Rapid City Area CUs Donate Over 7,800 Bottles of Water!

In a collaborative effort between Sentinel FCU, Highmark FCU and Med 5 FCU, 4,800 bottles of much-needed drinking water were delivered to Lakota Federal Credit Union on the Pine Ridge Reservation on Friday. Representatives from all three credit unions made the two hour trip to Kyle, South Dakota from Rapid City in a caravan to deliver the water in a real-life demonstration of credit union cooperative principles.

Essentially, the Rapid City credit unions have depleted local supplies of bottled water, although they may be heading back to deliver more once the stores have replenished their inventory, according to Keith Robbennolt, CEO of Sentinel FCU.

“I am so blessed to be part of an organization where our employees recognized a need, and acted quickly,” said Robbennolt. Sentinel FCU alone donated 2,700 bottles as part of their “Sentinel Cares” program. He continues, “This was a collaborative effort between Sentinel, Highmark and Med 5, and I am so happy to have had such great partners in this effort. The need is great for our friends at Pine Ridge, and I hope that this donation will go a long way toward help those in need. This goes beyond people helping people; these are communities helping communities. I couldn’t be more proud to have been part of it.”

This delivery is on the heels of 86 cases of water delivered by Black Hills FCU, and 40 cases delivered by Northern Hills FCU on Thursday. On Friday, Lakota FCU was out in the “Rolling Rez” bus, handing out the donated water in several communities on the reservation, including Wounded Knee, Red Shirt, North Route, and Sharps Corner, in addition to Kyle and the Wanblee area.

Jeff Olson, President/CEO of CUAD is thrilled with the fast response of these Rapid City area credit unions. “These efforts are truly an example of the credit union difference,” he stated. “This is what credit unions do every day. Collaboration among cooperatives is one of our driving principles, and so is commitment to our communities. The assistance that each of these credit unions provided to Lakota FCU is a clear demonstration of that. We applaud the terrific efforts that our credit union family provided to their neighbors in this time of need,” he added.

So far, a total of more than 7,800 bottles of pure drinking water have been donated by the Rapid City area credit unions. “Without the support of our neighboring credit unions, we would not be able to help our members through this crisis nearly as much,” said Shayna Ferguson, Manager of Lakota FCU. Lakota FCU had previously purchased all the available water at the closest Sam’s Club and handed out to people in need last week. But with demand greater than Lakota could provide for on their own, the Credit Union Association of the Dakotas enlisted the help of a team of Rapid City area credit unions. “The response has been overwhelming,” continued Ferguson. “We are so grateful to CUAD and for the credit unions that are stepping up to help at this time. It makes me proud to be a part of the cooperative movement.”

Flooding has been occurring on the Pine Ridge Reservation for the past several weeks, however, it reached a crisis level when water supplies were affected and drinkable water was in short supply. The reservation has a very large geographical range in South Dakota, and is home to almost 20,000 people. With half living at or below the poverty level, the devastation could put the tribe in recovery mode for months ahead.

If you would like to make a contribution to help Lakota FCU at this time, please submit to:

Lakota FCU

Attn: Shayna, Flood Assistance Fund

PO Box 196

Kyle, SD 57752-0196