Hy-Vee/Sanford Legends 

Hy-Vee/Sanford Legends events this year have raised $255,000 for local youth sports organizations, college scholarships and Folds of Honor grants. That brings the total amount donated since 2005 to $2.35 million. The Legends events, which feature celebrity athletes, provide learning opportunities for young athletes through clinics and camps.

100+ Men Who Care

The Sioux Empire Chapter of 100+ Men Who Care has donated $3,600 to Hope Harbor. The group also gave $1,000 donations to Glory House and Teach for America.

Sammons

Sammons has donated $10,000 to The Banquet after the feeding ministry lost $15,000 worth of food because of a sprinkler malfunction in its walk-in freezer.

Black Hills Federal Credit Union

Through its annual drive to collect school supplies, employees at Black Hills Federal Credit Union were able to donate more than 5,000 items to Lowell Elementary. To gather the necessary supplies, the credit union relied on donations from its members, the community and area businesses. The drive also was supported by the credit union’s charitable fund.

JCPenney

JCPenney employees donated $5,000 to The Banquet to help restock backpacks and school supplies for a second distribution event for Project:SOS that was held early in the morning on the first day of classes for public school students. The money came from a customer round-up program and employee contributions to the JCPenney Cares Foundation. The top 100 stores in the nation that generated the highest local contributions got to choose a charity to support.

ART Vision

Dr. Alison Tendler, the owner of ART Vision and ARTisan Skin and Laser Center, donated her services as part of the Refractive Surgery Alliance’s Global Vision Correction month and provided vision correction surgery to a local volunteer firefighter. Tendler performed LASIK surgery on Mike Harstad, who has served as chief of the Crooks Volunteer Fire Department for 17 years.

Graham Automotive Group

Anyone who test drives a vehicle at Graham Automotive Group through the end of the year will get to designate a $20 gift card to a teacher in the Sioux Falls School District. The test drive can be any new Audi, Volvo or Volkswagen or any used car. The money is meant to help offset costs that teachers often pay for classroom materials. The Sioux Falls Public Schools Education Foundation will coordinate the distribution of the gift cards.

POET Foundation/Savers

The POET Foundation and Savers are helping with a fundraising effort for All City Elementary PTO. The organization is conducting a shoe drive through September. The group’s goal is to collect 7,500 pounds of new or gently worn shoes for Funds2Orgs, which would result in a $3,000 payment to the PTO. Funds2Orgs redistributes the shoes to support microenterprises in developing nations. The POET Foundation will provide a financial match up to the PTO’s goal amount, and POET is setting up a shoe collection campaign for its team members. The thrift store Savers will contribute shoes.