Feb. 28, 2019

Giving Back recognizes businesses and organizations that are helping our communities. Here’s a look at who gave back in February.

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo team members, customers and community members across South Dakota donated almost 800 pounds of food and $8,300 to Feeding South Dakota during Wells Fargo’s Holiday Food Campaign. Wells Fargo collected nonperishable food items at its 40 branches in the state and monetary donations at its ATMs. Nationwide, the joint campaign with Feeding America collected enough food and money to provide more than 55 million meals.

Hy-Vee

Hy-Vee will participate in the annual Great American Milk Drive, beginning Friday. During the monthlong campaign, every Hy-Vee store will offer customers the opportunity to donate $2 or $4 toward the purchase of milk when they check out. All donations will be used to purchase milk from area processors to be distributed to local food banks, including Feeding South Dakota.

Sioux Empire Home Builders Care Foundation

With a shortage of labor in the construction industry, the Sioux Empire Home Builders Care Foundation has been working with O’Gorman High School on the creation of a building trades program. At the beginning of the school year, the foundation provided a $50,000 grant to the school to bolster local workforce development efforts with the creation of a building trades program. Funding for the new program was allocated for purchasing student textbooks, tools and equipment for the shop. The new program at O’Gorman High School features three sections of an introduction to building construction class and one section of carpentry.

The Sioux Empire Home Builders Care Foundation has donated $250,000 to the Harrisburg School District to build the Home Builders Academy on the high school campus. Not only will the foundation be the lead investor of the new building but also industry leaders will be coming into the classroom to provide industry expertise. Through the academy, students will learn the basic skills needed to construct a home, and once the home is moved to its new location, students can further pursue the finishing specialties, such as electrical, drywall, insulation and HVAC. Students from schools in nearby districts also will be given the opportunity to enroll in the program, which will begin in the fall of 2019.

The Sioux Empire Home Builders Care Foundation is seeking applications for its annual Repair Affair program. The goal is to update an applicant’s home by making it more accessible for the elderly and those with low incomes or people with permanent disabilities. Labor will be donated by volunteers and materials will be purchased through a grant received by the foundation and the Housing Division of the city of Sioux Falls. The work will be done on June 4, and the event is sponsored by Great Western Bank. If you or someone you know is in need of accessibility-related projects, contact the foundation at 605- 361-8322 or visit hbasiouxempire.com for an application. Applications are due April 18.

Mary Chilton DAR Foundation

The Mary Chilton DAR Foundation has awarded more than $48,000 to nonprofit organizations and public institutions in South Dakota in its first grant-distribution period for 2019. Local recipients included the Siouxland Heritage Museums and South Dakota News Watch. The chapter’s foundation typically awards grants three times a year, with special attention to educating the community on the preservation of American history. May 5 is the next deadline for applications, which are available at DAR-MaryChiltonFoundation.org.