HOW MUCH DIFFERENCE CAN ONE PERSON MAKE

Have you ever been in a conversation about something major, like poverty, homelessness, or hunger, and heard someone say something like “I’m only one person, how much difference can I make?” Maybe you’ve even said it yourself. I’d like to illustrate how much difference one person can make.

Some years ago Larry became interested in the Lakota Sioux spirituality. This eventually led him to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Through the various ceremonies he participated in, plus conversations with the Medicine Man, he learned more about the Lakota spirituality, and the importance they place on family and giving back to the community.

He also became acutely aware of the severe poverty on the reservation. The U.S. Census Bureau lists Pine Ridge as the most poverty stricken area in the United States. The majority of those living on the reservation live in trailer homes; second hand trailer homes that provide minimal protection from the elements. It isn’t unusual to see frost on the inside of the walls during the harsh South Dakota winters. Food and heat are often scarce. Medical care is limited and without easy access. The reasons for all this are many and complex. He also learned that because of all this, very often the children of Pine Ridge had no Christmas gifts.

Larry is a musician, and in 2003 he arranged a benefit concert to collect toys for the Pine Ridge children. Several of his musician friends agreed to perform at the concert. The place where it was held was small; admission was one new unwrapped toy or $5.00. He was nervous prior to the concert, hoping he could collect a decent amount of toys to take to the reservation. It was standing room only the night of the concert. $500.00 in cash was collected, along with a large selection of toys. He and his wife went shopping with the money, and had as much fun as if they were children shopping for themselves.

The toys were loaded into his friend’s camper pickup without one square inch of space left over, and then began the nine hour trip to the reservation. Later, Larry told of hearing a very small boy say to his mother during the passing out of toys;

“See Mom, I told you Santa wouldn’t forget.”

Larry’s comment about this was, “How can you NOT go back after that?”

The following year there were three concerts, producing enough toys to fill a 16 foot truck; a truck that had been donated by a large trucking firm.

Word began to spread, and when the fourth year rolled around, a local motorcycle club asked to be a part of the toy drive. They made all the arrangements for yet another concert. Prior to this the toys had been stored in the basement of Larry’s parent’s home. This was no longer practical because of the volume of toys. Someone else solved the problem by donating the use of a 10x20 foot storage space. A twenty foot truck was needed this year, again donated by the large trucking firm. The men from the motorcycle club wanted to help with the loading, and also go along for the giveaway. These are guys in their forties and fifties. During the loading of the toys, one of them was seen to pick up a stuffed toy, hug it, then laugh and loudly say, “Oh it talks!” Where else could you see a guy in his forties, wearing a motorcycle jacket, with the prerequisite bandana on his head get so excited about a talking stuffed toy?

In addition to the five concerts this year, someone from a local radio station contacted Larry and proposed to do a radiothon for the toy drive. Merchandise from local businesses was donated and auctioned off. Many of the musicians who performed at the concerts played during the four hour radio show. Approximately $3,000.00 was collected from this venture.

In year five, 2008, the national and global economy was in a steep downward slide. In spite of this, the radiothon collected slightly more than the previous year. In 2009 the decision was made to donate half the money collected by the radiothon to the American Indian College Scholarship fund.

By now, many people were becoming involved with the toy drive. A group of women baked hundreds of cookies, and a caravan of a dozen or more people headed to the reservation. Some of the money collected was used to buy pizzas to feed everyone who gathered for the giveaway. The truck this year was a 24 foot truck, again filled to capacity. The caravan set off on a blustery winter day a few days before Christmas. Not long after leaving Omaha, they began having problems with the truck. Frequent stops and phone calls provided no answer to the problem. Much of the trip was made at 40 mph, as that was all the speed they could coax out of the truck. It seems as if willpower alone kept the truck running long enough to arrive at the reservation, after thirteen long hours on the road. The trucking company instructed them to leave the truck there, and arranged for a tow truck to return it to Omaha, with no cost to the toy drive.

Someone had suggested that a Christmas CD be produced. The majority of the songs were original, written and performed by local bands. The cost of studio time and mastering of the CD was donated. All proceeds from the sales of these CDs were used to buy toys. It was such a success that volume two of Christmas for Pine Ridge was produced for year six, again with nearly all original songs.


Now, it is year six of the Pine Ridge Toy Drive, and once again more sponsors have been collected. A comedian who was scheduled to play at a local comedy club, designated one night for the toy drive. Admission would be one new, unwrapped toy. In addition, the comedian arranged to have a collection site in the lobby for people to leave additional donations. During the four days of his show, nearly $2,000 was collected, along with many toys.

Someone else took on the responsibility of gathering food items to donate to the reservation. Another person put himself in charge of collecting clothing.

The shopping trip has now become something of a party. Family, friends, and musicians gather late in the evening, to avoid much of the crowds of Christmas shoppers. Everyone carries a calculator, and is told how much money they can spend. They spread throughout the store, picking and choosing as they wish. When everyone has spent their allotted amount, the shopping carts are gathered at one checkout stand. A line of 12-18 shopping carts generates a lot of attention and questions. And a lot of fun.

The musicians from one of the local bands began video taping everything: the recording studio sessions, interviews with the musicians, the concerts, the shopping trip for toys, and arranged to be at the reservation to tape the giveaway. The plan is to produce a short documentary of all this.

What began as one persons wish to provide Christmas for children who otherwise might not have one has blossomed into an official non-profit venue. None of the money collected is used for expenses. All that is covered by Larry. The response to all this has been so successful that some of the money is donated to the heat aid fund on the reservation

No one person could accomplish all this by themselves, but without the initial action of one person, none of this would have happened.


For more information about the toy drive, the official website is www.lashlaruetoydrive.com