Community development
Getting Out: Gang Intervention/Tattoo Removal Program
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities, in collaboration with Office of Justice Programs-MN Dept. of Public Safety, Neighborhood House and other youth serving organizations, St. Paul & Minneapolis Police Departments, Ramsey & Hennepin Counties, Ramsey County Corrections-Boys Totem Town, Century College, Dr. Gervais- Minneapolis Plastic Surgery, and Dr. Tolan & Dr. Campanelli-Midwest Facial Plastic Surgery provide gang intervention programs and tattoo removal services for gang involved teens and young adults who are eligible to receive treatment to remove gang related tattoos from hands, arms, neck, ears, or face upon documentation of transition out of the gang lifestyle.
Glencoe City Center
In 1932, the Glencoe community built a very large 2-story brick, grade and high school. Largely due to the determination and efforts of the 1922 school board, a sinking fund was set up to save the needed amount of money to build a school eight times larger than what existed at the time.
Their successful tactics brought a large school into Glencoe that did not exist in very many towns at that time and it was paid for when completed. The building was constructed at a time when the best quality materials could be purchased for the least amount of cost and the best craftsman would work for a very reasonable wage.
The school was a land mark in the community and over time became too old and outdated to be used. The threat of it being torn down concerned many of the citizens within the community.
A task force was set up to brainstorm options and uses for the building to satisfy other community needs. Some GHPS members and other concerned individuals joined the task force to help think of ways to use and save the building.
A fundraising committee was also set-up and through countless efforts, enough public funds were raised to get the restoration project underway.
Supportive Housing in Bemidji
The Headwaters Housing Development Corporation is developing a twenty unit supportive housing project for homeless families in Bemidji in partnership with several organizations in the region including the Beltrami County HRA, Bi-County CAP, Red Lake Housing Authority, and Leech Lake Housing Authority. Financial support for the project has been provided by Minnesota Housing, Greater Minnesota Housing Fund, Department of Employment and Economic Development and Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines (through First National Bank of Bemidji). The City of Bemidji has also provided financial support needed to make the project feasible. The project will be managed through a subcontract with DW Jones Property Management. Construction of the housing project required construction of eight block of new municipal street and infrastructuire needed to serve the building site. The street and underground infrastructure is now being built and construction of the housing units will be started in July. The project will be completed in the spring of 2012 and fully occupied by May, providing quality shelter and services for nineteen families and a resident caretaker.
Many Cultures, One Community: Joyce's Diverse Team of Volunteers Promotes Success in School and Lifelong Learning
The Minneapolis School District reported in 2009 that only 36% of Hispanic children entering kindergarten met benchmarks for basic math and literacy understanding, as compared to 94% of white students. Joyce Preschool works to reduce this gap by providing children from diverse ethnic, linguistic, and economic backgrounds with developmentally and culturally appropriate preparation for success in school.
Accredited by NAEYC, Joyce teaching staff engage with a diverse team of volunteers to enrich its curriculum. Community volunteers receive training in language and literacy strategies and serve as classroom aides at Joyce Preschool. Intentional volunteer recruitment efforts target qualified, passionate individuals who represent a diverse range of racial, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, echoing Joyce's clientele. Volunteers are parents, college students, church members, neighbors, and retirees. Each brings a unique skill set to Joyce and helps us maintain a low student to teacher ratio.
Restorative Justice Community Action - Bringing People Together to Make Things Right
Quality of life crimes, such as panhandling, solicitation, loitering with intent to buy or sell narcotics, and public consumption affect the vibrancy of our neighborhoods. Restorative Justice Community Action gives community members the opportunity to meet face-to-face with offenders who have committed these low-level legal offenses in their neighborhoods. The goal of these "Community Conferences" is to best repair the harm that was done to a particular community, to give ordinary citizens a voice in the justice process, and to re-integrate offenders back into the community in a restorative way.
Contributor
Chanti Calabria2011-07-11 14:19
1 Comment
Twin Cities Cheap
The past 3 years we have seen how the financial world will sacrifice the "little guy" at all costs to make their own profits. The small businesses (in the Twin Cities and nationwide) are especially vulnerable to the fluctuations of the economy and have been gravely hurt. Twin Cities Cheap (www.TwinCitiesCheap.com) has been developed in an effort to combat the unfair advertising climate where the "big box" large businesses and financial organizations overshadow our small business community. We understand that many small businesses also have small budgets for advertising. Twin Cities Cheap is for the ethical or socially-conscious small businesses who directly benefit their local economy and those who seek to invest in them. All funds have gone into and will continue to grow our site which helps shine the spotlight on our wonderful small business community.
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