Grand Rapids, MN, March 9, 2011. The Kootasca Chapter of Thrivent Financial earned The Chapter of Excellence for 2010 award for its outstanding work in addressing local community and was honored with $500 which they donated to Second Harvest Food Bank in Grand Rapids. The Chapter appreciates all that the Food Bank does for the people and the area that they serve. It is FoodShare Month when all of the dollars received by the Food Bank count toward their goal of collecting 80,000 combined pounds and dollars for the month.
Thrivent financial members come together to make a difference through charitable and educational outreach, whether the cause is big or small. The Chapter of Excellence award recognizes all individuals of the Kootasca Chapter who joined together to strengthen our communities.
The Kootasca Chapter members held more than 15 events in the area during 2010 to bring people together for fun, education and helping others. For example, the chapter gave supplemental funds to over 10 benefits, hosted a trip to a Twins’ game, held financial workshops, hosted a night at the theatre, and much more.
As a membership organization, Thrivent Financial is focused on meeting its members’ needs around financial security, as well as helping to improve the quality of life in the communities where members live. As a result, Thrivent Financial creates programs to encourage members who in turn help congregations, schools, nonprofits and individuals in need. Each Thrivent Financial member is a member of one of more than 1,300 local chapters nationwide through which he or she can participate in charitable, educational and social activities.
This Kootasca Chapter’s leadership 2011 board includes: Paula Ross, Peg Christensen, Jeff Frazier, Bill Trembath, Barb Tornes, Dale Juntunen, Kristi York, Dennis Jerome, Melanie Anderson, Gail Ross, and Jim Tarbell. The Finanicial Representatives who act as advisors to the Board are: Bob Affeldt, Dan Fiala, Rob Sjostrand, and Ben Weerts.
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is a not-for-profit, Fortune 500 financial services membership organization helping approximately 2.6 million members achieve financial security and give back to their communities. Thrivent Financial and its affiliates offer a broad range of financial products and services including life insurance, annuities, mutual funds, disability income insurance, bank products and more. As a not-for-profit organization, Thrivent Financial creates and supports national outreach programs and activities that help congregations, schools, charitable organizations and individuals in need. For more information, visit Thrivent.com.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
The March FoodShare Campaign is Underway!
During the month of March, the Grand Rapids Food Shelf is joining with over 300 food shelves across Minnesota to collect donations of money and food. These donations will support local efforts to help feed people in need and reduce hunger in our community. When congregations, businesses, schools or service clubs participate in the March FoodShare Campaign, the Food Shelf will make sure that the food and funds collected provides hunger assistance for people in our community who need it most. This year, the theme of the Grand Rapids Food Shelf’s March FoodShare Campaign is “Do You Know the Face of Hunger?” “Yes you do, because one out of nine families in the greater Grand Rapids area turn to the Food Shelf for assistance,” according to Ellen Christmas, Grand Rapids Food Shelf Program Manager. “In order to keep the shelves stocked and meet the need, we count on local support to provide food and hope to many desperate families trying to keep food on the table. Every effort or contribution, large or small, helps us to continue to feed people. March is the time of year we can leverage additional dollars for the food shelf through donations because of the FoodShare Campaign and the Feinstein Challenge,” she added.
In 2010, the Grand Rapids Food Shelf provided food to an average of 783 households each month. That amounts to over 2,000 individuals served, of which 38% were children under the age of 18. Families turn to the food shelf to provide food and meals that would otherwise be skipped or missed altogether.
The Food Shelf distributed close to 256 tons of food during 2010 and much of this work was accomplished with the assistance of volunteers. “Our work could not be as effective as it is without our gracious volunteers and generous support from throughout the entire community,” says Christmas. Every March, Minnesota FoodShare, a program of the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches, organizes Minnesota's largest food and fund drive for the hungry. FoodShare is a grass-roots driven food and fund drive that raises awareness about hunger in Minnesota where statistics show 1 in 8 children do not have enough food to eat. All food and funds contributed locally stay in the area but are counted towards the statewide goal of 12 million pounds and dollars. The Grand Rapids Food Shelf has set a combined goal of 80,000 pounds and dollars to be collected throughout March.
The Food Shelf distributed close to 256 tons of food during 2010 and much of this work was accomplished with the assistance of volunteers. “Our work could not be as effective as it is without our gracious volunteers and generous support from throughout the entire community,” says Christmas. Every March, Minnesota FoodShare, a program of the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches, organizes Minnesota's largest food and fund drive for the hungry. FoodShare is a grass-roots driven food and fund drive that raises awareness about hunger in Minnesota where statistics show 1 in 8 children do not have enough food to eat. All food and funds contributed locally stay in the area but are counted towards the statewide goal of 12 million pounds and dollars. The Grand Rapids Food Shelf has set a combined goal of 80,000 pounds and dollars to be collected throughout March.
Christmas encourages the community to help our local food shelf and says “now more than ever the Food Shelf provides an important safety net to those that are hungry, right here in our community. If like us, you feel hunger experienced by our most vulnerable citizens is unacceptable, now is your chance to act and help us reach our March Campaign goal.” Food and cash donations received throughout the month of March will count toward our goal of 80,000.
Monday, February 28, 2011
A New Look for Second Harvest North Central Food Bank
Having a strong web presence has become increasingly important in our mission to end hunger. Our parent company, Feeding America, designed an offering that allowed us to deploy an outstanding website, and regularly update it, without assistance from vendors, volunteers or IT staff, for less than $1,500.
With 4 days of training, we completely redesigned our website. We now have the ability to regularly update a professional-looking and feature-rich website with a few click of the mouse and no cost to us.
Along with a clean new look, our website now offers; an agency locator feature utilizing Google Maps which displays the agency location on a map, provides directions and additional information (hours, websites, etc) of our member agencies, the ability to sign up for our newsletters and volunteer opportunities, and an event calendar. Be sure to check it out if you haven’t done so already! http://www.secondharvestncfb.com/
With 4 days of training, we completely redesigned our website. We now have the ability to regularly update a professional-looking and feature-rich website with a few click of the mouse and no cost to us.
Along with a clean new look, our website now offers; an agency locator feature utilizing Google Maps which displays the agency location on a map, provides directions and additional information (hours, websites, etc) of our member agencies, the ability to sign up for our newsletters and volunteer opportunities, and an event calendar. Be sure to check it out if you haven’t done so already! http://www.secondharvestncfb.com/
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
A look at the 2010 Itasca Holiday Program
Itasca Holiday Program 2010 ~ Together we made a difference!
Because of the generous support from the community, Second Harvest North Central Food Bank was able to distribute 1,700 food boxes and gifts to over 1,800 children in Itasca County and Hill City. The food boxes and gifts were distributed throughout the county in Grand Rapids, Hill City, Deer River, Bigfork, Squaw Lake, Keewatin, Taconite, and Inger. The Itasca Holiday Program continues to be a success every year because of the caring community. Thank you to the many individuals who volunteered your time, and/or donated gifts, food, and money. In December, 250+ volunteers logged in over 1500 hours at Second Harvest in order to make it happen.
A special thank you to the following for their support of the Itasca Holiday Program: Lake Country Power – Operation Round Up * Minnesota Power Foundation * L & M Supply * Wal-Mart * Walgreens * Central Square Mall * Reed Drug * Wells Fargo Bank * City of Grand Rapids Employees * Itasca County Court House * Itasca Resource Center * Grand Rapids High School * Connor Jasper Middle School * Grand Itasca Hospital * Berquist Companies – People in Business Care * Area Congregations * PEO Chapter ED * Yarnworks * Grand Rapids Evening Rotary Club * Itasca Vintage Car Club * ICC Nursing, Engineering, and Resource Management Students * Minnesota Conservation Corps * Nashwauk Alliance Church Youth Group * Grand Acts of Giving * Grand Rapids High School International Club * Bovey Lutheran Youth Group * Circle K
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Large last minute donation for the Itasca Holiday Program
Second Harvest would like to extend a BIG thank you to Lake Country Power and the Operation Round Up program for donating $5,000 to the Itasca Holiday Program. It is because of donations such as this, the Itasca Holiday Program remains a success.
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