The winter months ahead will be a lot warmer thanks to the generosity of many people who donated toys, coats and warm clothing in the One Warm Coat drive, Boots on the Ground clothing drive and Toys for Tots drive. All three campaigns recorded a huge success in their efforts to help care for those in need in the coming winter months.
Part of the success is due to the efforts of Rapid Chevrolet and other local businesses. For the 7th year, Rapid Chevrolet conducted a coat drive to support the One Warm Coat campaign. Youth and Family Services will distribute the coats collected to those in need. Everyone who donated a coat received a discounted oil change and was entered in a drawing to win $500. The lucky winner was Lynette Griebel.
The Boots on the Ground campaign was also a huge success. Campaign volunteers collected all types of warm clothing for veterans including boots, socks, coats and jeans through the VFW. Veterans were invited recently to receive the items collected along with some holiday goodies.
Thanks to donations collected at businesses like Toyota of the Black Hills, many children in need received an unexpected gift this year. Toyota of the Black Hills was an official drop spot for the Toys for Tots Program. This was their 18th year participating to help children experience the joy of Christmas.
“It’s Christmas and you know every little kid deserves to have a toy under the tree on Christmas,” said Toyota of the Black Hills Service Manager Les Nelson. “It’s just our way to give back to the community, you know, considering what they’ve done for us over the past 30 years. It’s just something we like to do and pay it forward.”
Hosted by HomeSlice MediaGroup, the goal was to help 2000 children and teenagers receive Christmas gifts. Customers at Toyota of the Black Hills were able to round up their service tickets to support Toys for Tots. They could also donate a toy with a $10 or more value and receive $10 off service. Those who went through service were entered into a drawing, and the 5 winners (of $100 each), were Allen Carlson, Gary Latin, Beth Sundahl, Donald Christopher, and Rick Swantner.