Press Release for the
RCWA Toy Deliveries – December 2019
For the 12th year in a row, the Rapid City Woodworkers
Association (RCWA) will be donating handmade wooden toys to local groups who
work with children in South Dakota. The
following organizations are on the list this year:
Rapid City Area:
Youth and Family Services - Prenatal to Five Headstart Programs (12
locations)
The Club for Boys
Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity
Working Against Violence Inc (2 deliveries)
Ellsworth Air Force Base (EAFB) - Airmen and Family Readiness Center (2
deliveries)
Ellsworth Air Force Base (EAFB) - Youth Programs
The HOPE Center
South Dakota Veterans Home
South Dakota National Guards
Eagle Butte, SD: Cheyenne River Youth Project
Beatrice, NE:
Beatrice Community Pre-School
The Toymakers in the Rapid City Woodworking Association
(RCWA) have been working all year to finish the toys in time for Christmas
giving. This year, this group of 40 active
Toymakers finished 4,427 handcrafted wooden toys. Many toys were given to children at special
events during the year, but 2,850 toys will be delivered next week to local
charitable organizations who work with children in South Dakota.
The toys for Christmas
giving will be packed for delivery on Saturday morning Dec 7, 2019, in the shop
at the Club for Boys, and then delivered (at no cost) to 22 groups in South Dakota. Most of the toys will be delivered that same
day. The last group of toys will be
delivered on Tuesday Dec 10, 2019, at 9 am to the Youth and Family Services office
on Plaza Drive in Rapid City. There we
will have an opportunity to pass out the toys directly to the children at the
facility.
In 2008, the group made and gave over 400 toys to the Club
for Boys, WAVI, and Benji’s House. The
number of toys produced since then has increased each year. The number of individuals involved in the
program has increased as well. For those
interested in numbers, a summary of the toy making progress is shown below:
The organization receiving a
portion of the toys is the Youth and Family Services in the Black Hills. Over 725 children are involved in the Youth
and Family Services in the Black Hills from as far north as Spearfish, and as
far south as Edgemont. The woodworkers
have received very positive feedback from all groups that have received the
toys, as they are excited that they have been included in our toy program. We also give toys to the Cheyenne River Youth
Project in Eagle Butte who are conducting a Christmas Toy Drive to fill Santa’s
lists for about 1,500 kids in their area.
The military groups in our community are also given toys, including EAFB
Airmen and Family Readiness Center, and EAFB Youth Programs, the South Dakota
National Guards, and the South Dakota Veterans Home.
We have completed all of the toys for 2019, but if anyone
would like to help build and assemble toys for the 2020 Toy Program, we can
always use an extra hand. Members donate
their time and equipment, but we can use donations of surplus wood or monetary
donations for operating expenses. We
moved our Toymaking shop to the Club for Boys at 320 N 4th Street St in Rapid
City, SD in 2013. This has given us
opportunities to work directly with kids on woodworking projects. Call Bob Buchanan at 348-2865 or check our
website http://www.sdwoodworker.org/ for more
information: Monetary donations can be
mailed to our RCWA Treasurer, Paul Douglas at 5219 Chateaux Ridge in Rapid
City, SD 57702.
The mission of the RCWA is to promote woodworking safety, skills and knowledge, for the amateur, professional and student craftsperson. The RCWA was formed to meet the needs of the woodworkers in the Rapid City area. We meet on the 2nd Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m. at the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City. We cordially invite men and women of all ages who have an interest in woodworking to attend our meetings. No experience is necessary for membership. Membership dues are $25 a year. Please come and share the experience, ideas, techniques and the mutual enjoyment of creating with wood.
The RCWA is a local chapter of the South Dakota Woodworkers Guild. The RCWA exists for two main reasons: (1) To exchange information that will enhance the enjoyment and skills of woodworking; and (2) To promote woodworking as a hobby, as a profession, or anywhere in between. This includes promoting woodworking safety, teaching and helping other members, enhancing the quality of life for underprivileged children of the Black Hills by making and distributing wooden toys to charitable organizations in the local area, and supporting community service organizations thru volunteer woodworking activities.
For more information, contact Bob Buchanan at (605) 348-2865 or Rick Weisbeck at (605) 431-7375. Or go to our website at www.sdwoodworker.org.
Veterans make up over
one third of the RCWA membership.
