Scotland, SD

Committee Goal: To help those unable to do so for themselves in beautifying their yards for spring. Our target area of people to help was those physically/financially unable to do so for themselves, the elderly and disabled.

One of first five people to become involved with the Horizons II project for Scotland has taken out a petition for Mayor of Scotland. The election will be held April 8. Although he did not take Leadership Plenty through the Horizons project, he did take Leadership Plenty the previous year when 12 community members were involved with that project. Between the two Leadership Plenty classes, the Scotland community has seen some members of the younger generation of citizens get involved with the Horizons Program and have been working hard with the Youth Club project. If it hadn’t been for the Horizon’s project and their allocation of funds, I’m not sure if this project would have ever gotten off the ground. I do know however, that because of the structure of this program that is why many of Scotland’s projects are as far along to completion as they are right now.

The Youth Center Committee is moving right along with plans on opening their doors September 2008. There is negotiations taking place on a location right now and will be revealed when the paperwork is done. Six individuals have agreed to be on the Board of Directors and we are still looking for another member so if you have an interest let Erin Odens or Shelly Fanning know. Funding is going well. We currently have applied for the My Hometown Helper Grant for up to $15,000. We now need community support by having Scotland residents post their comments on the Scotland Youth Center Link (another entry to follow on instructions to do this). There will be three paid part-time positions with the creation of the youth center. An account has been set up at Farmer’s and Merchants State Bank for monetary donations that have been given, the Good Stuff will be contributing some of the furnishings for the building. If you have anything you would like to donate whether it be time, financial, supplies, or talent please contact Erin Odens, Shelly Fanning, Tanya Vitek, Damon Alvey, or Pam Cokeley.

The Scotland Youth Center is in need of community support. We have applied for a grant from My Hometown Helper and need community members to post their support on the website. Logon to www.myhometownhelper.com. Click on “Find a Project”. Select “South Dakota” and search. Click on “Scotland Youth Center”. Scroll down to add a comment. The more the merrier so spread the word.

The community of Scotland has had a number of programs in place to aid the needy for quite some time. The Food Pantry housed at the UCC Church sees a great may patrons. Various community organizations assist in collecting goods for the Pantry. Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and our churches hold food collection drives. Our local Chapter AE, P.E.O. donated $250.00 as their Christmas philanthropic gift.

The Scotland Life Enrichment for the Elderly has a large collection of wheelchairs, walkers and about every kind of medical equipment on hand. Anything they have can be used by anyone in need for any length of time and at no charge.
Our volunteer transport group is ready to drive anyone unable to take care of their own transportation.

My project is the Good Stuff household furniture, bedding, small appliance. etc. collection to be shared with anyone in need. (no fee involved) The director of the Scotland Food Pantry, Rev. Neumeister and I are working on finding a location in Scotland to combine both projects. We feel that the families who come to the Food Pantry would possibly be interested in taking home some of the household goods to be shared. In order to keep this project up and running for a long time, I want to find unused space in an existing facility which would be donated rent free for the Food Pantry and Good Stuff. Good Stuff is currently quite successful in an unheated vacant store. In order to combine the Food Pantry in the facility it would be necessary to have heat. We are hoping to find such a donated facility as soon as possible.

Our Horizons committees are probably not an exact demographic portrait of Scotland as we have a very large elderly population. However, we do have members who correspond to all of the age and financial segments of our community. The Horizons program has found new leaders who have not previously been a part of local service organizations and through their encouragement we are expecting success in all of our endeavors.

With our projects currently in place to help the needy and the help and promotion received through the Horizons staff with projects in progress to improve our community, we are excited about the future of Scotland.

The GOOD STUFF project provides an opportunity for sharing unneeded household good stuff with a neighbor in need rather than sending it off to the landfill.

GOOD STUFF came into being with the ENCOURAGEMENT and PUSH of Horizons. We received a grant of $800. for our start up. $600. will be used for 12 monthly ads in the Scotland Journal. $100. provided a Waiver/Agreement prepared by our City Attorney which covers any liability and $100. is on deposit with our hardware store for necessary minor help for our donations. We have been given (rent free) the use of an empty downtown shop which belongs to our dentist, Curt Johnson. We do not feel that it will be necessary to heat the shop and should be able to manage this project without additional financial funding.

Posters and hand outs have been given to local churches, organizations and added to our welcome brochures. Our second ad in the Scotland Journal will appear this month. We are currently working on a list of volunteers with pick ups and strong backs to take care of transport.

Our initial donations include a complete bedroom set, an additional box spring/mattress, sofa bed, recliner, 2 upholstered chairs, small bookcase, 2 cribs and bedding. And a friend called last week to offer an artificial Christmas tree!