Empowering Families
Black Hills Special Services Cooperative
The South Dakota Statewide Family Engagement Center’s (SFEC) first annual Empowering Families Retreat on October 18 and 19 was designed by families to provide parenting and leadership skills, tools for positive change, and the opportunity to connect with other parenting adults. Sixty-two participants representing over 50 families from various backgrounds and locations across South Dakota attended this uplifting event.
The scenic K Bar S Lodge in Keystone was the perfect location for participants to relax and learn. Educational sessions included the use of DISC assessments to help participants understand their personality types and apply them to their parenting. Additional break out presentations were co-led by parents and professionals on supporting their children in school, helping children through transitions, and
navigating adult and child mental health. National speaker, Dr. Annie Neimand, spoke to families about using their unique stories to advocate for family’s needs and create a supportive environment for children.
Parents were able to connect and learn from others through Parent Cafés, semi-structured conversations around parent and leadership topics. One person stated they “met new parents and hearing the stories on topics of others was extremely encouraging.”
There were also opportunities for self-care. As one parent noted, “Many times I have been to conferences/workshops on the weekend and after a long week it’s too much. This was refreshing and had time set aside for rejuvenating and mindfulness.”
The family-driven model was important in ensuring the event provided an experience that was meaningful and relevant to the families in attendance. Two groups of parents — SFEC’s Rising Families cohort from 2023-2024 and the SD Early Childhood Comprehensive System’s Collaborative’s Family Leadership Group — determined topics for the educational sessions and the Parent Café. These groups were also regularly updated and asked for input into other aspects of the planning and structure. Family members were paired with a content expert to develop and present the breakout sessions, providing them with valuable public speaking experience and helping those in attendance feel connected to the material.
Thanks to generous donors like you, Black Hills Reads — a program of United Way of the Black Hills — is able to make stories like this possible!