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Encouraging At-Risk Youth Through SAVE Promise Club

Photos of affirmations

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McCrossan Boys Ranch is a residential facility for at-risk boys ages 9 to 21. Their SAVE Promise Club began as an effort to provide a positive outlet for the boys.

Boys at McCrossan are placed for a variety of reasons, but most have experienced some sort of past conflict. Their SAVE Promise Club launched in March 2017 to provide a positive outlet for the boys – and have welcomed more than 50 youth participants to meetings and activities since kicking off. In that time, they’ve held meetings every other Monday and conducted a monthly activity. Participation is completely voluntary and open to all residents.

The club has some limitations due to the nature of their residential program, with community activities being harder to plan and coordinate. Since their start, McCrossan’s SAVE Promise Club activities have included hikes, guest speeches from local community leaders, service projects, and donation drives. Together, they have raised hundreds of dollars for charity and have made an incredible contribution to their local community.

Some of those contributions included:

  • Hosted a scavenger hunt and cookout for the club kickoff
  • Invited guest speakers to address the group (Biker, Humane Society)
  • Held Interactive meetings that included the Kindness Rocks Project, disc golf, games, posters, and more
  • Learned about and hiked Good Earth State Park
  • Hosted an information table at a local rodeo
  • Toured Sioux Falls for a service project
  • Volunteered at the Sertoma Butterfly House for a service project
  • Went kayaking
  • Held a donation drive for a local family affected by violence, collecting and donating  more than $700 worth of items
  • Designed and created paper and ribbon flowers with encouraging messages for the donation drive recipients
  • Volunteered at a local concession stand to raise money for the donation drive and fundraised for the National SAVE Promise Club Summit
  • Learned about Say Something Week – and created posters to help spread awareness
  • Participated in Greenlight-A-Vet on campus
  • Made fleece blankets for the local Project Warm-Up chapter
  • Made boxes for the “Any Soldier” project designed to get care packages to soldiers stationed abroad who don’t typically get sent any mail or packages
  • Discussed positive activities for the winter months to encourage residents to find healthy activities to participate in
  • Played a live version of SAVE Promise Club Clue, inspired by their surroundings and resident names

Great job, McCrossan Boys Ranch, for adapting your SAVE Promise Club to work in a new way and do great things, not only for the youth in the club but also for your community!