$1 million awarded to Rural America Initiatives

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - Rural American Initiaves has received a $1 million donation from the John T. Vucurevich Foundation to formally launch a $4 million Capital Campaign, adding eight Head Start and Early Head Start classrooms to their school on South Valley Drive.

This expansion will allow RAI to serve 80 more at-risk, poverty-level, and low-income children ages from prenatal to 5 years old.

“Our building opened in 2019. We always knew we would need to expand, and that was planned for in both the design and the way the building was constructed,” said Bruce Long Fox, RAI executive director.

“Even though it was built with some room for growth, we grew to capacity very quickly. In order to continue to meet the needs of our community we need to add classrooms. We were so grateful for the community response in our last campaign. The school would not be possible without the generosity of the J.T. Vucurevich Foundation, The City of Rapid City and so many others. We hope our community will step up again and help us meet our goal with an investment in our children and our future,” Long Fox explained.

The John T. Vucurevich Foundation aims to inspire others in the community to contribute to high-quality early learning opportunities by supporting the expansion of childcare facilities.

Rural America Initiatives has raised nearly half of the $4 million needed to add the required classrooms thanks to this donation. Contact Deborah Gangloff at dgangloff@rushmore.com to make a donation or arrange a tour. Visit the website at www.ruralamericainitiatives.org to learn more.