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Greetings,
Helen
Dyer said, "Volunteerism is the voice of the people put into
action. These actions shape and mold the present into a future of
which we can all be proud." During National Volunteer
Appreciation Month, we want to honor our volunteers who are helping
us mold a future in which every Minnesotan is free from hunger and
homelessness.
In
2010, our volunteers contributed a combined 2,562 hours-enough to
cover 1.25 full-time staff! Volunteers are essential in helping us
respond quickly to funding requests, share our mission with the
public, raise money to help people in need, keep our technical
equipment running smoothly and much more.
Our
board members go above and beyond in their commitment as volunteers,
not only providing leadership but also doing much of the groundwork
to increase our impact. Please join us in welcoming five new board
members: Nancy Conley, Denise Hauge, Kayla Heurung, Ryan McLaughlin
and Susan Milnar.
We
also congratulate Shannah Moore Mulvihill on becoming our new Board
President. Shannah comes into this role with a lot of experience,
having served on the Board of Directors since 2003 and held the
positions of Secretary and Vice President. Yoji Shimizu, who is
stepping down as President after four years in that role, will
continue to provide leadership on our board as Past President. We
thank them both for their extended commitment to Open Your Heart.
Finally,
if you've ever thought about volunteering with Open Your Heart, now
is a great time to get involved! We're looking for new volunteers
with experience in a variety of areas to help us put our strategic
plan into action. Visit our volunteer page to learn more.
Many
thanks again to all of you who support Open Your Heart through
volunteering! We truly could not do this work without you.
Arna
Yetter
Executive
Director
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Fergus
Falls shelter stays dry as the floodwaters rise
As spring returns and
all of our snow finally melts, flooding is a serious threat in many
areas across the state. Fortunately, thanks to a grant from Open Your
Heart, flooding is one thing the women and children at Someplace Safe
don't have to worry about anymore.
Two years ago Someplace
Safe, a domestic violence shelter serving west central Minnesota,
bought and remodeled a 1974 single-family house to replace the 1886
home that was their original shelter. The move was made
possible by extensive donations from the community and a grant from
the Mardag Foundation.
Staff and residents
were thrilled to move into their new space, but the following summer
heavy rainfall caused flooding in the basement, where the residents'
bedrooms, children's play area and laundry facilities are located.
Two families had to crowd into one bedroom after their own rooms
flooded, and eventually they were all forced to evacuate the new
shelter and place residents in a motel. During this time they had to
refer families looking for shelter to other programs. With the
closest family shelter 60 miles away in Fargo, shelter manager Lorri
Ibach said it's possible some families gave up and stayed in their
abusive living situation.
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The family living in this bedroom had to evacuate
when the shelter flooded. Now they have a safe, dry place to stay
again.
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The shelter staff
turned to Open Your Heart for help to repair the water damage and to
re-landscape the area around the shelter to prevent future flooding.
Our monthly grant review process allows us to respond quickly to
emergency needs such as these. Within three months of submitting
their grant application, Someplace Safe had made all of the needed
repairs and re-opened the shelter. Now Ibach is glad to report that
the shelter is dry, and they can continue to give refuge to about 125
women and children escaping violence each year.
Click here to learn
more about Someplace Safe
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Open
Your Heart prepares for future growth with new strategic plan
What bold steps can
Open Your Heart take to make a stronger impact on hunger and
homelessness? How do we respond to the changing needs in our
community and changing trends in giving? How can we improve our
connections with other people and organizations who believe that
every person deserves adequate food and shelter?
These are some of the
questions Open Your Heart's staff and Board of Directors have asked
over the past six months as we engaged in strategic planning. We were
honored to have many of you respond to these questions with your
insight and guidance as we explored many options. One common theme we
heard was that sometimes "being bold" means staying true to
who you are and sticking with what works.
After many months of
hard work, our Board of Directors has approved an ambitious strategic
plan that will help us grow in our rapidly changing world. This plan
is not a radical departure from our past. Rather, it sustains our
25-year tradition of helping those who serve hungry and homeless
Minnesotans by engaging donors and meeting specific, essential, unmet
needs on a timely basis. With this plan, and with your help, we will
carry out this mission in an even more impactful way. Thank you for
supporting our vision that every Minnesotan is free from hunger and
homelessness.
Click here to read a full overview of Open
Your Heart's strategic plan
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Dave Kircher honors family legacy
of helping others
"The best dessert in life is helping
others," Dave Kircher says. Dave must have quite the sweet tooth:
he volunteers once a week with Open Your Heart and is also active in
his church and local food shelf.
Dave
Kircher started volunteering with Open Your Heart to honor a legacy
left by his father. His father served dinner to people at the Dorothy
Day Center in St. Paul once a week for more than 20 years until health
problems forced him to quit at age 90.
Dave's commitment to
volunteering is just as strong. "Volunteering isn't a task; it's a
privilege," he says. "That's why we're put here on earth, as
far as I'm concerned." He first joined Open Your Heart on the
Board of Directors, where he served from 2000-2006. After retiring from
the Department of Natural Resources, he returned to Open Your Heart to
volunteer in the office working with our grant programs.
Dave is especially
passionate about our Education Fund, which helps homeless kids get the
resources they need to do well in school. His wife, Maggie, was a dean
at a community college and helped many students who were homeless
complete their education. After her death in 2009, Dave set up a
memorial to the Education Fund in her honor.
Dave also serves on the
board of directors of the Centennial Community Food Shelf, where he
said the need has risen dramatically over the past few years. At least
twice a month, he picks up between 1,000 and 1,500 pounds of food from
Second Harvest Heartland and other providers to distribute at the food
shelf.
Always quick with a joke
or a good story, Dave is a great addition to our office. His advice for
staying so upbeat: "Laugh at least three times a day...and
remember life is short, so eat dessert first."
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