YC Youth Leadership Program:

Lakota Sioux Service Trip
This month the Youth Leadership Program will be traveling to the Lakota Sioux reservation in South Dakota for a weeklong volunteer service trip. Our young leaders chose the Sioux reservation because of the alarming living conditions and health risks facing this population. With a life expectancy of only 45 years and an unemployment rate of over 80 percent, the reservation is equivalent to a third world country within the United States. As volunteers, we will run educational and recreational programs for Sioux children and teens, work in the community garden, and repair damaged homes on the reservation. Our youth leaders are actively planning the trip, as well as raising all the funds necessary to make it possible. If you would like to support their efforts in any way, please read the personal message from our youth leaders below to find out how!

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Dear YLP Supporter,
I am a youth director with the Youth Crossroads, Inc. (YC) Youth Leadership Program (YLP), and we are coordinating a service trip during our Spring Break (March 27- April 2, 2011) to the Lakota Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota. The trip will include me and 10 other local teen volunteers who will help to repair damaged houses, work on the community gardens and organize recreational activities for poverty-stricken youth and children that are served by the Cheyenne River Youth Project.

We are shocked by the fact that conditions on the Lakota Sioux Indian reservation are similar to a third world country yet within the United States. The teenage suicide rate is 150 percent higher on the reservation than the U.S. national average and the Lakota Sioux have the lowest life expectancy rate in all of the Americas! This reservation is only 14 hours away, but is practically a whole different world. We hope to make a great impact on this reservation, as we are certain it will make an incredible impact on us. This experience is once in a lifetime and by donating, you are making it more of a reality for us and the Lakota Sioux.

In order to make this trip possible we need to fundraise $5,000. This money provides me and my fellow youth volunteers our meals, transportation and lodging, and allows us to work directly to help the Lakota Sioux community. To make this trip possible we are asking 50 sponsors to make a $50 donation. Your $50 donation would sponsor every meal for one participant while on the reservation. We would deeply appreciate your donation and as a sponsor you will be invited to a celebration dinner hosted by us. Consider making a donation and making our service trip possible!

Click here to download more info and a sponsorship form.

Sincerely,
Monica Aleman, Jorge Muro, Anna Monroy, & Cindy Camacho
Youth Directors, 2011

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To make a contribution, please visit or mail in to:
Youth Crossroads
6412 W. 27th St., Berwyn IL 60402
*For checks, please note “Lakota Sioux service trip” in the memo line.

Youth Crossroads needs your help! As a small non-profit organization, monetary donations from individuals, civic groups, churches, and businesses are an integral part of our operational budget. Your donations go directly to helping local youth get the caring, professional guidance and support they desperately need. Please consider making a donation today via our secure online service. We thank you in advance!

Make a difference in the lifes of youth in your community! Youth Crossroads, Inc. has a variety of volunteer opportunities where you can contribute your talents, experience and time for the benefit of local youth, families and our community. Click for more information.