We as a community had to make a lot of adjustments last year, but that didn’t stop us from coming together to help another (and maybe even have a little fun). Here are the ways we’re proud to partner with Black Hills-area organizations and events again this year:

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!

We also were a designated drop-off for the Pennington County Toys for Tots again this year. We collected a box full of toys, which Toys for Tots picked up in early December. Thank you to everyone to donated there, as well! 

New kayaks delivered for Outdoor Campus

Special delivery! We love being part of a great outdoors community like Rapid City, so we donated $5,700 to Game, Fish & Parks Outdoor Campus West in Rapid City to purchase some new kayaks. They arrived earlier this month – click here to see photos. We know it’s a little chilly for kayaking right now, but when it warms up be sure to check them out and spend some time on the water! 

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! 

LOVE Inc.

The LOVE Inc. Hope & Love Dinner & Dessert Auction was Nov. 21. The fall fundraiser supports LOVE Inc. of the Black Hills, the local chapter of a national faith-based organization that mobilizes local churches “to offer a holistic approach to caring for people in all areas of life: spiritual, mental, emotional, relational, material, and physical.”  

Creepy-Crawley Tire Time returns to Toyota

We festively ushered in Halloween again this year with our Creepy-Crawley Tire Time display in the store. We competed with 75 dealers in the region (North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri). We were excited to make it into the final round of Toyota’s contest again, even if we didn’t win the final. The display featured our DIY tires again, a new banner, the skeleton of a salesman bummed out by the microchip shortage, and of course – candy! We hope you had as much fun as we did!

Terry Peak season pass giveaway

Congratulations to Becky Davis, who won a youth season pass to Terry Peak Ski Area for the 2021-2022 season! We were excited to partner with Terry Peak and sponsor the youth season pass as a prize in one of our Facebook contests in October. To participate, people posted pictures of themselves enjoying the snow and outdoors. We had more than 70 people enter, and the winner was randomly selected and announced on Oct. 29. Becky said they already have some ski trips booked! To see a slideshow of everyone who entered, click here.

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.

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. This year’s banquet was unfortunately canceled, but if you would like to donate to the shelter, contact Deb Berg at 605-718-8712. They did still hold their fifth annual Night of Hope fundraiser in October, which we were proud to support once again. 

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. 

Car seat safety checks

Black Hills Pregnancy Center teamed up with Buckle Up for Life to conduct free car seat inspections at our store on Saturday, Sept. 25. For more information, visit NHTSA.gov/TheRightSeat. 

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

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 on Aug. 10 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!

Golfing for wishes

We loved being part of this year’s Farmers Charity Golf Tournament benefiting Make-A-Wish South Dakota & Montana. This year’s event, held July 19 at Hart Ranch Golf Club, raised $10,001 for Make-A-Wish. Our team in the tournament included Jerry Mansfield, Nick Jacobs, Colby Anderson and Mike Grant. Way to go, guys!

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!

Golf tourney raises funds for homeless shelter

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

Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity hosted its annual Tees for Keys Golf Tournament on May 27 at the Golf Club at Red Rocks in Rapid City. We were proud to have two teams play in the tournament, and they had a great time despite the chilly, rainy weather. Thank you to all the businesses and employees who made the day a success, and to all people who braved the cold for a good cause! This 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!

Club for Boys Corporate Free Throw Challenge

The Club for Boys Corporate Free Throw Challenge was March 22-26, and Jermaine Henderson, Nick Jacobs, Jeremy Klabunde, Tim Lee and Mike Grant represented us this year. They scored a total of 92 points, and had a blast! Way to go, guys!

For more information, visit theclubforboys.org 

Toyota Hardwood Tournament

We were excited to start a new partnership this year with AJ Screening to sponsor their annual youth basketball tournament for third-graders through high school girls and boys. This year’s tournament was March 13-14, and hosts more than 100 teams every year. Uncooperative weather kept some out-of-state teams from coming, but there was still a strong turnout. 

Brett Odenbach won our social media hashtag contest, where we asked people to show us how they were displaying the tournament stickers they received. We also debuted our TikTok channel, with a challenge to see how well tournament-goers can spin a basketball on one finger. (Our salesman demonstrated their own skills here.) 

Special shout-out to our Chevy salesman Chuck Wald’s grandkids, Caleb and Noah, who were part of the third-grade and fifth-grade St. Thomas More Cavalier teams that played in the Toyota Hardwood Tournament. Their teams won first place in their divisions, and Chuck’s son, Nick, is the coach for both teams as well! Way to go, guys! 🏀

Winter

Black Hills Cares for Kids with radio-thon

 

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.

Community Heroes Blood Drive

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.

Free car seat checks

Thank you to everyone who attended the car seat checks held at our store on Jan. 23 & 30! Certified child passenger safety technicians were at our store to provide free car seat checks. The event was sponsored by the Black Hills Pregnancy Center, with support from MADD and Buckle Up for Life.

Tough Enough to Wear Pink

Monument Health Foundation is holding its annual Tough Enough to Wear Pink T-shirt fundraiser and awareness campaign. 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 annual event is held 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 is Jan. 30. We are encouraging 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.

To participate or to purchase this year’s T-shirt, 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
• Black Hills Rapids Soccer
• Box Elder Chamber of Commerce
• Make-A-Wish South Dakota & Montana
• Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity