Sept. 30, 2022

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

Children’s Home Society of South Dakota

With generous support from businesses and individuals across the state and beyond, the 2022 Caring for the Kids Celebration raised more than $490,000 for the Children’s Home Society of South Dakota. In addition to major sponsorships, the two-day event in early August included a car raffle, golf classic, wish wall and auction packages. During the Celebration banquet, two challenge gifts were announced: $50,000 from Jim and Nini Hart and $50,000 from Spronk Brothers III, the Spronk family, staff and growers. The winner of the 2022 Subaru Crosstrek, donated by Schulte Subaru, was Arthur Wallace of  Sioux Falls.

First Interstate Bank

To give back to the places it calls home, First Interstate Bank, a community bank with more than 300 branches across 14 states, held its fifth annual Volunteer Day on Sept. 14. First Interstate locations closed that day at noon, giving employees paid time to volunteer through nearly 400 separate service projects in its communities. The overarching philanthropic focus for this year’s Volunteer Day was anchored in combating poverty, hunger and homelessness. However, employees were empowered to select service projects that cater to the specific needs of their communities. Projects in Sioux Falls included work at Feeding South Dakota constructing a storage shed for equipment and packing food boxes to feed children and families, packing lunches at Kids Against Hunger and Lunch is Served, making tie blankets for people and pets in shelters, helping set up a rummage sale for the Avera McKennan Foundation, cleaning up along the Big Sioux River and writing notes to veterans.

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sioux Falls

More than 120 women volunteered over three days in mid-September with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sioux Falls for Women Build 2022. The event brings women together to build, learn and empower each other as they work to positively impact the Sioux Falls community and to help provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hardworking local families. Volunteers worked alongside Habitat staff and future homeowners in Millard Acres, a Habitat for Humanity affordable housing development in northeast Sioux Falls. They helped build three twin homes that will provide housing for six families.

Hy-Vee

At the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health on Sept. 28, Hy-Vee chairman and CEO Randy Edeker announced that the company will deliver 30 million meals to vulnerable communities by 2025, as well as deploy its registered dietitian team to educate 100,000 Americans in areas of low food access on healthy eating and nutrition by 2026. The commitment builds on the company’s longstanding focus and ongoing community efforts to fight hunger. “Our ultimate goal is to help eliminate hunger and connect with those in need because no one should ever have to worry about where their next meal will come from,” Edeker said. The White House Conference is meant to catalyze public and private sectors around a coordinated strategy to accelerate progress and drive transformative change in the U.S. to end hunger, improve nutrition and physical activity, and close the disparities surrounding them.

Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy volunteers put their good energy into action in September for the company’s 12th annual Day of Service. Nearly 3,000 Xcel Energy employees, retirees, family, friends and customers partnered with more than 100 nonprofits in the eight states the company serves. Volunteer efforts this year generated roughly $117,000 in local economic impact in the Upper Midwest, along with $270,000 in total economic impact across the eight states. In South Dakota, volunteers packaged 3,500 pounds of produce, packed 2,232 backpacks and sorted through 1,680 packages of ribs for Feeding South Dakota. The backpacks will supply over 2,000 kids in the Sioux Falls area with weekend food for one week, and the produce and ribs will serve about 350 households in rural South Dakota.