Partners Protecting Kids

Every year, the Child Advocacy Center (CAC) presents the “Partners Protecting Kids” award at the annual Making a Difference for Generations Gala, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Rapid City Rushmore. 

We are excited to share that this year’s “Partners Protecting Kids” award went to two CHS staff—Assistant Director of Development and Events Theresa Schreiner and Event and Volunteer Specialist Abby Sharp!

Established in 2014, the award honors an individual, group or organization that goes above and beyond to have a significant role in protecting children from abuse. Both Theresa and Abby were chosen for this award because of the multitude of wonderful things they do like building relationships with donors, organizing fundraisers and ensuring the needs of every child at BHCH are met. Their caring hearts extend to everyone on campus.

Theresa and Abby not only provide a listening ear to staff but also make sure that they have the resources needed to... Read more.

This video was created for the Gala and to recognize Theresa and Abby as this year’s recipients.

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A Bright Start for Babies

Our Bright Start Nurse Home Visitors team is setting new goals and breaking records! In January of 2025, Bright Start ended the month with 16 new babies enrolled in the program. These 16 clients are in addition to all the other clients at Bright Start. January’s enrollment number ties the record that was set back in January 2014. Last year, Bright Start averaged about seven new babies per month and in 2023 the average was six babies. Click here for more.

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Houseless Family Finds a Home

We need to remember to take time to acknowledge the wins we have throughout our day. It doesn’t matter how big or small that victory may be, it’s still a step in the right direction. Let’s take a moment to celebrate Family Engagement Specialist Loree Crawford’s recent win! 

Loree is working with a client who has been houseless for the past 14 months. After much searching, patience and hope, her client was recently able to find and move into the perfect home for her and her family. Here is Loree’s story.

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ON THE RISE

Let’s take a moment to celebrate some CHS staff achievements.

• Shelter for Family Services Crisis Advocate Sami Rasmussen was recently accepted into the Master of Social Work program at the University of South Dakota. Awesome job, Sami!

• Congratulations to WWK Adoption Specialist Tina Graber! Out of almost 600 Adoption Specialists in the United States, Tina’s been chosen as a 2025 Wendy Wonderful Kids recruiter of the year. Bravo, Tina! More information coming soon!

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CHS SCRAPBOOK

Last week our CHS school teams collaborated with Dr. Lori Desautels, from Butler University. Staff dove into Dr. Desautels’s book Brain and Body Brilliance and her article Applied Educational Neuroscience Framework.

Through their session, staff were educated on how the brain-body connection may impact the classroom and overall help create a supportive, thriving environment for every student. Click here for more.

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Marketing Team Brings Home Gold

The Marketing team brought home some hardware from the 2025 American Advertising Federation—South Dakota ADDY awards! The team submitted three projects, and all three entered won a gold or silver medal. Something extra cool to note is that the projects were
not submitted as in-house Marketing department work but... Read more.

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