SIOUX FALLS COSMOPOLITAN CLUB (SFCC)
PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES OVER THE YEARS

 

The following cover in a general way the justification for the chartering in February, 1925 of the SFCC. These activities prove that the club and its members have taken seriously its civic and citizenship responsibilities during the club’s existence. We cannot rest on our laurels, but we should continuously strive to become more active and a better club in the years ahead, always remembering the admonition of then Director General, Patrick J. Hodgins at the SFCC’s Inaugural Banquet, to allows follow our principles of “Unity, Service and Action”:

 

  1. Provided the funds for the construction of the band shell at the south part of McKennan Park. A plaque on the north side of the Band Shell reads as follows: “Presented by the Cosmopolitan Club, July 9, 1926, assisted by the Municipal Band.”
  2. In 1931, the SFCC jointly with the Minnehaha County Historical Society sponsored the 75th Anniversary Celebration of the first townsite established in the Territory. It was a cultural, but not financial success.
  3. Provided funds for two cabins at the YMCA Camp Tepeetonka at Big Stone Lake: the Cosmopolitan Cabin in 1932 and the Cosmopal Cabin in July, 1948.
  4. Provided furnishings for the Sioux Falls YWCA at the previous frame building at 11th St and South Dakota Ave.
  5. Originated and sponsored the “Made in South Dakota” Show and Exhibit which later was known as the South Dakota Industrial Exposition and Cooking School.
  6. For many years, sponsored the Annual Spring Clean-Up, Paint-Up Campaign in Sioux Falls.
  7. For many years, sponsored a young man to attend the American Legion’s Boys State and later, a young woman to attend Girls State.
  8. Completely furnished rooms at McKennan Hospital and the then called, Sioux Valley Hospital.
  9. Provided funds for the Deer Exhibit at the Great Plains Zoo.
  10. Sponsored and financially assisted Boy Scout Troops and Cub Scout Packs. Assisted in the Camping and Training Programs of the Boys Scouts by donations to the Camp Development Fund, providing training films and furnishing canoes and other camping gear. Financed the construction of the Commissary Building at the Lewis & Clark Boy Scout Reservation west of Yankton.
  11. Provided the funds for the landscaping on the grounds of the Sioux Vocational School for the Handicapped (now LifeScape).
  12. Gave scholarships to worthy students for attendance at the Arrowhead Music Camp near Barnum, MN and assisted the camp financially. The Arrowhead Camp was a project of Cosmopolitan International and located on the shores of Hanging Horn Lake.
  13. In 1959, provided funds of approximately $3000 for the construction of a Children’s Wading Pool in one of the City Parks.

 

Our Cosmopolitan Club members have always been in the forefront of assisting in many worthwhile civic and community programs including but not limited to: United Way, Hospital and College fund drives, Safety Council programs, Community Drug Education, Chamber of Commerce, and City Beautification. You name it and you will find Cosmopolitans taking a prominent and active part. They never shirk their responsibilities  to assist and participate in any project or activity for the betterment of the city of Sioux Falls and the grea