For immediate release: Hamsters USA, the international motorcycle group with big hearts, rolled into western South Dakota to make an 
impact for kids with disabilities… AGAIN! These great guys came together throughout the year to raise funds for LifeScape of Rapid City culminating near $318,344, all staying local to support children with disabilities in Western SD!
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Hamsters USA raise $207,000 for special kids at LifeScape Children’s Care in Rapid City, South Dakota
For immediate release: Hamsters USA, the international motorcycle group with big hearts, are at did it again! These great guys came together throughout the year to raise funds for LifeScape Children’s Care of Rapid City culminating in almost $207,000 raised to support children with disabilities in Western SD!
Hamsters USA has raised and donated funds at their annual meeting for the last twelve years, wanting to give back to the greater Black Hills community, which many Hamsters consider their second home. This year’s event brings their cumulative total for 12 years to over $2.7 million in total dollars raised for LifeScape Children’s Care in Rapid City. Their gifts help provide services to children in their Black Hills area homes and communities, delivered by LifeScape Children’s Care personnel who drive over 10,000 miles a month to provide services.
Mary Helen Hlucny, a five-year-old from Whitewood, SD, and her family, spoke at this year’s event. Mary Helen, a young lady whose smile lights up a room, was born 13 weeks early to parents, Cris & Ana. Ultrasounds done at one-week-old showed “holes” in her brain, and when she was eight months old, they received an official diagnosis of spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy.
The Hlucnys are proud to be ambassadors for LifeScape at the Hamsters’ event this year, thanking them for their fundraising efforts that directly impact their family. Ana and Cris were told their daughter might never talk or walk or learn anything. However, Mary Helen continues to prove doctors wrong. Ana believes her daughter can do anything! She doesn’t set “goals” for Mary Helen, because they do not define her. Mary Helen first came to LifeScape to be screened in 2013. To this day, the progress she continues to make there is amazing! Ana explains, “Our time at LifeScape has been a real blessing. The Mustang gait trainer she got through them has truly been life-changing. She shocked therapists by running down the hallway the first time we put her in it.”
Mary Helen continues to come to LifeScape once a week for a therapy session that is “an incredible hybrid of occupational therapy, physical therapy, and make believe, while incorporating NeuroMovement principles the family is learning in Denver.” She loves it, and there are tears if she has to miss an appointment.
Ana adds, “Mary Helen’s future is very bright, in part because of the help and support our family receives from LifeScape. Like any parents, we want Mary Helen to lead a life she finds fulfilling, to be someone who is respected and well thought of, to be independent, and to not feel trapped.” With the mission of empowering children and adults with disabilities to lead fulfilling lives, LifeScape is the perfect place for Mary Helen and her family.
Hamsters USA raise $285,395 for special kids at LifeScape Children’s Care in Rapid City
Proving again that bikers have big hearts for kids, the international motorcycle group Hamsters USA raised a record $285,395 for LifeScape Children’s Care of Rapid City in fundraising events this year, culminating with their annual gathering in Spearfish during the Sturgis Rally on Monday, August 8th.
Funds raised will provide physical, occupational, and speech therapies, plus psychological services, to children in Western South Dakota–plus parts of Wyoming–through LifeScape Children’s Care of Rapid City. 
Hamsters USA has raised and donated funds at their annual meeting for the last eleven years, wanting to give back to the greater Black Hills community, which many Hamsters consider their second home. In 2015, the Hamsters broke the $2 million mark in total dollars raised for LifeScape Children’s Care in Rapid City. Their gifts help provide services to children in their Black Hills area homes and communities, delivered by LifeScape Children’s Care personnel who drive over 10,000 miles a month to provide services.
A highlight of this year’s event was the presence of James Habeck and his family. James is four years old, working with LifeScape therapists to overcome hurdles due to his cerebral palsy, the result of a severe brain injury caused by lack of oxygen during birth. His parents, Jim and Melissa Habeck of Belle Fourche, continue to hope that one day their youngest son will walk and talk with help from LifeScape.
The Habecks were proud to be an ambassador for LifeScape at the Hamsters’ event this year and loved the opportunity to thank them for their fundraising efforts that directly impact their family. James stole the show and stole the hearts of everyone there. Because of the impact he made on several Hamster members, donations totaling $36,950 were given in his honor, which added to the overall total for the evening.
The Habecks first came to LifeScape for therapy when James was just two months old. Now that he’s in preschool, Melissa brings him to Rapid City for three 30-minute sessions of physical, occupational and speech therapy four days each week during summer breaks. LifeScape also gives him access to the latest resources – state-of-the-art assistive equipment and the most recent therapies, designed specifically for children.
“No two kids with CP are the same, but James’ situation is so specialized, and their level of expertise is just great. I could go to other therapists closer to home, but they may not know how to work with kids like LifeScape does. If I didn’t have them, where do I go?” she asks. The Mustang gait trainer that James uses to scoot around his family’s rural home (or escape from his mother in Walmart) is such a new innovation that even some physical therapists who don’t specialize in children’s treatments have never seen one, Melissa said.
Perhaps as important as what James receives at LifeScape is what his mother also finds there: emotional support. “I have a kid with cerebral palsy and four teenagers at home,” Melissa said. “Sometimes I just need someone to listen.”
Melissa knows her hope of seeing James walk and talk one day is still a distant dream. “It’s taken a lot to get him this far,” she said, “but LifeScape is there with us every step of the way.”
LifeScape Children’s Care of Rapid City, SD, is affiliated with LifeScape (formerly Children’s Care Hospital and School and South Dakota Achieve), based in South Dakota. LifeScape is a private, independent, non-profit organization with a mission to empower children and adults with disabilities to lead fulfilling lives. The organization as a whole served over 2,800 children and adults last year.
Contact:
Jessica Wells, President,
LifeScape Foundation:
(605) 444-9800
Hamsters USA raises $253,828 for special kids at LifeScape Children’s Services in Rapid City, South Dakota
Hamsters USA kicked off the biggest Sturgis Rally in history by breaking the $2 million mark in total dollars raised for LifeScape Children’s Services in Rapid City. Having raised and donated funds at their annual meeting for the last eleven years, the $253,828 announced on Monday, August 3rd at their annual gathering in Spearfish brought the total to nearly $2.2 million.
Hamsters USA generously supports LifeScape Children’s Services out of a desire to give back to the greater Black Hills community, which many Hamsters consider their second home. Their gifts help provide physical, occupational, and speech therapies, plus psychological services, to children in their Black Hills area homes and communities. LifeScape personnel drive over 10,000 miles a month to provide these services, helping children have the best life possible.
Keith Terry honored with 11th annual Chrome Heart Award
Hamster member Keith Terry received the Chrome Heart Award, presented by LifeScape Children’s Services to honor individuals in the motorcycle world “whose philanthropic support and civic duty represents everything positive in the industry and sport of motorcycling.”
Keith Terry, who along with his wife, Fran, owns the largest supplier of motorcycle starter motors and battery cables in the industry, has been involved in motorcycling since he was 15 years old. The former professional baseball player built his first custom motorcycle in 1994, and more than 20 years later continues to build as well as mentor others in the industry through Buffalo Chip’s Legends Ride Student Build Challenge. Terry was selected for the 2015 Chrome Heart Award for his commitment to the motorcycle community, his dedication to mentoring youth, and his contributions to making sure the children in the Black Hills area get the healthcare, therapies, and attention they need to be successful.
The inscription on the award read:
For his commitment to the motorcycle community and especially for his dedication
to mentoring youth and providing opportunities for children to succeed,
this 2015 Chrome Heart Award is presented to
Keith Terry
Mr. Terry, through his leadership and passion for the motorcycles, gives youth the opportunity to be involved in the industry and build valuable life skills along the way. His personal and corporate generosity also makes a difference in giving kids access to the healthcare they need to thrive.
Presented by
LifeScape Children’s Care and Hamsters USA
This 3rd day of August, 2015
Spearfish, South Dakota
LifeScape Children’s Services of Rapid City, SD, is affiliated with LifeScape, based in South Dakota. LifeScape is a private, independent, non-profit organization with a mission to empower children and adults with disabilities to lead fulfilling lives. The organization as a whole served over 2,400 children and adults last year.
PHOTO: Keith Terry accepted the Chrome Heart Award from Jessica Wells, LifeScape. Pictured are Jessica Wells (left), with Keith and Fran Terry.
Sheri Gunderson
Director of Development
LifeScape Foundation
2011 W. 26th St.
Sioux Falls, SD 57105