For Chastity and Caleb Kennedy, raising four kids in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, means planning every trip, every dollar, and every winter around what they can reach and what they can afford. With only one small store in town and the nearest real shopping opportunities 90 miles away, even basic necessities are hard to come by. When their 5-year-old daughter, Aya, received a Children’s Stocking filled with toys, hats, gloves, and hygiene items, it brightened their day and eased their burden.

“You can go to Family Dollar in town, but it’s only one store, and everybody goes there, so it gets wiped out,” says Chastity. “We appreciate everything. Everyone who steps up and puts a helping hand in helps a lot.”

Chastity says the stockings help ease the financial pressure of the holidays.

“It was very meaningful to me because a lot of parents can’t buy Christmas presents, and that happens a lot in our community,” she says. “To see the joy on their face and the excitement… a lot of the kids come from a very rough background. It means a lot because my kids really appreciate it.”

On the Cheyenne River Reservation, winter adds another layer of risk.

“Usually, when it gets very cold, you kind of have to help yourself. There are resources around town, but there’s only so much,” says Chastity.

Her husband, Caleb, added, “We’ve gotten snowed in. The winters can be brutal up here.”

Chastity worries about the children in her community.

“We appreciate [the stockings] a lot, because I know there are some of the kids going without,” she says. “A lot of the kids aren’t going to receive presents on the reservation or get stockings, and some of them are my kids’ friends.”

“Thank you very much. It made a difference so that the kids could celebrate Christmas,” says Caleb. “It helps us out a lot, and I know it helps a lot of families out.”

Chastity explained that living on the reservation takes endurance.

“You have to be strong. It’s rough here,” she says. “Everything around here is more expensive than in the city. It’s such a small town. We’re already struggling, so it just makes it harder. Prices go up with supply and demand. Living on the reservation isn’t for the faint-hearted. Almost every winter, someone freezes to death.”

At the Cheyenne River Youth Project, our program partner, Jerica Widow, saw the impact of the stockings across her community. “It’s important to have [stockings] because it…helps fulfill a need,” says Jerica. “It does fulfill that part – saving on travel, saving financially.”

In Eagle Butte, 31% of families live below the poverty level. For families like Aya’s, a stocking filled with basics is more than a holiday extra. It’s one less trip, one less worry, and one more moment of holiday cheer.

Children’s Stockings are designed for children aged 5-12 and are available through the Northern Plains Reservation Aid® (NPRA) program of Partnership With Native Americans® (PWNA).