(Pierre) – The South Dakota Teen Court Association recently received a donation of $12,000 from the South Dakota Elks Association. Tom Adams of Lead, president of the South Dakota Elks Association, made the donation at the recent Lawrence County Teen Court Session.
The donation will be used to support teen court programs across the state.
“Teen court programs are operated in every judicial circuit in the state to provide an alternative court for youth who have committed misdemeanor offenses,” according to Jennifer Stalley, South Dakota Teen Court Association Statewide Coordinator. “These programs give youth offenders the opportunity to be judged and sentenced by their peers, with an emphasis on restorative justice rather than punitive retribution.”
Stalley added, “The mission of teen court programs is to be impactful on youth, so they understand actions have consequences but also allow the youth to make amends in a way that sets them on a positive path.” The South Dakota Elks Association shares a similar mission of supporting youth. The donation comes from the Elks Major Project Fund which supports organizations that have a positive impact on children.
“The Elks are strong supporters of youth programs and the teen court programs provide a statewide reach to impact a large number of teenagers in a positive way,” states Adams. “The Elks are pleased to support the teen court programs across the state with this donation.” The donation will be used by the 11 teen court programs offer programming to the youth offenders and to support the youth volunteers who act as the attorneys, bailiffs and jury to operate the teen court programs. The Elks Major Project Fund also supports other organizations like Children’s Home Society, LifeScape and Feeding South Dakota that support youth.
The statewide association supports veterans’ causes and organizations with its philanthropy, as well.