Yankton community rallies to keep organization open
Lutheran Social Services (LSS) is a pillar for the Yankton community, and residents are helping to ensure the organization stays open. LSS helps immigrants navigate their new lives in the U.S. by helping people get jobs and teaching them how to sign their kids up for school.
'We can't build and grow our community and the workforce within our community without strong partnerships,' Rita Nelson with Yankton Thrive said. 'And LSS is a very strong partner for individuals who are here working to develop their skills and grow their careers and create their life.'
Due to the Trump administration's federal funding freeze earlier this year, the organization was set to shut down.
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'Which is, I believe, a quarter of their budget. So therefore, they were losing federal funds, which resulted in them needing to close our Yankton office,' Nelson said.
However, many in the Yankton community aren't willing to let the organization go down without a fight.
'It actually gave the community a rallying cry, I think,' said Bernie Hunhoff with Muddy Mo's Coffee House.
Muddy Mo's has been rallying people to make donations to keep Lutheran Social Services open a bit longer.
'We put a jar up at the coffee shop here, just put a jar out with a little sign and said that your neighbors need help,' Hunhoff said. 'And immediately the jar just filled up, I think, just a couple of thousand dollars in there. And I just got, I'm just walking in here and somebody gave me I think a $200 check just walking down the street.'
However, residents aren't the only people wanting to keep LSS open.
'What American Foods [Group] has offered us is half the monthly request to keep the doors open,' Nelson said. 'So they're doing $1,500 per month for the next three months. And that requires that we need to find a match for the other $1,500.'
Lutheran Social Services would have closed its doors in March. However, due to these donations, the organization will stay open until June.
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Residents say they're wanting to fight for folks to be able to live the American Dream.
'Every person that I've run into, they really want to be here, they want to be part of the American Dream and they want to experience the goodness of what this place can offer and they don't want to move away,' said pastor Jeff Otterman with Trinity Lutheran Church. 'So even if they worked at [Cimpl's Meats] or other places, they want to know that there's a community there behind them.'
'We actually had a baker, while he worked at Cimpl's as he was a baker, and he came in and he showed us his cakes, he did really good,' said Jalyssa Dion, a barista at Muddy Mo's. 'So a lot of those people are very talented coming from simple, you know, they just need the opportunity to be able to do what they want to do.'
Nelson wants to emphasize that the donations are only a temporary solution, as officials are working hard to get a permanent funding source.
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