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Greetings!
Those who can, do.
Those who can do more, volunteer!
--Author
unknown
Spring
Greetings!
National Volunteer Week is April
19-25 and the theme this year is Celebrating
People in Action.
A big "Thank You" goes to
all our dedicated volunteers at Open Your Heart to
the Hungry and Homeless.
These folks are
our behind-the-scenes heroes! They work tirelessly
on all kinds of projects so we can carry out our
mission to help Minnesotans who are most in need.
Because our volunteers generously share their time
and talent, Open Your Heart is able to keep our
administrative cost to a minimum, allowing
eighty-nine cents of every dollar donated to Open
Your Heart to go directly to help people with food
and housing.
Open Your Heart board
member Christina Giese summed it up well when
asked why she volunteers, saying, "Every person
has a right to safe and affordable housing."
Christina works as the Volunteer Services Manager
at Simpson Housing Services, Inc. in Minneapolis.
She sees first-hand the hope that volunteers can
bring to someone who needs a helping hand.
Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless
is currently recruiting volunteers to serve on our
board of directors and on Open Your Heart
committees. We are especially looking for people
with experience in human resources,
communications, photography and video production.
We welcome applicants who can help us achieve more
diversity on our board. We encourage anyone
interested to check out our website and then contact our office
at 651-224-8011 for more details.
Tom
Brokaw said, "It's easy to make a buck. It's a lot
tougher to make a difference." Kudos to all
our Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless
volunteers! You are making a
difference!
Arna Yetter
Executive
Director
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Agency Spotlight:
People
Responding in Social Ministry (PRISM)
Golden
Valley, Minnesota
Open Your Heart to
the Hungry and Homeless is pleased to announce a
$3,500 grant to People Responding in Social
Ministry (PRISM) in Golden Valley. The
organization will use the money to purchase a
"take-a-number system" and two floor scales for
its food shelf.
PRISM is a
community-funded social service agency that
provides families in need with food, financial
assistance, transportation and other services in
times of financial hardship, all based on its core
values of dignity and accountability,
collaboration and volunteerism. For more than 35
years, PRISM has helped families stabilize in
times of crisis and offered them counseling,
education and goal-setting assistance so they can
take an active role in their own
solutions.
Some of its programs serve local
areas within Hennepin County, some are
county-wide, and some are broader. PRISM's
MarketPlace program is a grocery store-style food
shelf that allows families to pick out their own
10- to 15-day supply of food. Other programs
include financial assistance, clothing and
household, school supplies, holidays and
birthdays, employment and budget counseling,
referral services and transportation.
For
more information, visit PRISM.
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Agency
Spotlight:
Arrowhead Economic Opportunity
Agency
Virginia, Minnesota
OYH has granted
the Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency in
Virginia $10,000, which it will use for daybeds
with mattresses, kitchen stools, and
washers/dryers for its permanent supportive
housing unit.
AEOA provides opportunities
for people experiencing social and economic
challenges in Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca,
Koochiching, Lake and St. Louis counties. Its
services include transit, employment and training
(from basic adult education to training for
families, seniors and youth), Head Start, housing
services (such as financing, counseling, homeless
services, and home ownership), and senior services
(including advocacy, food and clothing, and chore
services).
Open Your Heart for the Hungry
and Homeless is happy to be able to support AEOA
in its mission of serving those in need in
northern Minnesota.
For more information
visit AEOA.
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Did You Know?
Fact
of the Month
There are more than 300
food shelves in Minnesota: 15% of clients are
seniors, more than 50% of adult clients work, and
56% of clients are families with children.
(Source: Emergency Food Shelf
Network.)
Quote
of the Month:
"Simply managing
homelessness has been expensive and
inefficient....Ending homelessness through a
three-prong approach of prevention, supportive
housing and outreach is really working. In
Minnesota, we are well into reforming the system.
We have created more than 2,500 housing
opportunities with supportive services since
efforts began five years ago. We have a goal of
creating 1,500 more. Public and private funding is
too precious to spend on ineffective systems. At
the same time we are scrutinizing corporations and
government for their actions, we should be holding
our community efforts to similar standards. Public
and private investments must be productive." --Jim
Frey, president and CEO of the Frey Foundation and
vice chair of Heading Home Minnesota, a
coordinated partnership to end homelessness
statewide, in the Duluth News Tribune, April 1,
2009.
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Have a Heart! Help Homeless
Students Through the Open Your Heart to the Hungry and
Homeless Education Fund
Open
Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless helps thousands of
homeless students each year so they can stay actively
engaged in school. We have been helping students without
permanent homes by providing educational essentials
since 1996. Items like school supplies, book bags,
school activity fees, lab fees, tennis shoes, etc. are
covered through Open Your Heart Education Grants awarded
to agencies that serve students in K-12.
Open Your Heart has awarded
more than a million dollars through these
education grants, which have helped homeless youth
throughout Minnesota. Last year alone this program
reached more than 5,000 students. To continue this important
work, we need your help! We are looking for volunteers
to serve on the Education Committee to review requests
for funding and develop a new program to help homeless
students during the 2009-2010 school year. Call the Open
Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless office at
651-224-8011 or email us if you are interested in
learning more about this volunteer
opportunity.
You can also support this effort by donating through our
website.
Just select Education Fund as the Sub Fund when making
your contribution.
Your contribution is
tax-deductible and a gift of only $30 can provide a
backpack and required school supplies for an elementary
student starting school next fall.As Bob Hope once said, "If
you don't have any charity in your heart, you have the
worst kind of heart trouble." Thank you for keeping all
our hearts strong!
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