Mobile Surplus Food Drop scheduled for Wilkin Co.

Mark your calendars!  Thursday, May 24th has been set for the Free Surplus Food Drop in the communities of Rothsay, Campbell and Breckenridge.  Your help in getting the word out to those who would benefit is appreciated.  There are no income eligibility qualifications to participate.  If you eat, you are eligible.  Thank you to our community partners for their part in making this possible

Tax Filing Season a Success Thanks to Volunteers

Thanks to the work of 27 volunteers who contributed 897 hours of their time to assist low and moderate income households with their 2011 tax filings, we can report:

• Federal and State refunds of $1,538,761 for 709 households
• An estimated $170,000 saved in filing fees
• Screenings of 182 households for eligibility for other benefits

Doing the math:  Whether tax site volunteers were greeters, tax preparers, reviewers, or providing clerical support, each hour any volunteer contributed had the outccome of refunding an average of $2,170 to an individual or family.  Volunteers do make a difference! 

Volunteers represented their communities, Concordia College,
Minnesota State University - Moorhead (MSUM), and
North Dakota State University

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) services were offered in Moorhead, Hawley, Barnesville and Breckenridge, MN.  Volunteers and support staff celebrated their accomplishments with a meal, a half hour of Zumba, and some bowling for those who still had the energy.  Thank you volunteers!  Our thanks to West Central Initiative,and Bank of the West, for their generosity and helping make this program possible.  Our thanks to the IRS team in Fargo, ND who provided valuable support from start to finish and a grant from the MN Department of Revenue.

Holly Nett completes CCR&R Leadership Development Program

Holly Nett, Child Care Consultation Manager at Lakes & Prairies Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&R), completed a 3-year leadership development program offered by the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA).  Nett was one of four individuals selected nationally for the intensive mentoring, training, internship, and service opportunities program in the Child Care Resource & Referral field.  During those three years, Nett completed two, 2-week internships.  One focused on child care consultation at the Indiana Association of Child Care Resource & Referral in Indianapolis, IN, in 2010 and a national public policy internship in Washington D.C. in 2011.  Nett has been with Lakes & Prairies Community Action Partnership, CCR&R for 17 years.  The CCR&R program provides services in northwest Minnesota and eastern North Dakota. 

Lakes & Prairies Head Start chosen to go to Harvard!

Going to Harvard!

Well, for a few days anyway.   Lakes and Prairies Head Start staff are excited to be part of a Professional Learning Community on Parent, Family and Community Engagement.  Pam Bernstein, Head Start Program Director, Kristin Phillips, Early Childhood and Special Services Manager, and Shanna Grefsrud, Transportation/Parent Involvement Manager, will travel to Boston, MA  in late March to work with other Head Start Staff at the  Harvard Family Research Center. 

Lakes & Prairies VITA Tax Site Receives Generous Support from Bank of the West

Bank of the West Branch Area Manager Scott Green (left) and
Moorhead Branch Manager Kari Saurdiff (2nd from right) present two
checks totalling $5,000 for our Volunteer Income Tax
Assistance Program.  Receiving the checks are Joe Pederson,
Lakes & Prairies Executive Director and Brenda Maaninga,
Tax Site Coordinator and Director of Finance.$

The Lakes & Prairies Free Tax Site is now in its 7th year.  During these years the tax site has grown from serving 84 to now more than 650 households annually.  Last year households received more than $1.65 million in refunds and saved an estimated $150,000 to $200,000 in tax preparation fees.  Eligible households also received information about federal benefits and other opportunities that could further leverage their income.  The growth of the tax site to what it is today could not have taken place without the financial support of individuals and businesses in our communities.  The gifts presented by Bank of the West (BOTW) will help cover costs related to tax site operations and outreach to help low and moderate income families in their efforts to achieve family economic stability and success.

Lakes & Prairies Receives Promising Practice Award

Brenda Maaninga, Lakes & Prairies Tax Site
Coordinator  accepts award on behalf of volunteers
and staff who worked together for the success
of this effort.

Staff, volunteers, board members and program participants
came forward to receive the award.

The  "Banking the Unbanked" through our VITA Tax Site project received a Promising Practice award at the Minnesota Community Action Partnership Best Practice ceremony held on February 15th in St. Paul.

The Practice:  Lakes & Prairies Community Action Partnership has incorporated pre-paid debit card services as a method to provide low cost banking services to the previously unbanked. 

Households utilizing VITA Tax Site services were offered the opportunity to sign up for a pre-paid debit card to deposit their refund.  The Impact: The pre-paid debit card provides the households the ability to build savings, avoid predatory lending practices and work toward financial security.The debit cards are FDIC insured, very low fees, and protect against the possibility of overdraft.

Lakes & Praires shares in Best Practice Award presented to West Central Initiative

Nancy Straw, President, West Central 
Initiative receives the Best Practice award
presented by Steve Nagle, Executive Director
of West Central MN Communities Action

Leadership Academy participants and Community Action
staff from  the 4 CAPs listen as award description
is presented by Catherine Solheim, Associate Professor
Family Social Science,
University of Minnesota College of Education & Human
Development

Lakes & Prairies Community Action Partnership shared in the "Leadership Academy -- Best Practice" award presented in St. Paul on February 15th.  Nancy Straw, President, West Central Initiative received the award for WCI's leadership in facilitating and providing support for the project.  Lakes and Prairies had 4 participants last year and will be sending 7 new Leadership Academy participants this spring.  Other CAP agencies sharing in the award were Mahube Community Council, Otter Tail-Wadena Community Action Council and West Central Minnesota Communities Action.

The Practice:  Too often, the full potential of leaders goes untapped.  The Leadership Academy helps previously undiscovered, low income leaders realize their power and take more active roles in building their communities' future.  The Academy provides a space and structure for people to acquire and practice competencies that result in becoming more effective leaders.  The Impact:  Preliminary results are pomising, indicating that participants have become more involved in their communities, are accepting formal or informal leadership positions and have become more effective community advocates.