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Kiwanis 4-H Ice Arena Working To Update Facilities

By Kelly Hertz/P&D, 01/05/14, 9:30PM CST

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In an effort to continue promoting activities for area youth, two organizations are teaming up to cook up some funds.

The Yankton County 4-H and the Yankton Area Ice Association, in partnership with Schwan’s Home Services, are currently attempting to raise approximately $25,000 to rebuild the outdated kitchen facility at the Kiwanis 4-H Ice Arena.

“It’s very important that both hockey and 4-H be able to use that kitchen,” said Ryan List, president of the Yankton County 4-H Leaders Association. “It’s a big part of both associations.”

The Yankton County 4-H and the Yankton Area Ice Association both rely on sales from the concession stand and soup kitchen events to fund their programs and to provide opportunities for their participants, said Julie Perakslis, Yankton Area Ice Association board member.

“It takes a lot to maintain the building, and the concessions really help us keep our costs down for registration,” she said. “We’re really proud that we’re one of the cheapest hockey rinks around — probably in the country.”

Both organizations share the facility, Perakslis said, with the ice association using the building in the winter and 4-H occupying it in the summer. Last year, the Yankton County 4-H approached the ice association about renovating the kitchen so that it would meet quality standards and allow the two organizations to continue using the facility to raise funds, she said.

“We split the space, so we are happy to help them fundraise for it,” Perakslis said. “We have a great partnership with them, and we hope we can get enough money to get this done.”

To participate in the fundraiser, consumers can order from Schwan’s Home Delivery through Schwans-Cares.com. Through Jan. 19, Schwan’s will contribute 20 percent of product and 40 percent of e-certificate sales to the Yankton organizations. Additionally, Schwan’s will contribute 5 percent of all orders to the organizations for the rest of the year.

List said the renovation will begin once the funds are secured and should take approximately six weeks to complete.

“We’re hoping to start sometime this summer so that we can get it done in that window between when the ice association is done and before Achievement Days begins in August. That’s our goal,” he said.

For more information on the fundraiser, visit www.yanktonice.org and click on the Schwan’s logo in the image box on the front page, or visit Schwans-cares.org and enter Yankton Area Ice into the search box.

“Our programs support so many kids, and the use of the kitchen supports those programs. By participating in this fundraiser, people are directly supporting these kids,” Perakslis said. “And I don’t think you can overstate the value of investing in youth.”

You can follow Derek Bartos on Twitter at twitter.com/d_bartos/. Discuss this story at www.yankton.net/.

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