Oct. 31, 2022

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

SDN Communications

SDN Communications and its members – Alliance Communications, Golden West Communications, West River Cooperative Telephone Co., Santel Communications, Venture Communications Cooperative, Interstate Telecommunications Cooperative, Midstate Communications and James Valley Communications – have provided a $22,000 matching grant to Horizon Health Foundation as part of its upcoming Giving Tuesday campaign. This year’s goal for Giving Tuesday, which is Nov. 29, is to raise $30,000 in one day by welcoming 22 new donors to join the $22-a-month club. For each Horizon community represented by a new $22-a-month club donor, SDN and its members will match the donation with a gift of $1,000, up to $22,000, to represent each community. All proceeds raised will help remove barriers to care such as expenses for transportation, cancer screenings, and behavioral, medical and dental health care for patients in need. To donate or learn more, visit the Horizon Health Foundation website or Facebook page, or call 605-772-4553.

Tracy Pardy, executive director of Horizon Health Foundation; Brianna Feldhaus, Horizon’s development officer; Ryan Punt, CEO of SDN Communications; Sarah Tuntland, SDN’s director of corporate operations; and Jake VanDewater, SDN’s vice president of engineering, operations and IT.

Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation

The Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation’s most recent Community Fund grants support nonprofits working to address some of our community’s most pressing issues, including the successful employment of people with disabilities, prevention of child abuse, support for those struggling with addiction, community planning, help for those reintegrating, support for foster and adoptive families and help for survivors of labor trafficking. The Community Fund is supported by unrestricted gifts from donors who entrust the Foundation to award grants based on community needs and opportunities. The following organizations received grants from July through September: Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment, Emily’s Hope Inc., Forward Sioux Falls, Journey of Hope, Sioux Falls Business Resource Network, The Gathering Well and The Naomi Project.

The Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation awarded a grant to the Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment in support of the Community Response to Child Abuse Conference, an event for professionals responding to and preventing child abuse.

Fareway

Sioux Falls-area Fareway stores raised over $3,600 for local children in need as part of the sixth annual Round Up at the Register campaign. The fundraiser for Variety – the Children’s Charity was held in July at Fareway’s 130 locations in six states. Customers could round up to the next dollar or provide an additional donation on their grocery bill to help fund Variety’s mission. Funds are used to provide mobility equipment to children living with special needs, as well as to fund and deliver effective programs and grants to care for children who are underprivileged, at-risk, critically ill or living with special needs.

Hy-Vee

Hy-Vee Inc. deployed its disaster relief fleet to locations in Florida impacted by Hurricane Ian. Twenty-three employees departed Sept. 30 from the Hy-Vee Fresh Commissary in Ankeny, Iowa, with supplies and food to assist with providing up to 1 million meals. The fleet included Hy-Vee’s mobile command center; its mobile water system, which includes a tank and pump trailer; two Hy-Vee rapid response pickups; and nine semis filled with water, ice, snacks, cleaning supplies and protein. Hy-Vee’s disaster relief team worked with local emergency responders, food banks and nonprofits to assist with efforts specifically in Port Charlotte and Bradenton.

Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods has donated more than 37,000 pounds of food – the equivalent of 150,000 servings – to Fort Myers, Florida, through its Helping Hungry Homes program in response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian. The protein was delivered to Mercy Chefs, a Virginia-based nonprofit that deploys to disaster zones across the U.S. to serve free, chef-prepared, restaurant-quality hot meals to victims, volunteers and first responders.

Has your organization given back to the community? Or do you know an individual who proves one person can make a difference? Email us at [email protected].