all the love and hope you provide to our community.”
• “Thank you so very much!”

Please accept our sincere “Thank You” on behalf of “OUR” kids and their families for your generous support this Christmas. Your help for families came in the form of child or family adoptions, cash donations, toys, clothing, gift cards, and homemade pillow cases – all representing your love for others in our community. We found a thankful home for each gift donated and used the financial contributions to buy toys and gift cards. You opened your hearts to spread Christmas joy to families currently experiencing difficult times. Thank you so very much!!!

Sue Horstmeyer, a long-time educator in Dell Rapids, started the project over 30 years ago by helping a single family that she saw needed some extra help. Over the years she continued to adopt more families and recruited her friends to help families as well. She named the project “Christmas for OUR Kids” because she wanted to emphasis that it is a community project helping to take care of their own. It really does take a village. In 2007, when she retired and moved to Sioux Falls, she asked our local ESA chapter to take over the project. The Dell Rapids chapter of ESA (Epsilon Sigma Alpha), an international women’s service organization, has been in Dell Rapids since 2004.

This is the 12^th year the local ESA chapter has spear-headed the “Christmas for OUR Kids” project. Over the years we have had tremendous community support. Three angel trees are put up after Thanksgiving for those in the community that want to buy gifts, the public schools have a weeklong donation drive, and the local quilt shop customers donate home-made pillow cases for each child.

A special thank you to the “Dells Elves”, another local group of women who make a difference in Dell Rapids. For the last 4 years, the “Dells Elves” have been holding a fundraiser at Norby’s to benefit the “Christmas for OUR Kids” project. Thanks to the Dells Elves and all of those in the community that donate to and attend the fundraiser. The monetary donation makes a world of difference to the project and these families.

In 2007 when ESA took the project over from Sue, we helped 28 families with 75 kids. This year we helped 56 families with 136 kids. Thank you on behalf of “OUR” kids and their families for your contributions to our 2018 Christmas drive. You’ve made the “Dell Rapids” difference!

Here are a few excerpts from the many thank you notes sent by the families we helped:

• “Thank you so much for helping us for Christmas!! Bless you.”
• “I just want to say thank you again. This is an amazing thing you guys do and once I am on my feet I will definitely be donating and giving back.”
• “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

The “Christmas For Our Kids” program led by the local chapter of ESA received a record donation this year.  The Christmas for Kids committee from Norby’s that puts together a fundraiser donated $21,573.35 to the “Christmas For Our Kids” program for this year’s families.  The year’s number doubles last year’s fundraiser.  Committee member Serena Campbell said that there wasn’t an empty seat at Norby’s during the event on Friday, December 8th.

“As the head of the committee, we cannot thank the community enough. The fundraiser would not be such a success if it wasn’t for the local businesses and individuals who donated, the individuals that were there the night of the auction bidding on all the wonderful donations, Bob Julson for doing and amazing job as the auctioneer, Landmark Realty for donating your time and your employees time, Norbys Bar and Grill for letting us take over your place to have the fundraiser, and to all the ladies on the committee that took time away from your families to help put smiles on children’s faces. There is not enough I can say about the amazing community that we love in. As a community we all came together to put a smile on a lot of children’s faces,” said Campbell.

The record donation will help the ESA group with helping the families.  Brenda O’Hara said that in 2007, there were 28 families that the project helped.  The number has grown over the years, and this year there are 55 families and 138 children on the list.  That’s 11 more families and 31 more children than last year’s numbers.”We are so thankful for the monetary donations as we can take care of the additional gifts for the kids and also provide local gift cards to each family,” said O’Hara.

The ESA groups also sponsors three angel trees in Dell Rapids and also has an “Adopt-A-Family” program.  The group is currently collecting all of those gifts as well as doing additional shopping for the families.  The “Christmas For Our Kids” program has also given each family a gift card to County Fair.

“With the larger donations last year and again this year, we are able to increase the amount of the grocery card and also provide each family with a local gas card and a local restaurant gift card,” O’Hara also said.

The families that benefit from this program are able to pick up the gifts and also pick out a few stocking-stuffers at a central location.  They also get to pick out a special pillow case for each child that is sewn by the patrons of the local quilt shop, Always Your Design.  Also, for the second year, Smithfield Foods is donating a ham to each family.  In addition to the pillow cases and hams, the public school always has a fun week-long donation drive collecting wrapping paper, stocking-stuffer items, batteries, and monetary donations.

“These families are all so grateful to the community for the continued support and caring that is shown every year through the ‘Christmas for Our Kids’ project, whether it is through the referrals made on their behalf, the shoppers that spend time picking the gifts, the monetary donations made, or the hard work of the Pink Ladies gathering donated items and putting on the wonderful fundraiser,” O’Hara said.

Some of the notes from those families that are being helped this year include:

• “Thank you ALL for helping me!!  My kids will love anything they get.  Thank you tons!!”
• “Thank you.  This is such a wonderful thing you guys are doing for us.  I am very grateful.”
• “Thank you again and god bless you all.”
• “Thank you guys so much!  We appreciate it immensely!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Not only the did the committee donate a record amount to the ESA “Christmas For Our Kids” program, they also donated $5,000 to two other groups.  The Daily Bread Food Pantry and The Community Store each received a donation of $2,500.

The annual Pink Ladies “Christmas for Kids” fundraiser auction and raffle will be held on Friday, December 8th, and organizers of the fundraiser are hoping for another big year.  This year’s event will be held again at Norby’s.  The meat raffle will begin at 5:00 p.m., live auction will start at 7:00 p.m., and raffle items will be available until 9:00 p.m.

The Pink Ladies dart team that puts together this fundraiser consists of a group of about 20 ladies.  Their goal is to make this a very memorable event every year to help families of Dell Rapids by donating funds raised to the ESA “Christmas for Our Kids” project.  They also have a goal to try to raise a larger amount then the year before.

“The last four years I have been on this committee, it is such an amazing feeling to wake up the day after the benefit and know that I made a difference, and I helped make a child smile,” said committee member Serena Campbell.

Last year’s fundraiser made $13,760 that went to help families in the Dell Rapids community.  A small percentage of the money raised is also donated to two other non-profit organizations.  One of the organizations is the Dell Rapids food pantry, and the committee then decides on another group to receive donations.

The year’s event already had quite a few great items up for auction or raffle.  Some of them include two 55″ televisions, 1/2 processed hog donated by Bob’s Meat in Chester, an ATV trailer donated by DTC, a Terry Peak get-away, a week stay at a condo in Orlando, FL, Grand Falls Casino package, multiple gift card donations, and many, many more great items.

“Being a part of this committee has been such an amazing experience.  I cannot begin to give enough thanks to all the businesses and individuals who donate to this auction, whether it be an item for the auction, the raffle, or a cash donation.  It is all greatly appreciated.  We could not make this a success without Lee Burggraff and his staff donating their time the night of the event as our auctioneer,” Campbell said.

Donations for the event will be accepted up until the day of the event.

The “Christmas for Our Kids” project is lead by the local chapter of ESA (an international women’s service organization).  The ESA chapter handles all of the referrals for the “Christmas for Our Kids” as well as delivering the gifts to the families.  Contacts for the ESA “Christmas for Our Kids” project are Brenda O’Hara and Lori Morris.

The Dell Rapids School District spent the week of December 8th – 12th collecting items for the 2014 Dell Rapids “Christmas for our Kids”.    Items were collected from students and staff throughout the week.  Each day was a different donation category.

Monday was “Make a Donation Monday”.  Monetary donations and gift cards were collected.  Tuesday was “Tag & Tape Tuesday”.  Gift tags and tape for wrapping were collected.  Wednesday was “Wrap it up Wednesday” in which new rolls of wrapping paper or other decorating items were collected.  Thursday was “Thankful Thursday”.  Staff and students brought in items they wished were under their tree to give to someone in the program.  Friday was “Festive Friday”.  The final day was for batteries for the donated toys.

The school district had great participation and support throughout the week.

“Christmas for our Kids” is a community project that is lead by the local ESA women’s organization.  Last year the project was able to deliver gifts to 95 children in 42 families.  Along with the event at Dell Rapids School last week, the project also had other areas of support this year.  Adopt-a-Family, the Angel Tree, and monetary donations have been accepted throughout the holiday season.