The goal of the Volunteer Sioux Falls initiative is to strengthen the Sioux Empire by providing potential volunteers one-time, hands-on opportunities to serve, inspiring them to become life-long volunteers.

2008 was the inaugural year for Volunteer Sioux Falls, with over 450 volunteers participating. In 2009, over 900 volunteers joined the effort, giving over 2,000 hours of service in just one day. This year, more than 1,200 area residents will give their time during Volunteer Sioux Falls 2010. 

Volunteer Sioux Falls Ambassadors serve as the catalyst for asking area residents to get involved in Volunteer Sioux Falls projects. Ambassadors and their projects were announced at today’s press conference. For the next 10 weeks, these 22 community leaders will plan volunteer service projects for Sept. 25, inviting hundreds of their friends, family and co-workers to get involved. They will also be speaking at churches, schools, civic clubs, community group meetings, and local businesses encouraging all area residents to plan their own Volunteer Sioux Falls 2010 projects. Volunteer Sioux Falls project ideas for the community are available at  www.helplinecenter.org or by dialing 211.

Volunteer Sioux Falls 2010 Ambassadors and their projects are as follows:

Ambassador Rachel Gage will be partnering with the Lutheran Social Services School Based Mentor Program to connect potential volunteers with the youth on the LSS mentor waiting list. This project will help inspire volunteers to sign up as mentors for the coming school year.

Ambassador Colleen Moran of the Deputy States Attorney’s Office and her volunteer team will work one-on-one with youth at Children’s Care Hospital & School to make crafts and decorations for the living units at the facility. This will serve as a fun way to help with community integration for children with disabilities.

Ambassador Jason Wierenga and the team from Raven Industries want to impact the area where they work. With assistance from the City of Sioux Falls, they will hold a litter pick up in the Downtown area, helping keep our community clean and free of trash.

Ambassador Lesa Jarding will work with a team of Wells Fargo Volunteers to develop a project that will positively impact the lives of people living with disabilities in the Sioux Empire.

Co-Ambassadors Luanne Christensen and Suzanne Lynne of Life 96.5 will be holding a coat drive for area youth and adults. The coats will be donated to local agencies that will, in turn, get them to area people in need. Start looking in your closets now!

Ambassador Micah Luke, a local artist, will be creating a custom painting for each Volunteer Sioux Falls project. Each piece, created with spray paint, will be a visual representation of an effort taking place Sept. 25. The paintings will then be donated to an agency or volunteer group. Three of his art pieces are here today on display.

Ambassador Patrick Gale of the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation will gather his friends and family, spending the morning at the Great Plains Zoo. They will be decorating for Zoo Boo, one of the area’s premier Halloween events. In the afternoon, Ambassador Amy Smolik of the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce will take over with her team, concentrating on decorating the Zoo’s carousel and Face To Face Farm.

Ambassador Tim Olson and his team from NorthWestern Energy will partner with River of Hope, a local non-profit that builds therapeutic ponds for people living with cancer. The volunteers will finish landscaping at a site in progress, and then the recipient of the pond will see it complete for the first time that afternoon.

Ambassador Carmen Toft and the Sioux Falls Up & Coming will partner with Habitat for Humanity and paint two homes for low income area residents, helping the homeowners regain pride and beautifying our community. Collette Manning is here representing the group today as Carmen is out of town.

Co-Ambassadors Nate Helling of the Sioux Falls Seminary and Daniel Prendable will partner with the City of Sioux Falls, Volunteers of America Dakotas, and Ellis and Eastern Railroad for a litter clean up in the Pettigrew Heights neighborhood. The day will end with lunch at the Harvest Festival being held at Lowell Elementary.

Co-Ambassadors Allen Kjesbo and Kyle Johnson of The Point Is To Serve Church will work with congregants to collect welcome box items and host a free rummage sale for the clients of the Lutheran Social Services Refugee and Immigration Center.

Ambassador Alan Wieskamp and the team at TSP will do maintenance and painting at the Sioux Falls Area Literacy Council, just in time for the agency’s 25^th anniversary.

Ambassador Rob Rezek and the members of South Sioux Kiwanis will help two agencies, Family Connections and the Family Visitation Center, with maintenance projects. The group will also be creating "activity bins" for both agencies, which will provide fun art project kits for the families they serve, giving children and their parents a positive activity to share.

Ambassador Brian Wittkop of HSBC will team up with his co-workers to make and serve a meal on Sept. 25 for Night Watch at the Salvation Army, feeding area families and individuals who otherwise would not have dinner that day.

Ambassador Jeremy Welch of Home Depot plans to rally his co-workers to help with building maintenance projects for Handi-Riders, an organization that uses equine-assisted activities to promote functional independence and overall personal well-being for adults and children with disabilities.

Ambassador JD Cotton will lead the Downtown Lions in a canoe outing with a group of boys from the McCrossan Boys Ranch as part of an on-going mentoring project. This is the third year the two groups have partnered for this outing, which also includes food and games.

Ambassador Lisa Vande Voort of Architecture Inc. will partner with Sioux Falls Construction to assist with maintenance projects at the Sioux Falls Area Humane Society, helping our friends with four feet.

Ambassador Sarah Jennings of AARP plans to host a Volunteer Sioux Falls project in partnership with the Sioux Empire Community Theatre, exposing area individuals and families to the fun of theatre through volunteerism.

Home Federal Bank hosted the Launch today, and is the lead sponsor of Volunteer Sioux Falls. Additional sponsors include Sunshine Foods, the Empire Mall, Raven Industries and NorthWestern Energy.