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Friend
Summer is finally here! A time to enjoy all the wonderful
things that summer in Minnesota offers-- sunshine and blue skies,
baseball games, bike rides, picnics, gardening, fishing, and the
list goes on and on. It is definitely a time for a slower pace, for
relaxing and fun!
Unfortunately, for many Minnesotans, this is not a season of
relaxed enjoyment. One need only pick up the newspaper to know that
many residents of our state are hurting in this time of increased
gas and food prices and employee layoffs and foreclosures.
This summer, Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless is
providing help to Minnesotans through Hunger
Solutions. Local food shelves appreciate so much Open Your
Heart's assistance during this time when children are home from
school. Half of those visiting food shelves are children and 55% of
the families using food shelves are working but can't make ends
meet. According to the last U.S. Census, 380,000 people in Minnesota
live in poverty.
This is the time of year when the donations at food shelves often
fall short of demand. But Open Your Heart dollars continue to work
for the food shelves that are most in need. Hunger in Minnesota
remains a chronic problem effecting families, children, and the
elderly in the city, the suburbs, and rural Minnesota.
So as we savor sweet summertime, let's not forget people who are
struggling. Please consider making a tax deductible contribution to
Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless. Go to the Charity
Box on our website to contribute now. Your contribution large or
small will go to help people who need it most!
--Arna Yetter,
Executive Director
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Spotlight: Evergreen House, Bemidji, MN |
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Open Your
Heart to the Hungry and Homeless has granted $10,000 to
Evergreen House, an organization that provides programs for
runaway, homeless and high-risk youth and their families in
Northern Minnesota. The grant will be spent on a used vehicle
for transporting homeless youth.
Evergreen provides free services to more than 1,000
children, teens and families each year. Approximately half of
its clients are American Indian and half Caucasian. The people
Evergreen serves come primarily from the Leech Lake, Red Lake
and White Earth Reservations, as well as Beltrami, Cass,
Clearwater and Hubbard Counties. All told, the organization
covers a 15-county area in northern and northwestern
Minnesota.
Evergreen's programs include the Evergreen Shelter, the
Evergreen Youth Recovery House and Evergreen Community
Services. OYH is glad to be able to support Evergreen House's
important work.
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Spotlight: Sister's Camelot, Minneapolis,
MN |
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Open Your
Heart to the Hungry and Homeless has given a $9,685 grant to
Sister's Camelot, which will use the money to purchase a new
oven range, refrigerator, exhaust hood and fan for its new
mobile organic kitchen.
Sister's
Camelot is a 10-year-old collective that distributes free
organic produce and dry goods throughout the Twin Cities in
its rainbow-colored bus. A second bus is equipped with a whole
foods kitchen that is used to help people learn to cook
unfamilar vegetarian and vegan foods. OYH is proud to be able
to help equip this mobile kitchen through its grant.
Sister's
Camelot extends its reach further by providing leftover
produce for compost piles in community gardens, a service that
is especially needed during the winter months.
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| Did You Know? |
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Fact of the Month:
According to the state of
Minnesota, it can cost taxpayers and charities $32 to finance
a night in a shelter, $192 for a night at the Hennepin County
detox unit and $363 for a night in jail. That compares to $20
a night for a $600-per- month apartment. (Source: Dan Olson,
Minnesota Public Radio, January 22, 2008).
Quote of the Month:
"Hunger manifests itself in
many ways other than starvation and famine. Most poor people
who battle hunger deal with chronic undernourishment and
vitamin or mineral deficiencies, which result in stunted
growth, weakness and heightened susceptibility to illness." --
Emergency Foodshelf Network website.
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Make a
Wish and Benefit OYH! |
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Spare
change weighing you down? Here's a way to unload your pockets
and benefit Open Your Heart at the same time! For the month of
July, Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless will be the
"Pond Money Charity of the Month" at the Mall
of America. All proceeds will be donated to Open Your
Heart.
Next
time you visit the Mall, bring your extra coins to the Wishing
Wells located throughout the Mall and encourage your friends
and relatives to do the same!!
Click here for more news from Open
Your Heart. |
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