Giving Back
Imagination into action.
Food. Books. Bikes. Safer communities.
The Porter Project
Books that bring families together.
Free take-home Porter the Hoarder books, classroom activities and Parent Homework carry the story from school to home.
Nearly 60,000 first- and second-graders have received books through the Porter program, a partnership between Sean Covel, United Way, Monument Health and the South Dakota Statewide Family Engagement Center.
Stories by Sean Covel.
Illustrations by Rebecca Swift.
KOTA · Watch the Porter Project story
Monument Health · Hospital Hijinks
Super Ultra Mega Special
A choose-your-path adventure connecting families and schools.
Take-home books and Parent Homework invite children and grown-ups to discover the story together, through a partnership with the South Dakota Statewide Family Engagement Center.
Written by Sean Covel.
Illustrated by Jezreel Cuevas.
12 Days of Doing
Hands-on projects. Real community.
One day at a time, volunteers turn practical ideas into something useful.
The first Spearfish event brought Countryside Church and the Spearfish Bicycle Collective together to restore bicycles for young riders. KOTA reported volunteers working on 60 bikes.
Barn Burner
Look out for one another.
Sean and Charlie Struble-Mook, now mayor of Deadwood, introduced Barn Burner in April 2025. The campaign brings drink-spiking awareness into the places where a little attention can make a difference.
The campaign posters encourage people to notice when something is wrong and seek help from staff.
12 Days of Pizza
Helping families bridge the Christmas-break meal gap. Started in 2015 with Black Hills Community Bank and Pizza Ranch, the program has fed over 50,000 families.
KOTA · December 2024 · See the holiday program
Snowflake Paradox
A completed community project built around student-made gifts for community-service workers and volunteers.