Gift Wrap Booth to open in Empire Mall

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - Need help for the holidays? The Gift Wrap Booth at the Empire Mall can help you cross one thing off your to-do list while raising funds for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse.

The Gift Wrap Booth will open at the Empire Mall on Dec. 1. It’s one of the biggest fundraisers of the year for the Children’s Home Shelter for Family Safety.

The Children’s Home Society opened the new shelter in November of 2022. The 96-bed shelter replaces the Children’s Inn. It’s the only shelter of its kind in the area and it allows the organization to better serve victims of domestic abuse.

This year, the shelter turned a year old, and organizers say it has helped the Children’s Home Society serve more members of the community.

“Just knowing we could serve everybody that came to our door. In our old facility, we were at the point where we were discussing, ‘Are we going to have to turn people away? Because we can just not accommodate anyone else,” said Amy Carter, Program Director for the Children’s Home Shelter for Family Safety.

In the last year, there has been a 28 percent increase in intake or the number of people seeking the services provided by the shelter.

The Gift Wrap Booth is located in the Macy’s wing of the mall. It’s open daily through Christmas Eve.

Gifts are wrapped in exchange for donations.

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