Regional Post: The Western Region

All of our sites are split up into four different region teams that work year round developing relationships in communities and working out the details for the summer. Twice a month we will feature updates from these teams. Regional Director Kate Kramer and Area Directors Sarah Miller and Jordan Sharp comprise the Western Region.

Updates From The West

 

Geographically, the Western Region covers half the U.S., but roughly half (9 out of 19) of our sites are located in the state of South Dakota. Six of these sites are on Lakota/Dakota Native American Reservations.  So what is so great about South Dakota? Let us tell you:

 

Pine Ridge 2

My second summer working for YouthWorks, I (Jordan) was in the great state of South Dakota working as the Site Director at the Pine Ridge Two Site. That summer the community welcomed YouthWorks and me warmly, and it was here I fell in love with the community and South Dakota, and it also was the reason I chose to work for YouthWorks full-time.

 

Cheyenne River

When I (Jordan) drive to Eagle Butte on the Cheyenne River Reservation, I don’t feel like I am going to work, but instead I feel like I get to go visit family and friends.  Groups coming to the Cheyenne River Reservation get to meet and work alongside several different people, churches and organizations who care deeply for the people of Eagle Butte.  This year we are excited to transition this site from a church site to a youth site.

 

Standing Rock

In addition to the service that youth get to take part in on the Standing Rock Reservation, participants also learn a lot about the culture, history, and present life of the Hunkpapa band of the Lakota and the life and death of Sitting Bull.  This education happens through a few of the best evening activities we have in the West. These activities include hearing from two ladies about current life on the reservation, taking part in a drum circle and dance, and going to the Sitting Bull monument and hearing from a community friend about Sitting Bull’s significance.

 

Rapid City

Rapid City is one of our three sites in South Dakota which is not on a reservation, and it is the largest city in the YouthWorks Western Region.  Our service in Rapid City looks different than most all of our other South Dakota sites in that we work with service partners in Rapid instead of doing Work Projects and Kids Club.  The service partners we work with are always very excited to have us come back each summer.  It is such an encouragement to meet with organization after organization who have great stories and memories of working with YouthWorks.  In addition, youth get to hear a little of the history of the Black Hills and their significance to the Lakota people as well as getting to go to a pow-wow.

 

Martin

In Martin, groups get to see and experience both small town South Dakota and reservation South Dakota.  In addition to our service and activities, groups coming to Martin get to meet some great friends of YouthWorks who have been hanging out with us for years.  I (Jordan) find myself spending a lot of time with friends when I am in Martin. 

 

Pine Ridge I

Like Jordan, I (Sarah) got my start working for YouthWorks in South Dakota. My first summer, I was the Kids Club staff in Manderson at the Pine Ridge 1 site. I had the wonderful opportunity to partner with the elementary school in a reading program and a Lakota language immersion program. In this partnership I learned the value of the community voice and what it means to serve a community well. I had never been on a reservation before that summer, but it inspired a second summer and then the transition to full-time staff. My summer in South Dakota sparked a passion for learning about new cultures. Pine Ridge 1 is currently the only Beyond site in the West, and we focus on partnering with the school in Manderson and listening to the community about the history and culture of the Lakota people and current life on the reservation.   We (Sarah and Jordan) both have great friends in the town of Manderson.

 

Lake Traverse

The Lake Traverse Reservation is the one Dakota reservation we work on.  Unlike the previous seven sites mentioned, the Lake Traverse Reservation is in East River South Dakota.  One of the reasons I (Kate) appreciate the Lake Traverse mission experience so much is due to the unique opportunity participants get to engage in working with a small town on the reservation, combing a small midwest town feel with Dakota Reservation.

 

Having the opportunity to oversee all 19 of the communities in the Western Region, I (Kate) love the opportunity we have to foster relationships with people who are often stereotyped and only known from a distance. The cultural richness and authentic embrace I have received from many of our community members is simply indescribable.  When our participants engage with community members they are meeting people we know and love. Often in visiting with community friends I find myself feeling like I am sitting at the feet of Jesus hearing about the hopes and desires they have for the future. Jesus is alive and present in each of our communities, and I love seeing teenagers recognize they are a part of the story – a story that started long before our arrival.

 

Rosebud 

One of the communities I (Kate) have the most excitement for is our site on the Rosebud Reservation.  Last summer we made the move from Mission, the capital and largest town on the reservation, to St. Francis.  This move had been discussed for the last few summers, but it never quite felt like it was the right time to move. Our first summer in St. Francis was an incredible success. We were able to maintain many of the relationships we have in Mission while building new relationships in St. Francis. For several years we have had the opportunity to partner with a couple who live near Mission and have a heart and passion for serving the youth of the Rosebud reservation.  Groups who come to Rosebud have the opportunity to take part in supporting this couple’s organization and their vision for the youth of the Rosebud Reservation.  Additionally, they get to hear from this same couple about the culture of the Lakota.

 

Yankton

Yankton is a small town in the south east corner of the state.  Here families get to serve alongside each other while learning from this neat little town about what it means to care for your own community.  I (Jordan) love Yankton because when I first went there last year (our first year in Yankton) I learned so much from this community about what it means to look out and care for neighbors.  We are excited to change Yankton to a family site this summer because we believe that families will learn a lot about service and love from community that could very well look like the community they came from.