UMSL child advocacy studies students Alexi Cracchiola and Layla Bastiansen have fun while sorting toys for Wo Otúh’an Wi Toy Drive, which benefits children on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in Eagle Butte, South Dakota. (Photos by Burk Krohe)
“My year has been good,” wrote Lillian, a girl from the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in Eagle Butte, South Dakota.
She continued her letter with a modest wish list, including perennial holiday favorites such as a teddy bear and LEGO set. However, there were a couple items that caught Jerry Dunn’s eye: a pink tackle box and fishing rod.
The letter is just one of hundreds Dunn and volunteers at the University of Missouri–St. Louis will receive this month as part of the Cheyenne River Youth Project’s annual Wo Otúh’an Wi Toy Drive. The Lakota phrase translates to “moon of giving away presents.”
“A traditional toy drive is not going to go find a pink tackle box for Lillian, but we are,” said Dunn, executive director of the St. Louis Children’s Advocacy Center and clinical professor of psychology at UMSL. “When she’s able to open this gift, I think it’s going to really mean something important to her.”
Julie Garreau, the founder of the Cheyenne River Youth Project, initially connected with Joyce Smith, a local woman who started the St. Louis hub for the annual Christmas toy drive more than 20 years ago. The STLCAC has served as the St. Louis base of operations since 2021.
That collaboration grew from an annual UMSL volunteer trip to the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. Since 2018, Dunn and Associate Teaching Professor Dana Klar have traveled to the reservation with UMSL community members for the RedCan Graffiti Jam, an invitational graffiti festival showcasing Indigenous artists and visiting artists from around the world.
Garreau said when the program began more than 30 years ago, it served about 60 kids. Now, it has grown exponentially, bringing holiday cheer to more than 1,300 children in 20 communities on the 2.8-million-acre swath of land in South Dakota. That’s only been possible through dedicated donors and volunteers across the country.
“We know that we couldn’t do it now without the support of the group from St. Louis,” Garreau said. “Our relationship to St. Louis is just so strong, and it has been for a really long time.”
Every year, kids on the reservation write letters about themselves, and they also fill out a brief wish list where they can ask for clothes, toys and other items. The STLCAC aims to fulfill 340 to 350 letters each holiday season. Members of the St. Louis community have the opportunity to “adopt” letters and purchase the items on the child’s wish list.
In addition to adopting letters, community members can make financial contributions, which the STLCAC staff uses to fulfill letters. There’s also an Amazon wish list for those who want to contribute without shopping in person.
Laure Lachaud, CRYP volunteer program manager and toy drive coordinator, said the attention to detail and care that donors and volunteers take with each list is what sets the Wo Otúh’an Wi Toy Drive apart from other charitable initiatives.
“A lot of toy drives, a 5-year-old boy gets Matchbox cars; a 10-year-old girl gets a Barbie,” Lachaud said. “It’s very impersonal, so our toy drive is very personal. We take a lot of pride in that.”
Garreau said that individualized approach makes a difference on Christmas morning when children receive gifts they truly desire. She acknowledged that the toy drive doesn’t necessarily fix the economic or structural challenges the community faces, but it can help families make the holiday season a bit brighter.
“We love our community,” she said. “We love the kids that we serve a great deal. We also know that this doesn’t change the game for the most part. We know that. We know that it just levels things up for a little bit. Kids get to go to school like every other kid and say, ‘I got this. I got something new. Look at my new coat. Look at my new shoes.’ That’s important, I think, for kids who are trying to find their place.”
Jerica Widow, CRYP programs director, concurred and added that the annual tradition is also an expression of the 12 Lakota virtues, particularly generosity.
“It’s just a really great time to make memories for these families,” Widow said. “It’s a time where you can help an organization strengthen its community and invest in our youth, invest in our families.”
Now, the effort to make that magic happen is underway. STLCAC staff members, child advocacy studies students and community members have just begun sorting and organizing the first donations. Cecilie Kreiner, Alexi Cracchiola and Layla Bastiansen are among the volunteer “elves” helping turn the Weinman Center auditorium on South Campus into Santa’s workshop.
Kreiner, a grant project manager at the STLCAC, has been diligently managing incoming wish lists, while Cracchiola, senior child advocacy studies student, has been working on logistics at the center. Bastiansen, a senior child advocacy studies student, shopped for 40 kids last year and is excited to hit the stores this year.
They’ve each previously volunteered at the RedCan Jam, and those connections to the reservation make the hard work ahead especially meaningful.
“One of the fun things for us, doing the toy drive once we’ve done RedCan, is we get to know the kids just a little bit,” Kreiner said. “Then we start seeing their letters come in. There are a lot of them, where it’s like, ‘I know exactly who you are,’ and then going out and getting those little surprises for those kids, it’s just really special.”
Dunn said the UMSL team will be “going full steam ahead” throughout November in preparation to load the delivery truck next month. Climate Express, a trucking company based in Union, Missouri, is a long-time partner on the toy drive, and the company has regularly donated the use of one of its semi-trucks, affectionately known as the “Santa Express.” To ensure gifts make it aboard the Santa Express before its departure the second week of December, the drop-off deadline for donors is Dec. 6. The Amazon wish list will close on Dec. 1, as well.
Dunn said it’s gratifying to make such a tangible difference in the lives of the children on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. Ultimately, the ability to make that kind of impact has led to the longevity of the program.
“Making Christmas morning magical for these kids is the reason why I think people want to be involved, to really, genuinely make a difference in a child’s life when there’s limited resources,” she said. “I’ve always said the community is rich in so many things: culture, tradition, music, art, all of those things. The economic resources are more difficult to come by. I think knowing that on Christmas morning, this child is going to have a gift to open that you provided is a pretty big motivating factor.”
Sign up to adopt a letter or make a donation
Visit the Amazon wishlist
Scan with your phone to learn more.
If you have questions about getting involved, please reach out to Dunn at dunnjer@umsl.edu or friendsoflakotayouth@gmail.com.
