Helping others keep warm this winter

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KELO) — As the temperatures start to drop an annual tradition is set to kick off in Rapid City.

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People are decorating downtown statues with winter hats, scarves, and gloves for those in need during the colder months.

While the event hasn't officially started, people in Rapid City are already dressing downtown statues for winter.

"I think that this is the best thing that Rapid City has done, because this helps out a lot of people. There's a lot of homeless people that come around and don't really have the money to invest in hats and gloves. So doing this kind of stuff I think it's awesome, it's amazing," local Ivan Piper said.

It's also something people look forward to every year.

"You can be any age to do it as well, so that's a nice thing. Sometimes you have to be a certain age to volunteer to help, but this is truly like you could be 10 and you want to find a way to contribute to the community or you could be 95. So I think it's just something that the entire community can contribute to in a way," Community Engagement Director Visit Rapid City Callie Meyer said.

And, it's all done anonymously.

"Nobody pats them on the back, they're just here to help people stay warm. I think it's amazing, I love it and I think people here are awesome, I love it here," Piper said.

"Anybody can do it, you're sort of a holiday angel. People don't do it for recognition so honestly there are probably a lot more people that do it than we know but people aren't doing it to get recognized, they are doing it because they think it's a really good thing this time of year to help out," Meyer said.

These new or gently used items can be placed on the presidential statues any time of day, all winter long.

The official kickoff for this event is November 15th and goes all the way into March.