South Dakota Community Foundation Awards $15,000 to Running Strong for American Indian Youth
February 11, 2025 // Grants, South Dakota Fund Grants
“ Providing generations of people skills that can sustain their families in so many ways is life changing.”
Ginger Niemann, SDCF Senior Program Officer
South Dakota Community Foundation (SDCF) recently awarded a $15,000 South Dakota Fund grant to Running Strong for American Indian Youth. Funding will support the Medicine Root Gardening Program operated by The Oyate Ta Kola Ku Community Center on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
“This generous grant will enable families on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to become food secure through the growing of their own food,” Sydney Mills, Executive Director of Running Strong for American Indian Youth. “Our gardening program allows us to meet critical needs while also teaching basic entrepreneurial and financial planning skills. Thanks to generous partners like South Dakota Community Foundation, we continue to train a new generation of Lakota gardeners who can sustain their families with the produce they grow!”
Running Strong for American Indian Youth was co-founded by Olympic Champion Billy Mills in 1986 and has been working to strengthen Native American Communities. Running Strong for American Indian Youth believes in long-term investment, working in communities for decades to build a foundation for generational change. The Medicine Roots Gardening Program consists of a 9-month training program and hands-on gardening instruction to teach community members how to start their own gardens. The training program teaches classes on how to plan, grow and harvest a garden; hands-on demonstrations where participants receive tools needed to maintain gardens at their homes; classes on food preservation from produce harvested from their gardens; and classes on how to become seasonal entrepreneurs to generate income from sales of their surplus from their gardens through the Medicine Root Farmers Market.
“We are proud to partner with Running Strong for American Indian Youth for such an incredible program," says Ginger Niemann, SDCF Senior Program Officer.
SDCF is a public non-profit organization established in 1987. SDCF, with offices in Pierre, Rapid City, Sioux Falls and Aberdeen administers 1,300 funds benefiting hundreds of charitable organizations annually. The Foundation distributed nearly $40 million in grants in 2024 which made a tremendous difference in communities statewide. This would not have been possible without the generosity of our donors. If you have a specific cause you would like to support or would prefer to give for the general good of our state, please visit https://sdcommunityfoundation.org/giving to learn more or call 1-800-888-1842.