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Good News from Open Your
Heart to the Hungry and Homeless
Greetings!
Turbulent times, recounts,
stimulus packages, bailouts, frigid temps--and new
beginnings! I never would have imagined that, in
this difficult economy, we would have our best
fundraising season in the 23-year history of the
organization.
Open Your Heart to the
Hungry and Homeless raised $880,000 in pledges and
contributions through its 40 workplace giving
campaigns. Our loyal donors responded
wholeheartedly, while our new donors realized that
people needing help right now may be their
neighbors, friends and family members. Thank you
for stepping up to our call.
I want to give
special recognition to employees of the State of
Minnesota and University of Minnesota for their
generosity through the Minnesota Combined
Charities Campaign and the University of Minnesota
Fund Drive, which each raised more than $1 million
to help Minnesota charities.
I also salute
CH Robinson and Tapemark Company for their
continued generous corporate funding, in addition
to their employee contributions. Kudos also to
these workplace giving campaigns--Hamline
University, University of Minnesota-Duluth, Ramsey
County, St. Louis Park Schools, CH Robinson
Worldwide, City of Fridley, City of Bloomington,
Meyer Scherer and Rockcastle, Community Health
Charities Minnesota, Minnesota Environmental Fund
and Three Rivers Park District--which increased
their giving to OYH by more than 20% during these
tough times.
The challenges may be great,
but the Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless
staff, board of directors, and volunteers pledge
to continue to support agencies throughout
Minnesota to assist people in need. Thank you for
joining us in our mission to help people who need
a gesture of hope.
Arna
Yetter
Executive Director
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Agency Spotlight: Metro-Wide
Engagement for Shelter and Housing, Minneapolis,
Minnesota
Open Your Heart to the Hungry
and Homeless is pleased to announce a grant of
$7,000 to Metro-Wide Engagement for Shelter and
Housing (MESH). The organization will use the
money for monthly training sessions for providers
of shelter and affordable housing services in the
Twin Cities metro area.
MESH's mission is
to form partnerships to build metrowide solutions
that will end homelessness and increase affordable
housing choices. It brings providers, advocates
and county staff together to address the issues of
homelessness and housing in the seven-county metro
area. It provides a neutral place for counties to
discuss their policies and for providers to give
input on how the implementtion of such policies
affects people experiencing homelessness. In
Minnesota, that is approximately 21,000 people per
night.
In addition to ongoing training
sessions, MESH created a regional tour of shelters
and affordable housing developments for
policy-makers and co-sponsored a Housing First
Conference. OYH is happy to be able to help MESH
further its important mission.
For more information, visit MESH.
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Agency Spotlight:
Fargo-Moorhead Dorothy Day House of Hospitality,
Moorhead, Minnesota
Open
Your Heart has granted the Fargo-Moorhead Dorothy
Day House of Hospitality $10,000 for flooring,
cabinets and countertops, carpentry, doors and
electrical for the organization's food shelf.
Dorothy Day House is a Christian community
and provides services to the homeless and hungry,
including a shelter and a food pantry. In 2007,
310 men stayed at the house and 519 visitors came
to access the shower and laundry facilities. In
addition, 18,388 men, women and children received
food from the Dorothy Day Food Pantry, amounting
to 333,101 pounds of food.
OYH's grant
will help Fargo-Moorhead Dorothy Day House of
Hospitality make needed improvements in its food
pantry as it continues provide services to the
homeless and hungry in northwest Minnesota and
eastern North Dakota.
For more
information visit Fargo-Moorhead Dorothy Day House
of Hospitality.
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Did You Know?
Fact of the
Month
Fifty-two percent of homeless reported
having mental illness, up from 20 percent in 1994,
while the number of homeless who have been
incarcerated was 47%, up from 28 percent from 10
years ago. (Source: Wilder Foundation, cited in
The Star Tribune, December 20, 2008.)
Quote of the Month:
"Real change has
been effected. Police are seeing a sigificant drop
in the number of arrests of people without a
permanent address, and outreach workers have
housed about 60 people directly off the street
since last year." --The Southwest Journal,
November 3-16, 2008, discussing the results of a
two-year program, Heading Home Hennepin, which
addresses homelessness in Hennepin County.
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Have a
Heart!
Are you looking for a
Valentine's Day gift more personal, meaningful and
heartfelt than chocolate or flowers? Why not the gift of
charity? Giving online is easy and your gift is
tax-deductible. Just click here.Here are a few examples of
what your gift can do:· $25 to the Education Fund
can give a child living at a shelter school supplies and
a backpack so she can go to school with the same basics
as her classmates. · $75 can provide emergency
shelter for a homeless person for three
days.·
$125 to the general fund can provide 100 pounds of
fresh, nutritious produce to a local food
shelf.Have a heart this
Valentine's Day and give the gift of
hope.
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