A sea of purple filled the Sioux Falls Convention Center earlier this month as guests gathered for our annual Caring For The Kids (CFTK) celebration! The evening brought together supporters, community partners and friends of CHS for a night dedicated to celebrating children and families. This year’s celebration raised more than $300,000, and we couldn’t be prouder.
From a social hour featuring a jazz trio to a live auction and car raffle, the evening was filled with memorable moments. Here are three highlights from this year’s event:
Caring Heart Award
We honored former Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken with the Caring Heart Award, which recognizes a longtime contributor, volunteer and supporter whose unwavering commitment has advanced CHS’s mission to prevent, treat and heal trauma. The award highlights an individual whose dedication helps create a world where all children and families are safe, healthy and resilient.
Paul demonstrated those qualities through his leadership and support of CHS. During his tenure as mayor, Sioux Falls grew by a historic 23% while also reaching its lowest crime rate in a decade and earning recognition as one of the Best Run Cities in America. He also became a valued supporter and friend to CHS. He advocated for survivors of domestic violence, spent time reading to children on campus and used his platform to strengthen services and raise awareness for some of the community’s most vulnerable people.
The former mayor joins Pam and Steve Jansa, who received the Caring Heart Award last year, and Linda Mickelson-Graham, the 2024 recipient.
While Paul was grateful for the recognition, he shared that the award belongs just as much to the staff who serve children and families every day.
“The children, adults and families at CHS are some of the most vulnerable people in our community,” said TenHaken. “I’m honored to receive this award, but the staff providing the services and showing kindness and love are the real heroes.”
Click here to read more on KELOLAND’s website.
A Tree of Hope Created by Loving School Students
This year’s live auction featured a one-of-a-kind painting created by Art Teacher Rylee Lehmkuhl and her students at SFCH Loving School. Inspired by Gustav Klimt’s Tree of Life, the artwork featured swirling gold branches and a powerful message of hope.
The students created their own tree of hope by adding drawings of objects that represent what hope means to them, including peace signs, sunsets, birds and candles. One student who was passionate about Greek mythology shared the story of Pandora’s box and how, after all the bad things escaped the box—like starvation, old age and poverty—a beautiful white butterfly emerged to give humanity hope. Our Greek mythology expert chose to draw a white butterfly to represent that message.
Guests viewed a video sharing the story behind the painting during the event. You can watch it below.
Car Raffle Winner Announced
Anticipation filled the room as Jon invited Jason Hansen, General Manager of Schulte Subaru, on stage to draw the lucky winner of a brand new 2026 Subaru Outback Limited. This year, 750 tickets were available for purchase for the chance to win.
Unfortunately, Janelle could not attend the event, so Jason and Jon tried calling her phone number on stage. After a few unanswered calls, Jason left a voicemail sharing the exciting news while the crowd at the convention center cheered. Jason later sent Janelle a text message congratulating her on winning the vehicle.