This week Kat and Jim sit down with a few really impactful community members who make the Community Thanksgiving Dinner a possibility in Elk River!

In 2022 the revival of the Community Thanksgiving Dinner was led by Melanie Clemons and Missy Wilson. They brought in their organizations to help support and fund the event, and with the help of other community partners, donors, and a crew of volunteers, they fed over 300 people Thanksgiving dinner. 

The event is being held again in 2023 at Central Lutheran Church in Elk River on Thanksgiving Day 11:30-1:00pm. 

Information on this FREE event can be found all throughout social media, and on the Kiser Construction website. https://kiserrenovations.com/community-thanksgiving/

Toy Drives:

There are many community toy drives in the area. 

Fill a Fire Truck led by the Elk River Fire Foundation

The Kiser Construction Toy Drive 

Donation bins for both drives will be found around the community in December, please be sure to check online for details, information will be posted soon! 

Note, another local organization accepting gifts this season is Gifts Anonymous. Check their website and social media to find out how you can donate! http://www.giftsanonymous.org/

Find Kiser Construction online:

https://kiserrenovations.com/

https://www.facebook.com/KiserConstruction

Find Royal Supply online:

https://www.facebook.com/RoyalSupplyMN

https://royalsupplymn.com/

Find the Elk River Fire Foundation online:

https://www.facebook.com/ElkRiverFireFoundation/

Find SCAUW online:

⁠www.scauw.org⁠

Facebook: ⁠www.facebook.com/sherburneunitedway⁠

Instagram: @scauw

This week, Kat sits down with Laurel Merten, Director of the Big Lake Ambassadors Scholarship Program.

This program has a goal of empowering young ladies of Big Lake to be women of tomorrow through community service. They also work to promote leadership, professional development and personal growth, with an opportunity to earn an educational scholarship. All the Ambassadors had over 100 hours each last year of volunteering!

The Core Values of the Big Lake Ambassador Program are Honesty, Respect, Loyalty and Commitment

For the tie blanket service project, they are accepting fleece donations for tie blankets. Donations of 2.5 yards of fleece are preferred, fleece must be new and clean. Boxes can be found at Big Lake Coborns, Lupulin, and the City of Big Lake office.

To inquire about being a candidate - email biglakeambassadors@gmail.com or find them on Facebook.

Laurel also comes to the High School and Middle School lunches and distributes fliers at both schools.

Find Big Lake Ambassadors online:

biglakeambassadors@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/BigLakeAmbassadors

https://www.instagram.com/biglakeambassadors

Find SCAUW online:

⁠www.scauw.org⁠

Facebook: ⁠www.facebook.com/sherburneunitedway⁠

Instagram: @scauw

This week Kat sits down with Maureen Baty who is the Executive Director for Great River Faith In Action 

Great River Faith in Action helps elderly and disabled people to be able to live in their homes safely by bringing in volunteers to help with tasks they are no longer able to do.  Some examples are lawn mowing, driving them to the doctor appt or grocery store, minor home repairs, snow removal, friendly visits, respite and more.  

Rake the Town is a big fall event where business, churches, groups or families go rake a lawn in the community of an elderly or disabled person. 

In their Furniture for Families Program they provide basic furniture needs to struggling families in our area. Their partnership with Becker Furniture World makes this happen and they also take some donated furniture & kitchen items.  

Currently GRFIA has 406 clients they serve, some 1x a week and some 1x a year, depending on the needs.  In 2022, volunteer drivers drove over 32,000 miles bringing people to medical appointments & the grocery store.  They have many individual & group volunteer opportunities!

Christmas cheer bags are an initiative started during the pandemic that they are excited to offer for the third year. Check out their website, information will be released soon: https://www.grfia.org/give/christmas/

Find Great River Faith In Action online:

763-263-4277

info@grfia.org

www.grfia.org      

https://www.facebook.com/GreatRiverFaithInAction/ 

Find SCAUW online:

⁠www.scauw.org⁠

Facebook: ⁠www.facebook.com/sherburneunitedway⁠

Instagram: @scauw