Community Events
Sioux Falls Public Schools
Community Learning Centers
Health & Wellness Fairs
Pictures coming soon!
DAY OF ADVOCACY AT THE CAPITOL!
What a fun and productive day we had in Pierre on Wednesday, February 21 for our first ever South Dakota Families for Vaccines Day of Advocacy at the Capitol in Pierre! We had members of Immunize South Dakota, among others, join us as we stood up for public health, promoting fact-based public policy and encouraging recommended vaccinations to keep our South Dakota communities healthy and safe from vaccine-preventable diseases.
We served lunch to our legislators in both chambers and thanked them for their important work in Pierre. We are grateful for the many lawmakers that helped defeat 6 bills that would have decreased our immunization rates even further and put our families, schools, and workplaces at risk. We had great conversations with them about the importance of vaccines and the need to increase awareness of our dropping rates and to raise confidence in vital public health.
We had a productive meeting with our SD Secretary of Health, Melissa Magstadt, and were recognized from the floors of both the House and the Senate, complete with standing ovations! Thanks to our very supportive sponsors of the day, Senator Reynold Nesiba, Senator Sydney Davis, and Representative Linda Duba.
We hope you will join us next year!
Feria de Salud
Health Fair for the Latino Community
Saturday, October 7, 11:00am-2:00pm at The Avera Prairie Center
SDFV will have a table at this health fair for the Latino community. The event is free and will offer lots of health-related information, on-site health screenings for heart disease, cancer, diabetes, as well as immunizations.
Health Connect Festival, September 16, 2023
September 16, 2023, SDFV and ISD participated together in this carnival-themed event at the Sioux Falls Arena. There were free flu shots and screenings, and many booths promoting health and community-related messages. We shared vaccine information and had many great conversations with participants. We also had give-aways, games, and prizes-- what a fun day!
First Annual Partners on the Patio Event A Success!
In early August, Immunize South Dakota (ISD) and South Dakota Families for Vaccines (SDFV) hosted a networking event at Parker's Bistro in downtown Sioux Falls to share pro-vaccine information and ideas. New and seasoned advocates were welcome! Maintaining public trust in immunization is crucial to ensuring high vaccination rates and preventing outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.
ISD and SDFV are committed to promoting immunizations and building vaccine confidence through ongoing advocacy efforts. We hope to make this a yearly event!
South Dakota Families for Vaccines is Reaching Out to College Students
College-aged young adults are an important demographic to educate about the importance of vaccines, as they are becoming more responsible for their own health care and will have families and relatives to care for in their futures. They also have a great impact on their peers.
SDFV is working with the university to be a presence at vaccine clinics and other USD events to answer questions about vaccines, offer education and volunteer opportunites, and promote vaccine advocacy through our organization.
If you know students who might be interested, please contact us. Or if they approve, you can send me their email address. This is open to undergraduate as well as any graduate students.
We hope to reach out to other South Dakota colleges in the future!
Festival of Cultures on June 10, 2023
Saturday, June 10, 2023
10:30 - 3:00 pm at Levitt at the Falls
Downtown Sioux Falls, South Dakota
The LSS Multi-Cultural Center presents the Festival of Cultures, held at Levitt at the Falls in 2023! It is a FREE fun family-friendly celebration of diversity in our community featuring art forms including dance, music, and crafts, as well as great food, kids activities, and so much to learn! We will be introduced our organization to attendees, answered questions about vaccines, and gave out information about the safety, efficacy, and importance of staying up to date on recommended vaccinations! Information was available in multiple languages. We also had some SDFV swag to give away, as well as a drawing for fun prizes. What a fun event!
IdeaFest at the University of South Dakota, April 2023
South Dakota Families for Vaccines (SDFV), together with Immunize South Dakota (ISD), attended the University of South Dakota's (USD) annual two-day IdeaFest in April, where students, faculty, and community members gather for presentations showcasing students’ projects and research. SDFV and ISD hosted an informational table, sharing resources and answering questions. The two organizations created new resources for young adults. These resources address why they should care about vaccines, what it means to be fully vaccinated, and vaccine misinformation.
I think this is such an important age group to encourage discussion about vaccines. They are learning so much and growing into independent adults. Their questions are valid and important. Learning where to find credible vaccine information, and how to share and discuss it with family and friends, will shape their future and the future of our communities!
“This is the next generation of medical decision-makers. It’s important they are confident discussing vaccines and comfortable asking questions,” says ISD executive director Dani Gullickson. “It was a great opportunity to connect with college students and have some of those conversations.