Polk County Cares will host its 13th annual Crawfish & Shrimp Boil on Feb. 7 at the Polk County Commerce Center. Cocktails begin at 5 p.m. with all you can eat from 6-8 p.m. There will also be a live auction, a silent auction and a raffle. Tickets are $50 each and reserved tables for eight are available. This year’s event is presented by Naskila and the Smith Family Foundation and the purpose is to partner with the community to support local charities.
Toni Cochran-Hughes, a co-founder of Polk County Cares, recently presented the history of the nonprofit to the Rotary Club of Livingston.
“In 2012 my best friend Lisa Mayhugh was diagnosed with breast cancer. My husband Scott and I decided to form a team for the local Relay for Life, which was a fundraising event for the American Cancer Society. We raised a few thousand dollars in the first two years. In 2014 I told Scott we should have a crawfish boil fundraiser. Had either of us had a crawfish boil before? No, but I told Scott, we’ve been to enough, we will figure it out. We continued with our crawfish boil and auction for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, being the top fundraising team in Polk County and one of the top teams in our region for six years.
“In 2018 Scott and I were visiting with Bea and Dan Ellis about F.A.I.T.H. (Families and Individuals Thanking Heroes) and their expenses. Scott and I went home and talked about how we could help. We invited F.A.I.T.H. to join our crawfish boil, splitting the money between the American Cancer Society and F.A.I.T.H.
“In 2019 Scott and I wanted to continue to help in the fight against cancer, but we wanted to help local cancer patients. I spoke with Jeanie Binns and discovered that Center of Hope was in the planning stages of forming an organization to help Polk County cancer patients with travel expenses. Scott and I prayed about it and asked Center of Hope Cancer Support to join us.
“In 2020 we were lucky enough to be one of the last events before the COVID shutdown. During the shutdown Scott and I started talking about how we could help more people in our area. We formed Polk County Cares, a 501(c)3 organization that partners with the community to support local charities. Our purpose is to raise funds to be distributed to qualifying nonprofit organizations in Polk County.
“In 2021 with COVID still out there we decided to have our crawfish boil as a drive-thru event and have some raffle items and it was very successful. In 2022 we raised over $80,000 and were thrilled with that number. Polk County Cares donated $30,855 each to Center of Hope Caner Support and F.A.I.T.H. 2023 was our 10th crawfish boil and I wanted it to be really amazing and boy, was it! We raised over $129,000.
“In 2024 Polk County did not disappoint. You stepped up again in the unwavering generosity that this community continues to display. We continued with our auctions and raffles and included selling Super Bowl squares. We raised $132,000. Then there’s 2025. All I can say is wow! That night after we got home, I started working on the numbers. I ran them once, then twice, then three times. I made Scott come run them with me. $156,600!
“Polk County Cares decided to give $500 scholarships to every school district in the county. For 2026, we are increasing that to $1,000. This past Christmas, we decided to have a 50/50 split the pot raffle. We sold tickets at Timber Fest in Corrigan, Christmas Market Day in Goodrich, Christmas in Our Town in Onalaska and Hometown Christmas in Livingston. We raised $3,690 and awarded $1,845 to the winner.
“Polk County Cares was made aware of the need for assistance with the local Shop with a Cop where local law enforcement shop at Walmart with children that have been selected that are in need. Livingston Police Department takes care of Livingston ISD, so we sponsored five Goodrich ISD students for $150 each. For 2026, Polk County Cares is going to sponsor give students from all other school districts in the county – Goodrich, Onalaska, Corrigan, Leggett and Big Sandy.
“With your continued support, Polk County Cares was able to help Center of Hope Cancer Support, F.A.I.T.H. Military Support Group, Christmas of Hope, Campaign 300, R.E.A.D., Macelynn’s Miracles, Rhett Lathan Memorial Scholarship Fund and more.
“In the five years since Polk County Cares was founded, $296,598 has been donated locally. That’s $5.46 for each resident of Polk County, and in the last 12 years of the crawfish boil, we have raised over $968,600. That’s enough to give every resident of the state of South Dakota $1.05. With the tables that we have already sold for this year, we are at over $1M in just 13 years.
“We have come a long way in the last 13 years. The first year we boiled 450 pounds of crawfish for about 150 people. This year we will boil over 1,600 pounds of crawfish and 500 pounds of shrimp for around 600 people. This year we will have the live and silent auctions, a whole processed steer raffle, a Louis Vuitton purse raffle, as well as the bucket raffles, the poker chip raffles for guns, a lady’s gift basket and since the Super Bowl is the next day, we are selling Super Bowl squares.”
