JANUARY 2025: During the 2024 holiday season, the Cheyenne River Youth Project sought to deliver holiday gifts to 1,000 children in its annual Wo Otúh’an Wi (Moon of Giving Away Presents) Toy Drive. The youth project shattered its original goal, serving 1,521 children in 16 communities across the 2.8-million-acre reservation. Each child received up to three gifts from their wish lists, which meant staff and volunteers organized, wrapped and distributed literally thousands of gifts in December. According to Julie Garreau, chief executive officer, this herculean task would not have been possible without the youth project’s dedicated supporters across the country. “We have a small staff, less than 10 people,” she observed. “Yet we were able to deliver many thousands of gifts to hundreds of families, fulfilling each child’s personal wishes. This is thanks to volunteer groups who organized regional toy drives for us in their metro areas, volunteers who drove the ‘toy trucks’ to Eagle Butte, organizational partners who contributed much-needed funds, and countless individual donors who adopted wish lists, purchased gifts from our Amazon toy list, sent gift cards and provided wrapping supplies. “We also are deeply grateful to our community members, who showed up day after day to help our staff and long-term volunteers wrap and prepare gifts for our families,” she added. “Everyone came together to lift up our children, and they did a beautiful job.” The toy drive program is near and dear to Garreau’s heart. A survivor of the late boarding school era, she recalled one particular holiday season at her school when she was just 6 years old. “We each got one present, and the packages were labeled by gender and age,” she remembered. “When I opened mine, I saw that the toy was broken. “When we started the toy drive at CRYP more than three decades ago, we wanted to make sure that our children would not have experiences like that,” she continued. “Each child should experience the joy and magic of the holiday season. They should feel special and loved, and at least for one day, wishes should come true.” That’s why Garreau and her team have fought so hard, particularly during difficult times like the Great Recession and the Covid pandemic, to keep the toy drive going — and to keep it personal. No matter how big the program gets, she said, children will still receive beautifully wrapped packages with their names on the tags, and their gifts will be what their hearts desired. Once again, this would not have been possible without the local and national relationships CRYP has cultivated since its founding in 1988. “We couldn’t have done it alone then, and we can’t do it alone now,” Garreau said. “We dream big here at CRYP, and our donors and volunteers dream big with us. They care about our young people, and at its heart, that’s what the toy drive is all about. During the winter solstice and holiday season, we want our children to know how treasured they are. They matter.” This year’s supporters included the Block (Square); Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe’s ABC Commission and Indian Child Welfare program; Columbia Sportswear/Roundhouse Foundation; Fairview High School in Boulder, Colorado; “Friends of CRYP” group in St. Louis, Missouri; Lennar Custom Homes; Native Hope; Patterson Earnhart Real Bird & Wilson LLP (Native Law Group); Pope High School in Marietta, Georgia; Rapid City Woodworkers Association; Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community; Spirit of Sovereignty Foundation; Walmart, and hundreds of individual donors worldwide. To learn more about the Cheyenne River Youth Project and its programs, and for information about making donations and volunteering, call (605) 964-8200 or visit www.lakotayouth.org. And, to stay up to date on the latest CRYP news and events, follow the youth project on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. DECEMBER 2024: This year’s youth programming at the Cheyenne River Youth Project officially came to a close on Thursday, Dec. 5 with the annual holiday party at “The Main” youth center. Attendees built gingerbread houses, played games, enjoyed a hearty evening meal together and decorated festive cookies and cake. Now, staff and volunteers are devoting 100 percent of their time and attention to delivering holiday gifts to more than 1,000 children across the 2.8-million-acre Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation through the Wo Otúh’an Wi (Moon of Giving Away Presents) Toy Drive. By all accounts, it’s a tall order. “The toy drive is our longest-running program, dating back to at least 1990, and it’s our most complex program as well,” said Julie Garreau, CRYP’s chief executive officer. “Preparations start in September, and as we get closer to the holidays, our team works around the clock to make sure each child who shares a personal ‘wish list’ with us receives three or four gifts from that special list as well as winter clothing and shoes.” That means working with an extensive nationwide donor network, one that consistently shows up year after year for Cheyenne River’s children. At press time, individuals continued to adopt wish lists through CRYP’s website while staff prepared to welcome large trucks filled with gifts from volunteer groups in the Denver and St. Louis metro areas. “We simply couldn’t deliver personalized gifts to more than 1,000 children in 20 communities across our reservation without the kindness and generosity of all of these people,” said Wakinyan Chief, CRYP’s arts manager. “I want each and every one of them to know that they are having a real impact. “Receiving a beautiful package with your name on it, and opening it to discover that your heartfelt wish came true, is an experience all children should have,” he continued.  “And, watching your child’s face light up with excitement and joy is an experience all parents and caregivers should have.” CRYP’s goal is to have all gifts selected, wrapped and delivered to hundreds of Cheyenne River families by Dec. 24. The campus will be closed on Dec. 25-27. It will close again Dec. 30 to acknowledge the Day of Mourning, an important date on CRYP’s indigenized holiday calendar. The Wounded Knee Massacre took place on Dec. 28, 1890, but as it falls on a Saturday this year, CRYP will close Monday instead. Although the holiday season has arrived, it is not too late to support the youth project with this year’s toy drive. According to Jerica Widow, CRYP’s programs manager, more than 300 wish lists still need to be adopted. “You can view them online and select the one you wish to adopt,” she explained. “Then, you can shop for the gifts yourself and ship them to us, or you can order them online and ship them through the online retailer.” In addition, supporters may send gifts directly to CRYP from the youth project’s general Amazon list of preferred toys, contribute gift cards or wrapping supplies, or donate funds. Those who are able to make the trip to Eagle Butte also can volunteer for on-site gift wrapping at the CRYP campus. The youth project can provide lodging if needed. To adopt a wish list and learn more about the additional ways to help, visit lakotayouth.org/toy-drive.  To learn more about the Cheyenne River Youth Project and its programs, and for information about making donations and volunteering, call (605) 964-8200 or visit www.lakotayouth.org. And, to stay up to date on the latest CRYP news and events, follow the youth project on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. NOVEMBER 2024: The Cheyenne River Youth Project has begun (Nov. 4, 2024) the 2024 Wo Otúh’an Wi Toy Drive, which will serve more than 1,000 children again this year. The grassroots, Native-led nonprofit has conducted this massive national drive for more than three decades, which makes “the Moon of Giving Away Presents” its longest-running and most deeply beloved program. It’s an ambitious undertaking, even with so many years of experience. CRYP guarantees that each child receives up to four gifts from their personal “wish list,” as well as much-needed winter clothing and shoes. To ensure that every child’s wishes come true, staff and volunteers work around the clock to build nationwide partnerships, arrange complex logistics, and collect, wrap and distribute many thousands of gifts to families in 20 communities across the reservation, which is home to four bands of the Lakota Nation. For Julie Garreau, CRYP’s founder and chief executive officer, Wo Otúh’an Wi is the right program at the right time. Multiple cultures celebrate important holidays in December; the Lakota people are no different, and the toy drive provides a special opportunity to demonstrate and celebrate traditional Lakota values. “For us as Lakota people, the winter solstice is a time of going inward,” Garreau explained. “We gather with our loved ones for warmth, storytelling, nourishment and expressing gratitude as we head into waníyetu (winter) and its dark, cold moons. “It is a sacred time, and here at CRYP, we choose to honor it with our annual toy drive,” she continued. “Through gift-giving, our families hopefully are able to come together for their own sacred time filled with joy, love and a measure of peace. And, as we live our Lakota values of generosity and caring for others, we hope our children feel how loved and treasured they are.” Indeed, the toy drive is not simply about the gifts themselves. It’s about experiencing the surprise and joy that comes with a wish fulfilled, as well as the many special ways family members show care for each other. “Several years ago, I was choosing gifts for a particular child who had requested typical toys like Legos and action figures,” remembered Laure Lachaud, CRYP’s volunteer program manager and longtime toy drive coordinator. “I saw the child also requested ‘a watch for my grandma, because she takes care of me and doesn’t have one.’ “We were nearing the end of the toy drive, so I didn’t have much hope,” she continued. “Then, a miracle: I found a women’s watch sitting at the back of a table. I’ll never forget that day, because it reminds me that the toy drive can bring joy to the whole family.” Such a large undertaking, however, would not be possible without an extensive network of supporters across the country and even around the world. Garreau and Lachaud said there are multiple ways to help CRYP staff with this year’s toy drive. First and foremost, supporters can adopt a child’s “wish list” and shop for specific gifts for that particular child. When the child receives these carefully selected packages, each will bear their own name rather than a generic card for “Boy, Age 5” or “Girl, Age 8.” “No matter how much our toy drive has expanded over the years, we have always remained true to our original intention — to keep it personal,” Garreau said. “Our toy drive really is unique in that way. We want each and every child to know they matter. “We are now serving our second generation of children, and every now and then, an adult in our community will approach us to say they still remember how they received a very special gift through CRYP long ago,” she added. “It made fulfilled a wish, made a dream come true and brought real happiness, and they remember.” Supporters also may send gifts directly to CRYP from the youth project’s Amazon list of preferred toys, contribute gift cards or wrapping supplies, and donate funds. Those who wish to physically lend a hand can coordinate a local toy drive for CRYP at their school, office, church or neighborhood. They also may volunteer for on-site gift wrapping at the CRYP campus in December. The youth project will provide lodging and some meals for all volunteers. To adopt a wish list, access CRYP’s Toy Drive toolkit for coordinating a local toy drive, and learn more about the additional ways to help, visit lakotayouth.org/toy-drive. “We serve anywhere from 1,000 to upwards of 1,500 children through the toy drive, and our supporters make the magic possible,” Lachaud said. “Every year, I am blown away by the amount of donations that pour in. Together, we can make so many joyful moments possible for Cheyenne River families.”