Artist's rendering of the proposed Head Start and Early Childhood community center in Rapid City, South Dakota. Image from Rural America Initiatives
Center will house Head Start and Early Childhood programs of Indian children
By Talli Nauman
Native Sun News
Health & Environment Editor RAPID CITY –– A prominent Western South Dakota builder answered the call to aid Native American preschool programs, making a donation in time to meet a challenge-grant deadline of Dec. 18, the recipient Rural America Initiatives (RAI), announced. Jim Scull, proprietor of Scull Construction Services Inc., based in Rapid City, donated $100,000, joining other area businesses in successfully leveraging a $250,000 pledge from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Tribe for RAI to establish a new community center housing Head Start and Early Childhood program facilities. “We have to come together to improve the possibility of success for the Native American children in this community,” Scull told the Native Sun News. “It’s such a worthy cause.” Rural America Initiatives issued the call for help a month earlier, following contributions by Black Hills Corp, Black Hills Power, US Bank, First Interstate BancSystem Foundation, the Beverly M.-Lloyd W. Paulson Charitable Gift Fund, Casey Peterson & Associates, and others. The most recent gift means the Shakopee Tribe will match the private funding for a total of $500,000 to launch a capital campaign project aimed at replacing 20 year old worn- out and fully depreciated buildings, RAI said in announcing the achievement on Dec. 15.
Jim Scull, at the podium, is surrounded by Rapid City officials at a recent event concluding Pennington County office construction work conducted by his firm. Photo by Talli Nauman
“The buildings are in very, very poor shape,” Scull said, noting that failure to address the situation could lead to loss of accreditation for the non-profit that has been providing critical services for the most at-risk children using outdated modular and trailer buildings. “It’s just time for this to happen.” RAI’s programs provide services to children from pre-natal through high school, reaching more than 1,300 families in Rapid City and on the Crow Creek Indian Reservation since 1986. The initial funds will be used to secure land for the new community center. This in turn is expected to leverage a significant amount of construction costs. The National Office of Head Start will contribute 25 percent of those costs. The planned 28,500 square foot facility will house classrooms, indoor and outdoor play and garden areas, offices and support spaces for infant’s and children’s needs. In addition, the facility will include energy-efficient administrative and meeting spaces for staff, community, and parents. Included will be kitchen and laundry facilities, speech therapy and sick-bay space, as well as secure drop-off and pick-up zones. The anticipated cost of land and improvements is $1.2 million, with an additional construction cost of $5 million. The construction timeframe is estimated to be 18 months, once funds are raised. RAI helps families who “can fall between the cracks of traditional services, and may be the most at-risk for alcohol and substance abuse, domestic violence, teen pregnancy and lifestyle-based preventable diseases such as childhood obesity and juvenile diabetes,” it notes in its institutional literature. “We are so grateful to Jim and others in our community who have stepped up to stand beside us to keep our children safe and make this dream a reality,” RAI Executive Director Bruce Long Fox said in an announcing the success of the initial fundraising drive. Scull said Long Fox has operated the community programs for children in relative “obscurity” for 20 years, and is a “proven denominator” in the project. “There’s a great need, and he can help fill it; he just needs better tools to do that,” Scull said. “So I am supporting them to raise the money they need by any means that we can and get them a quality facility so they can continue their mission.” Scull Construction Services Inc. was a prime contractor in the building work for the SuAnne Big Crow Boys and Girls Club at Pine Ridge and for the Sicangu Akicita Owicahe Tribal Veterans Cemetery at White River, among many others in South Dakota and North Dakota. The company’s completion of the Pennington County Administration Complex Expansion in October 2014 constituted one of the largest building projects ever in South Dakota. Contact Talli Nauman at talli.nauman@gmail.com Copyright permission Native Sun News
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