Looking For A Way To Use Your Volunteer PTO?

Sign Up Now for United Way Day of Action

 If you’re looking for an opportunity to use your VPTO (Volunteer Paid Time Off) hours, sign up for the inaugural 2024 Day of Action hosted by Volunteer United. This Wednesday, April 17, nearly 150 volunteers will be deployed to complete more than 15 service projects in the community, impacting the lives of children, vulnerable adults and people in crisis throughout the Sioux Empire. To learn more, or sign up, click this link.

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Clients and Staff Celebrate Uniqueness

The counseling staff at Children’s Home Shelter for Family Safety recently hosted a collaborative event for staff
and clients to celebrate the CHS value of Better Together and to affirm the uniqueness of each individual. And what shows uniqueness more than handprints?

Participants were encouraged to design and decorate a handprint. The completed handprints are now on display on a window in the Shelter dining room, along with this headline:

We are each unique and beautiful, but TOGETHER we are a Masterpiece!

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ASK US:
You Asked. We Answer.

Q: After the recent leadership announcement, do we actually have too many executives? Are we getting too top-heavy and businesslike? Are we forgetting our mission?

A: Thanks for sharing these concerns. First, please be assured that we have not and will never forget our mission. If anything, we are renewing our commitment to that mission by serving more children and families in South Dakota.

The fact is, our budget has risen by 42% in the past five years, which means we have more employees, more clients and more organizational needs. The work we do, especially when it comes to state and federal dollars,
reimbursements, policies and risk management, is increasingly complex.

In addition, the child welfare system is changing—which has been happening since our founding, 131 years ago. The greater emphasis on keeping families intact...read more.

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Thanks to Cleaver’s Chef Challenge for a great event on March 22! Now in its 10th year, the challenge is a fun and fabulous celebration of great food and those who make it. Shown are CPO Jon Mammenga, First Place Winner Chef Dan Myers and CHS Board Member and Cleaver’s Chef Challenge Co-founder Dennis Aanenson. This annual event raises funds for CHS program support.

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CHS SCRAPBOOK NEWS

Congratulations to Katie Roegiers, Owen School Classroom Teacher, and her husband, Braden, on the birth of their son, Isaiah James. Born at 3:31 p.m. on Monday, April 1, he weighed 8 lbs. 5 oz., 20.25 inches. Katie
shares that he has big feet, lots of brown hair, and is absolutely perfect! His photo is posted for you to enjoy this beautiful new addition to the CHS family.

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Our condolences to Mark Niemeyer on the loss of his father. Charles Roger Niemeyer, 84, of Inwood, Iowa, passed away on March 26.