Sew For Kids is a group of volunteers that assist Native American children and their families on the Pine Ridge Reservation and at the Marty Indian School on the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. Volunteers sew, knit, crochet, and purchase items needed for the sponsored projects. For more information please visit our blog (see below for the most recent blog) and feel free to join us in making a meaningful difference to the lives of Indian children.
Lakota Friends Circle acts as a fiscal sponsor for Sew For Kids. 100% of all donations made on behalf of Sew For Kids will go directly to our projects and will be tax deductible under the IRS tax code.
Marty Indian School
Aug 23
The 2018/2019 school year began this past Monday, August 20, for students attending Marty Indian School in Marty, SD. The elementary school includes grades K-5, each class has a cap of 14 students with a total maximum enrollment of 95. Students undergo testing the first week of school to identify their strengths and areas that need more work. Although some skills become rusty over the summer break, most kids bounce back quickly with a period of review. Teachers and students alike are eager for this part of the new year to be over so they can move on to learning new things. This is the third year SFK has worked with the school through the room parent program, support of the Feather Store and last year sponsoring Paulita Drapeau’s new sewing program.
Marty has a new elementary principal this year, Jolene Arrow, who previously held the position of school Superintendent in past years. Welcome back Jolene and although we’ll miss working with Mr. Erdahl we look forward to working with you this year. Mr. Erdahl has moved on to his new position, principal of Marty’s middle and high school grades. Jolene began the school year with a week of special dress up days, sounds like a fun way for students to start off the new year. It usually takes a couple of weeks before kids settle into the routine both at home and at school. You can visit the school’s website here and their Facebook page here.
When asked about student needs Principal Jolene said most of them probably went through the summer without socks, shoes and underwear and they all need school supplies. She would love to update the outside play space by incorporating grassy areas, rocks, logs and maybe even a water feature with the standard playground equipment which she hopes to update if funding becomes available. They need all kinds of outside play equipment including basketballs, soccer balls, handballs, frisbees, jump ropes, sidewalk chalk, sand toys (pails, shovels, tea sets, cars and trucks), etc. Kids love to be outdoors and they try to get them out every day, even in winter if they’re properly dressed, to get some fresh air and expel all that pent up energy. This article in a California newspaper illustrates the positive effects of play and how important it is to a child’s development and well being. That certainly shines a new light on the old proverb, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”.
Breakfast and lunch are served to students when classes are in session. School cooks say kids tend to eat a lot on Monday, especially if they come from homes with food shortages, and also on Friday as they try to load up knowing food will be scarce over the weekend. The school gives students an afternoon snack before they head home and may even tuck a little extra in their backpacks for special needs. Snacks are also given to students during testing and to anyone telling teachers they’re hungry. There is money in the budget to purchase snacks but funds aren’t available at the beginning of the school year and when available will only cover 3 days. We would like to help the school and make sure they have plenty of healthy snacks available for students. SFK is starting a Marty Snack Fund at Lakota Friends Circle so we can purchase snacks in larger quantities at better prices which saves you shipping costs and ensures every dollar donated goes toward the purchase of food instead of to shipping companies. If you would like to help with this program please send your tax deductible donations to Lakota Friends Circle here with a note it is for the Marty Snack Fund. If you’re already sending a box of donations to the school consider adding some healthy snacks such as granola bars, graham crackers, cheese and crackers, etc. If anything in the box is for a specific teacher please include a note with their name otherwise the contents will be shared with all the classes and/or go to the Feather Store. Shipping addresses are here.
All donations to Marty Indian school are tax deductible, if you’re sending goods use the editable charitable donation form here (link is below shipping address) and enclose a SASE so the form can be signed, dated and returned to you at no cost to the school. Please track your packages including orders placed online. School funding is continually being cut so it’s important if you want any response, not just a tax form, from the school to add a SASE. Having said that please don’t expect a personal letter from the school unless it is a special circumstance, they simply don’t have the time or extra staff. When speaking with Paulita Drapeau, Feather Store manager, sewing instructor and wearer of many hats, she said a school is a very busy place to run and there never seems to be enough time to get all the jobs done that need doing. Teaching children and helping with their needs is their first priority as we’re sure you’ll all agree. Paulita has been great to work with, sends plenty of photos to the group and also answers any questions you may have on our Facebook page. Thank you Paulita! If you need any further information or questions answered please direct them to Carol or Janet and they will do their best to get you an answer. The blogs are full of information and will keep you updated with the latest happenings at the school.
Thanks so much to all our SFK members that have taken on the challenge of being a room parent. Teachers don’t have a budget for anything other than the basics so unless they take from their own pockets students do without. Room parents help with supplies like hand cleaners, white board markers, Kleenex, craft items, snacks, books and items for special occasions such as holiday parties and birthdays. They may also help with home needs such as towels, blankets, pillows, etc. some of which are considered luxury items in a lot of homes. Teachers do the best they can but many students come with lots of issues and needs, they can only do so much in the few hours they’re with them. Many students go to the Boys and Girls Club located on school grounds after classes where they can get help with homework, play games and have a snack.
Room parents can’t supply all the needs of their classes, especially this year due to the Feather Store’sreduced size which in years past was large enough to store clothing, shoes, underwear, and coats, donated by SFK members and many others, where students could shop for all their wearable needs. The school received a grant to improve students reading and math scores so the clothing room will now be used as a tutoring area. Paulita has decided to give each teacher a list of possible needs such as underwear, socks, shoes, etc. and have them check off what each of their students need. We’ll then decide in our group how we can best help room parents with those needs.
The current Feather Store, although half the size, is still the place to shop for school supplies, craft items, toiletries, small toys, books, snacks and some household items such as laundry detergent, toilet paper, etc. for parents who can also shop in the store. The cupboard is quite bare per Paulita so let’s all help them restock by sending the following:
- School Supplies- crayons, markers, colored pencils, pencils, erasers, wide ruled paper, notebooks, index cards, rulers, glue and glue sticks, pencil sharpeners, backpacks, etc.
- Toiletries – Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, (small or travel sizes), deodorant, sanitary napkins, tampons (girls favorite). Laundry detergent “pods”, dish soap, toilet paper, etc. for parents.
- Snack Items – Cheese and crackers, granola bars, graham crackers, fruit roll ups, fruit cups, and other healthy snacks.
- Toys – Cars, sports equipment, games and puzzles, dolls, art/craft supplies, coloring/sticker books, fidget toys, girls hair accessories, busy bags, books, etc.
Paulita is willing to shop for us so if we receive enough donations in the snack fund those along with toiletries can be purchased locally at Walmart, Sam’s or other big box store. Janet S is visiting the school in late September and will take laundry detergent so the school can wash students clothing. Some kids may only have a couple of outfits and without laundry facilities at home clothing can become really soiled. We want kids to be clean and have clean clothes to wear so they feel good about themselves which helps build their self esteem.
The sewing classes will begin again soon and kids will make another skirt because one skirt does not an expert make and besides you can never have too many ribbon skirts! The kids loved their sewing classes last year and even wanted to skip recess and lunch and keep sewing! Janet S will bring another sewing machine to replace one that needs repair. Thanks to all your generous donations last year the only thing needed this year was non roll elastic which Carol has already provided. Penny N will also be visiting Marty in September and again in the spring, she’s our SD contact for the school and takes some fantastic pictures when she visits and even made a video last spring to share with all of us. Thank you Penny for making us all feel we’re there too and thanks to both ladies for representing Sew For Kids.
Thanks again to room parents, members of Sew For Kids and many others for supporting the students at Marty for another year. Your help does make a difference as evidenced by improved test scores and student morale. Ways to help the school is through the Box tops for Education program or if you use Amazon , consider ordering under Amazon Smile and designating Lakota Friends Circle as your charity. Any monies we receive from Amazon goes directly to our programs including Marty Indian School.
We would like to invite you to join our working Facebook group, Sew for Kids Volunteers, where people from across the US and Canada meet to brainstorm, share patterns and discuss ways we can help children on reservations in SD. Hope to see you there!
Thanks as always from Sew For Kids. We wish everyone at Marty Indian school a successful year!