2021 community sponsorships and partnerships

2020 certainly changed how we could all come together as a community, but it did not change the need for strong community partnerships. As we look to (hopefully) put the pandemic behind us, there are still so many things we can do to support each other. Here are some of the events and organizations we are privileged to partner with, and we welcome everyone who is able to join us.

Winter

Holiday Pajama Drive

This year was our second annual Pajama Drive for youth and teens enrolled in programs at Youth & Family Services, and we were able to meet our goal of 200 donations, plus a few extra! We were blown away by the generosity of our amazing employees, customers, and the team at Kicks and Giggles for their tremendous support! We also collected 30 coats and 15 cold weather items (hats and gloves, etc.). We will continue to collect coats and cold weather items through the end of the year.

Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who helped make this year’s drive merry and bright!

Fall

Thanksgiving dinners for local families

We were proud to partner again this year with Youth & Family Services and Timmons Market – Rapid Valley to provide Thanksgiving meals to 400 Rapid City-area families. On Nov. 18, Timmons delivered the food to YFS, and we helped unload, stack, sort and bag the meals before YFS employees delivered them. The meals included a turkey, dinner rolls, corn, green beans, potatoes, gravy, stuffing, and a pie. Thank you to Timmons and YFS for all the work that went into this! Click here to see photos, visit the Rapid City Journal’s website to read about it, or watch our video to learn more!

Kicking off the Rapid City Rush 2021-’22 season

The Rapid City Rush hockey team’s opening weekend was Oct. 22-23, with Friday’s game brought to you by all of us at Denny Menholt Auto Group in Rapid City! Everyone who attended received a free rally towel.

(Above photo) Teams vie to be first to roll a tire into the goal during the tire roll intermission game at the Oct. 22 Rapid City Rush game. We always look forward to our tire roll intermission game with the Rapid City Rush, and this time we doubled the fun by turning it into a team competition! Four teams fought to see who could roll a tire across the ice and into the goal first to win a set of new tires (or $750 cash) during the Oct. 22 Rapid City Rush season opener. Teams entered through our Facebook page, by commenting and sharing pictures.

Our participants were (clockwise, from bottom left): Adam Martin, Chris Larson, Casey Morgan, and Alli Mason, along with her daughter Aubri. Congratulations to the winner Adam Martin, and thank you again to everyone who played! For more information or to check out their schedule, visit rapidcityrush.com.

Box Elder Harvest Festival

Box Elder has been working hard to amp up its community events, and 2021 was a busy year! One of the events we were excited to sponsor was the Harvest Festival on Oct. 2. The day included food trucks, craft vendors, delicious seasonal foods like caramel apples and hot apple cider, kids crafts and events, prizes and give-aways, carnival games, and a free petting zoo (courtesy of the Charm Farm Refuge). They also gave free pumpkins away to children 12 and under! It was a great way to enjoy the fall.

WellFully

WellFully revamped its main fundraiser with a new event this year called the “We Believe in Kids Benefit Dinner,” of which we were proud to be a sponsor. The dinner was on Sept. 17, and included a meal and desserts by Colonial House, musical entertainment by Sioux Falls-based piano players Dueling Duo, and the main event: presenting college scholarships to WellFully alumni.

WellFully helps at-risk children and youth by providing inpatient drug rehabilitation and residential behavioral health care. They serve girls and boys age 9 to 18 with significant mental health, substance abuse, and/or behavioral challenges with residential and after-school programs. In 2020, the organization served about 350 youth and recently built a new Premier Adolescent Care Center.

Box Elder Patriot Day Parade

Our fantastic employees took some time on Saturday, Sept. 11, to be part of the Box Elder Patriot Day Parade. Fun Fact! For our three vehicles, 24 large bags of candy went into the driving of this parade. Our team of volunteers had a great time, and look forward to doing it again next year.

Tom Pfeifle Memorial 5K Run/Walk

Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s Tom Pfeifle Memorial 5K Run/Walk on Sept. 11 at Raider Park in Rapid City. The annual 5K run/walk raises funds for Raider Park, which is a 30-acre area north of Rapid City Stevens High School. The park’s development through the Tom Pfeifle Memorial foundation has increased student and athletic department use, and serves as a way to honor the memory of outdoor enthusiast and athlete Tom Pfeifle, who died in 2016. For more information, visit tompfeifle5k.org.

Summer

Painting the Rock Pink

Paint The Rock Pink Ladies Charity Golf Tournament raised $31,000 for local cancer patients this year. The (mostly) ladies only event — one husband crashed the party to cheer on his wife as she golfed — was a lot of fun again this year. We sponsored the hole in one contest at Hole 12; unfortunately, no one got a hole in one to win the $5,000 cash prize. But we still loved the chance to meet the golfers. Some of the teams have been playing this tournament together for more than a decade, so it’s a little like a reunion every year. Seeing the creative cart decorations is a highlight as well. And, the vodka lemonade was a hit as always. A huge thank you to the Golf Club at Red Rock for hosting and to Monument Health for putting on this great event every year, and to all of the golfers who supported a wonderful local cause!

: Jennifer Dame and her daughter, Nicci, made their own golf cart decorations for this year’s Paint the Rock Pink. Their theme was “Gnome One Fights Alone,” so they decorated their cart to look like a gnome. Nicci fashioned the hat out of chicken wire and sewed the cover and apron herself. It took a long time, they said, but turned out beautifully.

: You know it’s a group of ’90s kids when they roll up in a “Mean Girls” inspired set of golf carts blasting Backstreet Boys. (We loved it, by the way.)

: The Mean Girls featured quotes from the movie, including adapting one to say “Cancer! Boo you whore!”

: Save the twins! When you see just one of these carts driving around the course, it makes you do a double-take. (Fitting, really, given the theme.) When the teams park side by side, it all makes sense. Deb Hanley, Amanda Mehlhaff, Amanda Kurtz and Shonna McBride worked together to create this perfect set.

Classic cars on display

The Cruzers Car Show was July 31 at the Rushmore Mall parking lot in front of the food court. They had a great turnout, with classic cars and trucks of all kinds on display. The Rapid City Police Department even stopped by, with an officer showcasing the department’s 1967 Dodge. The day also included a food truck, R/C car racing, and carnival rides!

Black Hills Rapids Soccer

We were excited to partner with the Black Hills Rapids Soccer Club this year, which is the home of more than 1,200 indoor and outdoor youth soccer players in western South Dakota. Visit www.blackhillsrapids.com/home to learn more and see their team schedules.

RCFD wins Guns and Hoses Blood Drive competition

The 16th annual Guns and Hoses Blood Drive was June 22-25 at the Rushmore Mall and raised 600 units of blood this year. Each year the Rapid City Police Department and Rapid City Fire Department compete to see who can generate the most donations. RCFD – aka Team Fire – won by 48 units this year. Vitalant reports there is still a critical blood shortage, so if you are able to donate, visit vitalant.org/ for more information!

Homeless But not Hopeless golf tournament

This year’s Homeless but not Hopeless Golf Tournament was June 18 at the Golf Club at Red Rocks in Rapid City. Hosted by M.G. Oil/Corner Pantry, the 12th annual event raised more than $30,000 for the Cornerstone Rescue Mission in Rapid City. We were proud to support this great event again this year, and appreciate all the people who helped make it a great day! For other ways to support Cornerstone, visit www.cornerstonemission.org.

Black Hills Playhouse

The Black Hills Playhouse debuted an outdoor venue this year, to show off its lovely setting in Custer State Park and feature socially distance seating. They had another great season, with “The Marvelous Wonderettes,” “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” and “Altar Boyz.” Here’s a link to this year’s playbill: issuu.com/blackhillsplayhouse/docs/bhp_2021compressed?fbclid=IwAR2sZqy2xfYxyle_av0unHCa1XIaMgHFNOS5tJrF22p6JCw1M5tPy0Z7-t0

Spring

Tees for Keys Golf Tournament

This year’s Tees for Keys Golf Tournament was May 27 at the Golf Club at Red Rocks. It was the 13th annual Tees for Keys tournament, which is a fundraiser for Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity. The nonprofit helps families in need build affordable houses. For more information on the tournament, visit https://www.blackhillshabitat.org/events/tfk2021/.

Walk for Wishes

This year’s Walk for Wishes was May 22 and was once again a virtual event, inviting people to walk on their own and post photos with the hashtag #WalkSDMT. Modern Woodmen matched donations made during the annual fundraiser.

Tire roll Rush winner

A big congratulations to Chris Hiten, who won our intermission tire roll game! Hiten was one of four participants in the game played during the intermission of the May 2 Rapid City Rush hockey game. Everyone who attended that game could sign up at our booth for a chance to play the tire roll. Hiten and three other names were randomly drawn and selected to play, which involved using a hockey stick to roll tires around the rink and into a goal. Hiten displayed the greatest prowess with a hockey stick – fitting for a die hard Rush fan – and was the first to roll his tire into the goal. His prize for winning is $750 toward a set of new tires! Thank you to everyone for participating, and go Rush!

Brakers Softball Team

The U-14 Brakers Softball team competes in softball tournaments across the state, and are the 2020 South Dakota Youth Fastpitch State Champions. Community partners help these talented young athletes buy new equipment and uniforms. We are proud to partner with them again this year, and excited to see what their season holds!

Club for Boys Corporate Free Throw Challenge

The annual Club for Boys Corporate Free Throw Challenge was March 22-26. Thanks to our Honda team members who participated this year: (from left) David Reichert, Terry Hillman, Crystal Quenzer, Taylor Knigge and William Kirksey.

For more information, visit theclubforboys.org

Cornerstone Rescue Mission

Cornerstone Rescue Mission in downtown Rapid City has provided food, shelter and counseling for homeless people in the Black Hills since 1982. Before COVID, the mission housed up to 160 men every night, and fed twice that many. Every year, they hold Cornerstone Celebrates, a banquet, to raise funds to support their mission. For more information on next year’s banquet, contact Deb Berg at 605-718-8712.

Winter

Radio-thon raises funds for St. Jude

This year’s Black Hills Cares for St. Jude Kids Radio-thon raised $76,228. The annual fundraiser was Feb. 24 and 25 on X-Rock (101.1 and 101.3) and Eagle Country (95.9 and 96.3). St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital treats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases at no cost to the families who receive care. Most of St. Jude’s funding comes from donors, which is why we are proud to partner with Riverfront Media each year to support this fundraiser. For more information, visit stjude.org.

Rapid City blood drive draws big numbers

Vitalant in Rapid City collected 252 units of blood during its annual Community Heroes Blood Drive last week. January is National Blood Donor Month, a yearly observance created to alert people to the need for blood donations – especially during the winter, when donations typically wane. If you missed the drive, you can still donate. For more information, visit Vitalant – Rapid City on Facebook, call 877-258-4825 or visit their website at vitalant.org.

Tough Enough to Wear Pink

Monument Health Foundation held its annual Tough Enough to Wear Pink T-shirt fundraiser and awareness campaign in January. Tough Enough to Wear Pink is a national effort held during rodeos and western events to get out the message about breast cancer prevention and to raise funds for breast cancer research and treatment.

Monument Health’s campaign falls during the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo, and raises funds for the John T. Vucurevich Cancer Care Institute. The official day to wear pink shirts during the stock show was Jan. 30. We encouraged employees at our stores to wear their pink shirts Jan. 22 and/or Jan. 29, to help get the message out about this great cause.

For more information, visit https://monument.health/about-us/monument-health-foundation/help-fight-cancer/tough-enough-to-wear-pink/ .

Year-long community partners

Prairie Ridge Golf Course at Ellsworth Air Force Base
Box Elder Chamber of Commerce
Make-A-Wish South Dakota & Montana