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

On rewind episode, we're headed back a few months to an episode where Kat is shared all about the Sherburne County Area United Way. Our organization has undergone a lot of transition the last few years, and we're excited to be sharing our new focus areas and goals.

The Community Connect event is from 11:00am-2:00pm Thursday October 19 at Elk River High School. Find out more here.

We are looking for board members to be actively involved in helping grow our organization, if you would like to learn more, please email or call Kat.

To find volunteer opportunities in the community, or to post your nonprofit volunteer opportunities, navigate to our online volunteer hub

Find SCAUW online:

⁠www.scauw.org⁠

Facebook: ⁠www.facebook.com/sherburneunitedway⁠

Instagram: @scauw

This week Kat sits down with Sarah Fritsch, who is the Early Childhood Coordinator for the Big Lake School District.  

This fun conversation is full of great information and tidbits. As the Early Childhood Coordinator, Sarah has a unique perspective on families with young children, and this episode is a great way to learn not only about early childhood programs, but also some great information about young children.

ECFE is Early Childhood Family Education. ECSE is early childhood special education. While the two acronyms are often confused, they both envelope very different and special programming. ECSE if for children ages 0-5 who can use some extra help before heading into Kindergarten. ECFE on the other hand, is for any child ages 0 to 8, and is a support system for those children and their families. 

ECFE is open for any family of young children, it’s not income or needs based and you don’t have to reside in the district. 

Early Childhood screening is for ages 3-5, and isn’t just for Kindergarten, it’s intended to identify any issues early to get kids the help they need before starting Kindergarten. This service can be found at your local school district. 

Sarah provides some great tips for the early childhood screening at 20:30, as this screening can sometimes cause unnecessary stress for families and kids. 

Discussion on nature based classrooms at approx 29:00 

Big Lake’s family literacy class is open for everyone, but designed for English language learning families as a space space for families learning English. 

Big Lake ECFE also provides a drop in service for childcare providers, because childcare providers are such an important resource to families. 

Family Fun Fest is happening October 6, from 5:00-7:00. Family fun fest is a family resource fair full of fun, free family activities!

At the end of the episode, Kat and Sarah talk about Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. Sarah is a huge proponent of DPIL, and 47% of eligible kids in the Big Lake area are enrolled in the program! Imagination Library is helping to build a culture of reading and learning in families by providing free, high quality literature to all families. SCAUW is an affiliate and provides the program in our area, where over 1600 kids are currently enrolled.

Find Big Lake ECFE online:

www.biglakece.com

https://www.facebook.com/biglakecommunityed

https://www.facebook.com/groups/BigLakeECFE

Find SCAUW online:

⁠www.scauw.org⁠

Facebook: ⁠www.facebook.com/sherburneunitedway⁠

Instagram: @scauw

Thumbs Up is located in Elk River, and is an organization that is committed to helping those who suffer from a mental health disorder find resources. They also support bereaved families and friends who have lost a loved one to suicide.

Thumbs Up started as a memorial 5k in 2013, and now runs nine different programs. The 10th annual 5k and 10k is happening September 16, 2023 at Orono Park in Elk River. 

Thumbs Up programs:

• Bereavement Outreach
• Calming Corners
• Cheer Bags™
• Community Outreach Events
• Emotional Support Dogs
• No One Sits Solo™
• Referral Assistance Program 
• Youth Mental Health Awareness & Prevention
• Smiles for Seniors 

Referenced information in the episode:

Joe Schmit's Book Silent Impact

No One Sits Solo video

Calming Corner teacher testimonial video

Bereavement Gift nomination form

Cheer Bag nomination form

Referral Assistance information

To reach out to Maria about gap therapy, email Maria at maria.thumbsup@gmail.com

About us video

Find Thumbs Up online:

⁠https://thumbsupformentalhealth.org/⁠

⁠https://www.facebook.com/ThumbsUpHigh5K⁠

Instagram: @thumbsuphigh5k

Find SCAUW online:

⁠⁠www.scauw.org⁠⁠

Facebook: ⁠⁠www.facebook.com/sherburneunitedway⁠⁠

Instagram: @scauw

This week Kat sits down with Emmitt Edwards, a recruiter for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota.  

Big Brothers Big Sister is a mentoring agency in the community, covering  Morrison, Benton, Stearns, Sherburne, and the northern tier of Wright Co. Their goal is to find youth, called “littles,”  and match them with an adult mentor “Bigs” in the community. Their mission is to create and support 1:1 mentor relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth.  The organization primarily serves youth aged 7-17, through their community and school based programs. 

Currently there are 100 kids on a wait list for Bigs in Central Minnesota. There is a need for male mentors, and female mentors are needed as well. There are a variety of ways to act as a Big, including with another adult partner or as a family unit. They ask: what do you like to do? Any activity you can think of, there is a little somewhere in the area who is waiting to do that activity!

Currently BBBS of Central Minnesota is working on their back to school campaign, to get 100 new inquires for being a Big for a waiting Little. 

Find Big Brothers Big Sisters online:

https://www.bigdefenders.org/

https://www.bigdefenders.org/ways/

https://bbbs.tfaforms.net/4841561

https://www.facebook.com/BigDefenders

Instagram: @bbbsofcentralmn

emmitt@bigdefenders.org

(320)258-4537

Find SCAUW online:

⁠www.scauw.org⁠

Facebook: ⁠www.facebook.com/sherburneunitedway⁠

Instagram: @scauw

This week Kat and guest host Jim Boyle sit down with Cathy Wogen from the Kiwanis Club of St. Cloud. Cathy is the coach for the Kiwanis Club of the Elk River area, which is now forming. This club is solely focused on children and providing opportunities for them to thrive, grow in knowledge, and have fun while learning and doing so.

Kiwanis is an international service organization whose mission is to serve the children of the world. As a service leadership club, Kiwanis serves people ages 0-80, through their various programs including BUG (Bringing Up Grades) for elementary aged children, K-Kids, Key Club for high school students, Circle K for college students, and the Action Club for adults with disabilities. 

As of August 2023, The new club in Elk River is meeting at the Elk River Library on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, from 5:00-6:00pm. Everyone is welcome and the club is accepting new members! You can reach out to Kat via email with more questions about membership and meetings. 

Find Kiwanis online:

www.stcloudkiwanis.org

https://www.facebook.com/stcloudkiwanis

https://www.facebook.com/ElkRiverMNKiwanis

Find SCAUW online:

⁠www.scauw.org⁠

Facebook: ⁠www.facebook.com/sherburneunitedway⁠

Instagram: @scauw