Thanksgiving Thankfulness

The Student Council at SFCH decided to post a tail-less turkey in the hallway and invited their fellow students and staff to create thankful feathers to fill in the tail. We have lots to be thankful for! Here are a few images with a couple of close-ups of the finished product:

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Bright Start’s Client Christmas Drive-Through Party 

On December 3, the Bright Start team hosted its annual Client Christmas Party. Every year the Bright Start team treats clients to a catered meal, inflatables for the kids to enjoy, pictures with Santa and a gift for mothers and children. 

Of course, this year plans changed due to COVID-19. Not to be discouraged, the Bright Start team transformed the party into a drive-through event. 

Clients drove up in cars and were greeted by Bright Start staff in person. After months of meeting via Zoom, it was a welcome opportunity for a (masked) face-to-face greeting, that both clients and staff enjoyed.  
Each client received a gift bag including a candy cane filled with M&Ms, a book titled The Mitten for the children, and a $25 gift card for Hy-Vee.  

The Bright Start team also enclosed a special holiday greetings letter featuring their photos and a handwritten holiday message. The event had great attendance and Bright Start staff appreciated the chance to spread holiday cheer to the people they serve.

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Children's Inn Christmas Competition

Holiday celebrations at Children’s Inn included a creative door decorating contest. Each team chose a door inside the building to decorate. Staff then voted for their favorite. The winner was the door with the fireplace mantel and Santa boots, created by the Facilities team of Michelle, Cathy and Mark. Congratulations to all who participated!

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Hot Cocoa to Melt Your Heart

The Hot Cocoa Hut is a bit of a spin on the classic summertime lemonade stand in one Sioux Falls neighborhood. While people are enjoying the Christmas light displays in the neighborhood, the kids at the Hot Cocoa Hut serve cocoa to passersby for a free-will donation. They then donate their collections of the evening to an area non-profit. Children’s Home Shelter for Family Safety was a beneficiary on December 19, when $1,900 was raised! 

See the Sioux Falls PD Facebook post about the fundraiser here: https://www.facebook.com/12306...

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BHCH Gets a Visit from Santa with Quite the Entourage! 

Santa came to BHCH on Saturday, December 19, riding in a big red firetruck, escorted by the Pennington County Sheriff's Department. That's quite the warmer-winter-weather sleigh upgrade!

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Kids and Staff at Owen School at BHCH had a Great Gingerbread House Decorating Party!

Thank you, Mike Groher, Director of Schools, for sharing the video you created! 

Please note this video may not be downloaded or distributed externally in order to protect the confidentiality of the children we serve. 

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Santa and Mrs. Claus Pay a Visit to SFCH

Santa and Mrs. Claus paid a visit to the SFCH gymnasium on Thursday, December 3, to give each of the kids (and some staff) an opportunity to get their Christmas wishes on file before the big day.

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Creating Christmas Memories

Kids at SFCH help decorate the Christmas trees on the units and watch a classic Christmas movie, A Charlie Brown Christmas.

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A Change in Christmas Tradition

In lieu of the traditional Christmas Program that is usually put on for friends and family every year, the kids at Sioux Falls Children's Home recorded Christmas music to share with their families. Listen to their great work here: https://chssd.org/kids-music

Thank you, Wendy Enz, Loving School Music Teacher for your work with the kids and Tom Roberts, Events Coordinator, for putting the songs to video! 

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Stockings Knit with Love

Maria McKnight, wife of Mike McKnight, CHS Information Technology Manager, and her friend Beth Dahl knitted stockings for each of the kids at Loving School. The IT Department filled them with pencils, trinkets, and candy for the kids. 

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*All images that include children are strictly forbidden from being downloaded and/or shared externally, in order to protect the confidentiality of those we serve.