IMPACT
in the Northern Hills
Your Generosity in Action
Thanks to your support, United Way of the Black Hills is proud to share real stories — told in the words of our partners — that show how your generosity is making a difference every day.
Prairie Hills Transit
Having provided transportation in the majority of the Northern Hills communities for 35 years, we’ve had some amazing stories to share and some that just make us feel blessed that our service is respected and appreciated every day.
Each day new stories of gratitude and thanks are shared, and it makes it very difficult to share just one, so we’re going to share several, but we want to make it very clear that it isn’t just people with disabilities or those who are elderly who use Prairie Hills Transit (PHT).
We transport many people who are visually impaired who are unable to obtain a driver’s license. A man in Belle Fourche uses PHT to go to restaurants in other communities, Walmart in Spearfish, Rapid City to a music store and other essential trips. We enable him to lead a fulfilling lifestyle while living independently.
Another person in Spearfish who is visually impaired uses transportation to get to/from work to be gainfully employed, shopping and recreational trips. When most of us get in our vehicles and go we take for granted the planning and structure that relying on someone else to remain independent takes.
For several years we have picked up several young people living in Whitewood and brought them to Spearfish. They are close to graduating from high school and now hold jobs within the community at Lueders, the Humane Society and Tropical Smoothie.
Parents in the Spearfish area rely on PHT for transportation to/from school to childcare centers across town. Most of the childcare centers use PHT for field trips and excursions because of the safety provided with seat belts, security cameras and trained drivers. The freedom this gives parents is very appreciated by employers as well who see the benefits of employees who don’t leave the job site.
Children are also monitored by each driver to make sure they are on the bus roster. When they are on the roster and don’t show up, a process is followed to locate the child, which may involve the parent who simply forgot to let the dispatch center know their child wasn’t riding. It doesn’t tend to happen often because it’s very scary for a parent who realizes it was their fault the notification wasn’t made.
And finally, a couple of very important social trips within and into communities were the Belle Fourche concert series in the evening and a tour of Christmas lights in Belle Fourche, Spearfish, and Lead.
Every single trip is important to these riders and their drivers. We make a difference every single day.
Thanks to generous donors like you, United Way of the Black Hills is able to make stories like this possible!