Woman makes charity runs for ‘the rez’

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Jamie Clark, left, and Dee Stotts organize donations on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012 in Gillette, Wyo. When Stotts learned about the intense poverty on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, she decided to collect donations of clothing, food, toys and other items and bring them to the people there. AP PHOTO / STEVE REMICH / GILLETTE NEWS RECORD

The goods were bound for the town of Oglala on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, a place that continues to suffer from extreme poverty.


TOM FAGIN, Gillette News Record


GILLETTE, Wyo. (AP) – Dee Stotts wished that she had brought a bigger trailer.
In 45 minutes, donations to her third “Run for The Rez” had already filled up the bed of her pickup truck and most of the two-horse trailer attached to its bumper. She would have brought the bigger one, but hadn’t counted on the big turnout to the old Great Western Auto Brokers parking lot on a recent morning.
“It looked like a drive-thru,” Stotts said of the line of vehicles that came to drop off toys, food, dishes, clothing and appliances.
The goods were bound for the town of Oglala on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, a place that continues to suffer from extreme poverty. Other donations would go to the people who were put out of their homes by a fire along Emerson Avenue on Jan. 21.
The 45-year-old can relate to the struggles on the reservation because she grew up in poverty in Seattle, wearing donated clothes.
Stotts also has a soft spot for stray dogs that go hungry on the reservation. She will haul out a total of 200 pounds of dog food from Joe’s Pet Depot.
The big outpouring of support was a thrill to Stotts, who has been filling trailers and driving them to the reservation since November.
The owner of D&G Cleaners is no stranger to acts of charity. For the past two years, her business has offered to clean the houses of cancer patients for free.
An ovarian cancer survivor herself, strands of pink run through her long, dark hair as a sign of solidarity.
Stotts rides a hog and hangs out with local motorcycle groups. Her Harley-Davidson jacket covers her tattoo-covered arms.
Tough appearances aside, she was sentimental when she recounted the last run, before Christmas.
She remembers vividly the expressions of children on the reservation when they found Christmas gifts loaded on a handmade sleigh. It was built on the reservation and the gifts came from people in Gillette and were put in 386 hand-knit stockings.
“When they come up and they start giving you hugs and they really are appreciative, you know that you’re doing right,” Stotts said.
She has Christmas pictures on her iPad and smartphone. They show stray dogs and smiling children cuddling up with new stuffed animals.
It had been a photo on Pine Ridge that sparked her interest in starting the drives. The image of poverty was from a CBS documentary that she spotted on a friend’s Facebook wall.
The trailer she will take for her latest run will be packed with items that include canned goods and used clothing. Donations from Back to The Rack filled out about half of the trailer. Stuffed animals and a three-foot-tall plastic superman joined the haul.
Extra doors, windows and plywood for renovations came by way of her friend Tracii Shutters from Lickety Split Cleaning and Property Preservation Service.
“One piece of plywood can help someone fix a hole in the wall,” Shutters said.
Angie Smith was one of those who came to drop off clothes that she no longer needed. She said that she could relate to the hardship on the reservation because she had been hurt in an accident three years ago and still can’t work.
Stotts plans to continue hosting drives every two months for the reservation.
It is a small effort with a big reward to the woman who grew up with so little herself.