Memorial and Giveaway Video and Report

On April 10, 2022, the memorial feast and giveaway for Waylon Red Elk and family was held in the town of Wanblee, South Dakota. Purchasing the food and giveaway items was greatly supported by the Helpers Mentoring Society global community. All your contributions made this event possible in such an impactful way.

The Red Elk family voiced their gratitude for all the support to make this memorial happen. I was approached by several elders and family members who wanted to share their thanks for all the help.

There was over $4,000 in donations given by the community of Helpers Mentoring Society. These donations were applied to $1,143 to provide all the food for the feast and $3,487 in giveaway items. An additional $240 was used to purchase heating fuel for surviving Red Elk family.

Beyond the contribution of money, many people contributed time and energy to make this event happen. Special thanks to Erica Thompson and Anthony Gencarelle shopping for the event, the Chipps/Red Elk family in cooking the food and preparing the location, and all those helping to make this event happen.

I personally want to thank the Helpers Mentoring Society community for contributing so generously. Sky Maria Buitenhuis even created a crowdfunding campaign! All contributions were welcomed, and all funds (and more) were applied to this event. Events like this, which give back to the descendants of the ancestral lineage are part of the Vision which allows the teachings of HMS to occur. You have my gratitude and respect for ensuring that the material and resource abundance we have is shared back to the Indigenous peoples from which these teachings come from. This is a core aspect of the Vision which allows Helpers Mentoring Society to exist.

Wopila Tanka (Great Thanks)!

Sal Gencarelle