For the past several years, students from the Boxelder Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center have volunteered at the Rapid City Food Bank, assembling bags of food for the Food Bank’s Back Pack Program.  The mission of the Back Pack Program is to provide food for young students to take home with them over the weekend, where they otherwise would have little to eat.

Currently, the program serves 27 schools across six counties in the Black Hills area, providing food to 1,783 students each week.  The cost to serve one child annually is $135; this funding is provided through grants and private donations, as well as the United Way.

LaLaina Williams, Back Pack Program Coordinator appreciates the support of Job Corps.  “For the past couple of years, Job Corps students have supported our program.  They always do an exceptional job, and are full of energy, which really makes the project fun,” said LaLaina.  “We really appreciate all that they do.”

Job Corps students volunteer once a month, and in 2010 they assembled 21,396 backpacks while contributing over 480 hours of service.  Boxelder Job Corps appreciates the partnership with Feeding South Dakota!