Levo Recognizes Area Students

​As part of their Levo Cares Scholarship program, six young adults receive financial assistance in recognition of their community service. 

Levo has awarded $1,000 each to six area students for their contributions to their community. Levo started the Levo Cares Scholarship Program in 2010. Since then, Levo has awarded more than $39,000 in scholarships to area students. The six winners were selected based on community service and academic excellence from a field of 32 applicants. 
 
“Since we were founded in 1934, Levo has believed in giving back to our community,” says Jen McKeown with the Levo Cares Foundation. “What better way to do that than to give back to these students who have learned the value of community service at such a young age?”
 
This year, Levo increased the number of students winning scholarships from five to six because of increased need due to increasing college expenses. Students submitted essays or videos sharing how they have served their community as well as recommendation letters. The applicants were also judged on academic excellence. The winners include:

• Halle Bruflat: A recent Sioux Falls Washington High School graduate, Halle volunteered weekly in the 5th grade classroom at Eugene Field and was a teacher’s assistant at Anne Sullivan. She also was a student athlete, peer tutor, and active member in Best Buddies, Warrior Reads, and Reading Buddies, a program where volunteers read with students who are English learners or special education students. She will attend Dakota State University and major in elementary education while playing volleyball.
• Zoe Bruflat: Zoe is a nursing and Spanish major at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa. She serves as co-President of Nurses Christian Fellowship, where she oversees a mentorship program and plans service projects each semester including hygiene kits for orphans and clothing drives for mental health institutions. She has volunteered building homes and churches in Mexico, ministered to elementary and middle school students in Mexico, and cared for children in her church nursery. She also tutors non-native English speakers.
• Meredyth Broers: Meredyth is a social work major at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. She volunteers for the Boys and Girls Clubs after school program as well as SESDAC, an organization serving individuals diagnosed with developmental disabilities. She also volunteers at a regional homeless shelter, a counseling center, LifeScape, and the Good Samaritan Society. In addition, Meredyth volunteers as a volleyball coach for a local club volleyball program.
• Rayann Hoppe: Rayann is from Lennox and a student at the University of South Dakota and plans to become a Physician’s Assistant. She volunteers for the United Way fighting hunger in Vermillion. She packages feminine hygiene products, baby supplies, holiday meals, and other food items for people affected by food insecurity. She also volunteers as president of STEM Strugglers Anonymous at USD, helping women learn skills in science, technology, engineering, and math.
• Austin Reuter: Austin graduated from Tri-Valley High School this year and plans to be a pharmacy student at South Dakota State University. Austin volunteers at Sanford Health in the Gift Shop each week. He also volunteers for other charitable organizations including serving at the Banquet food mission in Sioux Falls, delivering Meals on Wheels through Active Generations weekly – even during the COVID-19 pandemic - and helping with Feeding South Dakota.
• Josh Weissenberger: Josh is an education major at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion and plans to be a teacher. He started volunteering for the Outdoor Campus in Sioux Falls when he was 12, teaching kids about archery, gun safety, fishing, and more, and still volunteers there! Josh also volunteers as a coach for a kindergarten softball team, as a coach at youth football camps, as a server at the Banquet, as a builder at Habitat for Humanity, and Junior Achievement. In addition, Josh coordinates a yearly fundraiser for Cure Kids Cancer at his fraternity. 

L to R: Jen McKeown, VP Marketing & Business Development, Levo; Meredyth Broers; Halle Bruflat; Zoe Bruflat; Rayann Hoppe; Austin Reuter; Josh Weissenberger; Fran Sommerfeld, President & CEO, Levo.

“These young adults are incredible examples of the impact one person can have on improving the lives of others,” says McKeown. “They have all made a positive difference in the lives of many people and deserve to be recognized!”
 
For more information about how Levo gives back to the community or to donate to the Levo Cares Foundation, go to: https://www.levo.org/about/levo-cares-foundation. Levo Credit Union was chartered in 1934 and is South Dakota’s oldest credit union. The not-for-profit cooperative has over 34,000 members with six Sioux Falls locations and serves 29 counties in South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota.