Amy Hollar leads through service, a shining example of how giving of yourself leads to greater community change. With a legacy of lifting others up, Amy has impacted countless lives through her work at the University of Mary, 31:8 Project, Soul 57, and many more organizations.

In the classroom, Amy has an uncanny ability to see the potential in her students before they see it in themselves. “I always tell them I believe in them before they believe in themselves,” she says. By getting to know her students on a personal level, she can inspire real confidence in them and their abilities. Through her role as internship coordinator, she connects students to real world opportunities, helping shape their future and make a difference. “It’s meant a lot to me to have the opportunity to work with students and help them find their potential and make a positive difference in the community,” she shares.

Outside of work, Amy selflessly gives of her time to several organizations. She currently serves as the secretary for the Legacy High School Girl’s Basketball Booser Club. She also sacrifices her time to assist with Junior Achievement, a nonprofit that helps educate K-12 students in finances, the work force, and entrepreneurship. She is also trained as a level one guide in the Catachesis of the Good Shepherd Method, helping form little souls in the faith at Corpus Christi.

Amy has also been foundational to the establishment and growth of two vital nonprofits in the Bismarck-Mandan community, 31:8 Project and Soul 57. Amy first heard about the 31:8 Project from a fellow professor at the University of Mary. After inviting Stacy Schaffer, founder of 31:8 Project, to speak in her classroom, Amy immediately felt the call to support the mission. She applied to be a board member shortly after and has been serving on the board since, supporting the nonprofit’s mission, helping spread awareness, and creating ways for the nonprofit to grow. “I’ll never not have a role in 31:8,” she says. “It becomes a part of who you are.”

Amy’s involvement in Soul 57, a nonprofit devoted to helping children navigate grief, came from a personal relationship with the organization’s founder, Jenny Maattala. Jenny’s sister Casey was one of Amy’s best friends who she met in college. Once Casey passed from cancer, Amy reconnected with Jenny. Their friendship led to many coffees, where Jenny shared her vision for a nonprofit that offers free grief support to children. Amy immediately offered her help and advice and currently sits on the board of directors as the communication chair.

Through it all, Amy keeps her focus on others, allowing herself to be challenged, and humbly serving where she feels called. “My favorite part of serving is getting to meet people I would never get to meet,” she says. “It just opens your eyes to a world that’s much bigger than what we see and experience every day.”

Want More? www.soul57.org, www.318project.org and www.umary.edu

Ashely Wolf has a heart for service that manifests itself in countless volunteer hours spent at organizations vital ti the Bismarck-Mandan community. She works quietly behind the scenes to humbly serve and create a better future for everyone. Since 2015, Ashley has been a dedicated supporter of tracy’s Sanctuary House, a non-profit that offers a comfortable, safe, and affordable place for families to stay while a loved one undergoes a medical crisis. inspired by their mission, Ashley helps secure sponsorships and attends fundraiser events, ensuring affected families have one less thing to worry about.

Another non-profit Ashely pouts herself into is the 31:8 Project, an organization that responds to human trafficking through education, awareness, and survivor support. “You don’t realize how close to home it is,” Ashley says. She works to raise awareness for the group, secures sponsorships, and faithfully participates in fundraisers, helping protect some of the most vulnerable in our society

Ashley also supports Heaven’s Helpers, devoting her time to the 701 Closet, Soup Cafe, and Repurpose Store. “Their mission is so true to what we need here,” she explains. She organizes clothing drives, donates her own personal items, and volunteers her time sorting and organizing donated goods.

One of the organizations more personal to Ashley is HIPP Kid’s Therapy. When her daughter started occupational and speech therapy, she discovered hippotherapy as another option. Having grown up around her grandfather’s horses, she immediately understand the power horse lead therapy could have. She not only enrolled her daughter, but also began volunteering for them, helping other families encounter life changing treatment. She also volunteers her time every year at the Remarkable Kids Rodeo, an event intended to help children with disabilities access rodeo events up close and personal. Now open to all kids, the event is in the morning of family night at Mandan Rodeo Days where Ashley continues to help kids ride and connect with horses.

Part of what fuels Ashley’s drive is passing along a love of service to her daughter. “I involve my daughter in a lot of it, and it’s good to know I’m passing that on,” she says. Her example is already inspiring action in her daughter who donated the proceeds of her lemonade stand to the Heaven’s Helpers Soup Cafe, a beautiful testament to how small acts of kindness can inspire generational generosity.

Duey Johnson has devoted his life to turning the hardest parts of his life into opportunities for good. After his wife Donna was diagnosed with cancer 18 years ago, the softball team Duey was on banded together to raise money for her treatment through a charity tournament called the Rug Rat Benefit Softball Tournament. After discussing it, Duey and Donna decided they could do it without the money raised and donated it to the Bismarck Cancer Center Foundation(BCCF). A couple years later, Duey took over the Rug Rat Benefit, running it for 12 years and raising around $80,000-$90,000 for the Bismarck Cancer Center (BCC). As the tournament came to an end, Duey brainstormed other ways to continue raising money for the BCC. He started a new event, the Rug Rat Chili Cook Off, raising $60,000-$70,000 in the five years since it started. In 2013, Duey was approached about joining the advisory board for the BCCF. While initially opposed to the idea, he agreed to sit in on a meeting. “I fell in love with the foundation at the first meeting,” he says, shortly after, he was appointed to be on the board. He has served on the board since then, currently as their vice president. “the beauty of our foundation is that 97 cents of every dollar that we raise goes directly to patient care,” he shares.

Duey understands the financial toll of cancer treatments all too well, walking with both his wife Donna and his son Michael through their cancer treatments. “I never thought I would ever volunteer as much as I did,” he shares. “I always say, if there’s anything that becomes a job, I’m going to quit it. This is not a job. It’s a passion. I know firsthand what these patients and their caregivers are going through.” Duey pours countless hours into BCC helping at their events and fundraisers year round, from Spook Out Cancer to Apple Ja, to the BCCF Golf Tournament, as a friendly face, an impassioned advocate, and a generous spirit. Despite the suffering Duey has experienced in his life, he remains positive about its meaning. “I know that God, everyday, whatever we do, he’s got a reason behind it,” he says. Being able to share this conviction and lighten people’s loads fuels Duey’s passion. “The beauty of serving is in the joy of the people,” he says. That’s where the reward is.”

Want More? www.bismarckcancercenter.com/foundation-andgiving

Dakota Children’s Advocacy Center (DCAC) is a child focused approach to evidence based trauma treatment for children and families exposed to trauma like sexual and physical abuse, domestic and community violence, human trafficking, and neglect. A multidisciplinary team works together to minimize trauma to the child and help them heal through mental health services.

Eneida Vilella-Loraas is the Director of Mental Health Services at DCAC and a bilingual therapist. Her day to day is composed of most people’s worst days, helping bring kids and their families hope, light and healing. As director, she oversees the mental health staff, but also serves her own clients, specifically Spanish speaking children and Native American children. Originally from Puerto Rico, when she moved to Bismarck at the age of seven, she was the only Spanish speaking student. “As I’ve become an adult and found psychology and trauma therapy as my niche, I wanted to be that light of hope for those kiddos that don’t speak English as their native language,” she explains. she has also culturally adapted evidence based behavioral therapy for Native American children such as Honoring Children, Mending the Circle, and adaptation of Trauma- Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Advocacy for Spanish speaking children is a deep passion for Eneida. Most treatment resources created for children and their families are written in English, with translations into Spanish as an afterthought, creating additional barriers to treatment. “I’ve spent a lot of time advocating for that,” she explains. “I spoke nationally a couple years ago on that language justice piece, specifically to leaders in the child advocacy world. Bilingual therapists are burnt out. Translating is an extra step that they have to do in their day to day… it takes a toll, so it’s something that I’ve made it my mission to talk about.”

Outreach to marginalized groups is also important to Eneida. She runs a Spanish speaking therapy group at Mandan High Schoo; and Mandan Middle School, and those groups are at their limit. “Kiddos are being seen, and they’re being heard, and their face lights up when they see someone that looks like them and speaks their language,” Describes Eneida.

Eneida also fights to bring telehealth service to the region, to help overcome distance and transportation barriers. She was a key figure in launching North Dakota’s Telehealth Outreach Program for Traumatized Youth in 2019, and she continues to advocate for telehealth on a national level, speaking at conferences and helping train new professionals. Telehealth provides the same service kids would receive in person, with the same effectiveness, making it a vital tool for rural communities like North Dakota.

Eneida is a tireless champion for the children of our community, making a difference in countless lives when it matters the most. “It’s hard work,” she says. “Seven years in, and you think back a lot, but this is definitely where my heart lies. I’m in it for the kids. Work is work, and it’s hard sometimes, but sitting down with a kiddo and seeing really great change in them and watching them get their light back, that is good enough for me.”

Want More? www.dakotaacac.org

Passionate and driven, Janet Bassingthwaite is making a huge difference in the minds of the littlest learners among us. Her passion for early childhood education has driven her to expand the options available to children and their families, leading discussions and heading programs that have created real change in the community.

After teaching at the University of Mary in the early childhood program for ten years, Janet felt a call to return to work with children again. She was hired as the first early learning coordinator for the Mandan Public Schools and tasked with helping prepare the community’s youngest for school. “I realized the community was asking for more experiences and opportunities and an understanding of what school readiness means,” she says.

From there, Janet started SPARK (Simple Play Based Activities and Resources for Kids) at the Morton Mandan Public Library. These bi-weekly events included reading a story and 40 minutes of play time spent bringing the story to life through different learning stations and open ended play. The response from the community was overwhelming. At the same time, the Mandan Public Schools district noticed a significant increase in school readiness and early kindergarten scores and wanted Janet to be able to continue expanding her mission. Through conversations, Janet brought the idea of a playlab foward where she could continue sessions like SPARK, opening up the opportunity to even more families. Timing worked out with the building of Mandan’s new high school, and a building opened up. after renovations, Mandan Little Learners PlayLab is free to participate in and designed for children aged 0-5, but open to kids up to the age of 8. “The idea is for families and their littles to come in and engage together and explore, to unplug and connect with each other,” Janet explains. “We have a little bit of structure, and it’s balanced with open-ended free play, and it’s meant to build skills through play.” Modern parents are inundated with information and technology claiming to be the best way to help kids grow developmentally, and Janet is passionate about helping parents return to the basics. “I wanted to help families and caregivers understand the importance of play in skill building,” she explains. At the PlayLab, there are no toys or tools with batteries, and screens and phones are highly discouraged. “There isn’t anything in our space that you couldn’t find at the dollar store or outside,” Janet Explains.

As of right now, Janet is the only staff for the PlayLab, so she is on site for all the sessions, and loves being able to help children and their parents. “It’s a joy to do what I do,” she says. “It’s amazing that the community has embraced it, and they let me do what I am doing.”

Want More? sites.googles.com/msd1.org/mandanndkids/home

Sage Walz embodies the spirit of community involvement with an open and willing disposition to the opportunities presented before him. Through his work at CHI St. Alexius Health and his many personal passions, Sage’s influence is felt throughout the Bismarck-Mandan community. As a Clinical Psychiatry Nurse Manager at CHI St. Alexius, Sage has devoted his day to day to caring for adults and adolescents experiencing psychiatric, behavioral or social problems. His passion for this patients inspired him to lead a revitalization initiative for the adult inpatient unit. When he first took over management, the adult had six kids and zero adults. Now, the unit typically houses 15 inpatients, a mjority of whom are adults. Sage’s push for revitalization is not over as he continues to advocate for the expansion of a 30 bed adolescent inpatient unit, which would open up additional adult beds and address the continually growing need in the community.

Being able to meet people at their most vulnerable with compassion and sincerity is what fuels Sage’s devotion to psychiatric nursing. “What I love about psychiatry is it’s a special kind of nursing where you get to go and say, I’m here for you, life is tough, and we will get through this,” he explains. Caring by creating genuine connections and having hard conversations with patience and love defines Sage’s medial career.

Outside of the hospital, Sage shares his musical talent at various local churches leading several worship services. “Leading worship is my passion,” he explains. “I’m a singer, I play guitar, and I love doing it.” He has also been invited to lead worship in churches around the country, including New Mexico, Arizona, and South Dakota.

Various other organizations through BIsmarck-Mandan enjoy the support of Sage’s enthusiasm, including the Three Crowns Swedish Association, a group devoted to preserving and sharing their Swedish heritage through outreach and events, and the Eckroth Marching Band, an informal adults marching band, in which Sage plays the bass drum.

By leading with sincerity, Sage has made a lasting impact on the Bismarck-Mandan community, giving of his time joyfully. “If you’re willing to say yes to things, give it a shot, don’t be afraid, you get to do a lot of fun things,” he says.

Want More? www.soul57.org, www.318project.org and www.umary.edu