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Greetings!
The sharp change in weather these past couple of weeks
reminds us that harvest season is here! The farmers markets are
bustling with the last fruits of the season and Honeycrisp apples are
making a welcome return to markets and stores around the state. As we
enjoy these gifts from our farmers, we want to do our part to make
sure everyone has enough to eat this fall. That's why we
created the Open Your Heart Food Shelf Challenge. We're matching your
donations to food shelves in September, which is Hunger Action Month,
giving out up to $100,000. We hope you will join us in taking action
against hunger by donating to your local food shelf!
More than 140 food shelves across the state have
signed up to take advantage of this great opportunity. (Click here to see a
list.) Open Your Heart will match all monetary donations these
agencies receive this month to make an even bigger impact on hunger.
Food shelves can purchase up to nine times as much food with your
dollars as you could at the grocery store, so your gifts really add
up! The more you give to your food shelf, the larger its grant will
be, so make sure to spread the word to others in your community who
care about ending hunger.
We
are excited to offer this new initiative that will leverage our
funding to get more food to our neighbors in need. In this newsletter
we highlight two agencies we've funded recently that are also
participating in the challenge. We hope you enjoy learning about
their work and that you'll also take the time to learn more about
your local food shelf and how you can help. When we all take action
against hunger, we can make sure everyone enjoys a good harvest.
Arna Yetter
Executive Director
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Agency
Spotlight:
360 Communities, Burnsville, MN
Open Your
Heart to the Hungry and Homeless has granted 360 Communities, a
40-year-old human services agency in the south metro, $9,534 to
purchase a freezer, exterior doors, lighting and a telephone system
for the hearing-impaired.
360
Communities offers dozens of services, from a food pantry and clothes
closet to sexual assault services and violence prevention education.
The organization's Lewis Houses in Eagan and Hastings provide shelter
to women and their children who are victims of domestic abuse, while
its Partners for Success program focuses on learning readiness in
several south suburban school districts.
Click here for
more information on 360 Communities.
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Community Aid Elk River,
Elk River, MN
Community Aid Elk River (CAER) has benefited from a $10,000 grant
from Open Your Heart. It used the funds for a walk-in cooler for its
food shelf, giving the organization enough space to store the fresh
fruit, vegetables and dairy products its clients need.
CAER purchases discounted fresh foods from Second Harvest Heartland
for as little as 12 cents a pound, and receives donations of
perishables from grocery stores and big box stores. It then
distributes those foods to needy families in the Elk River area
through its food shelf.
Click here for more information on CAER.
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Open Your Heart Announces $100,000 Food Shelf Challenge
Open
Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless is marking Hunger Awareness Month
this September with a new $100,000 food shelf challenge grant. The
grant will match monetary donations to participating Minnesota food
shelves during the month. The additional funds will allow the food
shelves to purchase more food for people in need, as well as raise
awareness about hunger within the state.
The
amount given will be proportional to the amount donated by community
members. The more you give to food shelves in September, the larger
their grant from Open Your Heart will be.
To
see a list of participating food shelves, click here.
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58 Agencies Benefit
from Open Your Heart Education Grants
It's
back to school time again! Open Your Heart has awarded education grants
to 58 Minnesota agencies assisting homeless students as they return to
school this year.
During
the 2008-09 school year, on average, there were up to 1,500 homeless
students attending Minneapolis Public Schools daily and thousands more
in districts across the state. Often these children go without the
school supplies and new clothing others consider basic and necessary.
Differences between school-aged children are achingly apparent when one
is missing what most consider essential. The Open Your Heart Education
Fund provides these essentials that help students understand they are
part of the school community, they are valued, and they have the
resources to succeed in school and in life.
A
staff member at the YWCA Cass Clay relates a story of a student who had
recently enrolled in a local school and was very nervous to start. The
student confided she only had one pair of ill-fitting shoes that had
holes in them. Because of the Open Your Heart grant, the YWCA was able
to purchase a brand new pair of shoes for her on the first day of
school. The staff member said, "The smile on this student's face
was priceless and thanks to the [Open Your Heart] grant, one student's
life was made a whole lot easier."
Open
Your Heart has awarded over $1.4 million to agencies working with
homeless students since the Education Fund was created in 1996.
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Arna
Yetter
Open Your Heart
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