Warm Up Sioux Falls

At this time of year, many Sioux Falls residents start to bundle up as the temperature drops. However, not everyone within the community has the resources to stay warm. Cougar Activities Board’s, Action Coordinator Kylie Boston took initiative in creating a new campus wide event to help the community warm up.

This event allows students and staff members to come together to create tie blankets for those in need in the Sioux Empire.

“So this event is fun and we get to be crafty, not everyone gets to do that,” Boston says. “It also helps out the Bowden Youth Center.”

When donating blankets Thea Fetral CAB’s President says that tie blankets usually get donated to hospitals, which led to CAB picking the non-profit organization, Bowden Youth Center, a safe place where kids can come in after school for activities, food and transportation home when parents aren’t at home after school.

“They have a need there that isn’t as recognized in the community. There aren’t as many people who know that they need blankets there. So we picked somewhere that maybe wouldn’t receive [blankets] if we weren’t doing it,” Fetral says.

Boston and CAB created the event not just to focus on USF.

“I thought making blankets this time of year would be good for not only our community to come together, but also for Sioux Falls,” Boston says.

“I just like that we’re doing it for a cause and that we’re all getting together and supporting our culture for service values by doing something that we can all put effort into to benefit our community. I think that’s what USF loves to do and supporting that is what CAB loves to do,” Fetral says.

If you missed out on the opportunity to tie blankets for those in need, Sioux Falls’ Project Warm Up is holding their 11th annual tie blanket on Saturday, December 9th from 10:00am – 3:00pm at Sonia Sotomayor Elementary School.

For more action events in the upcoming semester, check out the University of Sioux Falls Cougar Events page on Facebook.

Story written by Ellie Herman | Video edited by Abriana Scholl & Jade Rooezenboom