A MINNESOTA WITHOUT POVERTY by 2020

"A Minnesota Without Poverty" gathering. was held on Saturday, February 27, 2010 at the Knutson Campus Center, Centrum, at Concordia College, Moorhead, MN.

This gathering joined with others who were attending similar gatherings is Rochester, Duluth and Wilmar. Portions of the event wwere streamed live from St. Paul and featured keynote speaker Don Samuels, activist business leader, pastor and city council member.

Local presenters at the Knutson Campus Center include:

• MN House Representative Morrie Lanning, District 09A, who served on the LCEP 2020 Commisison
• Gregory Gray, who served as Director of the MN Legislative Commission to End Poverty (LCEP) by 2020;
• Bishop Larry Wohlrabe, Northwestern Minnesota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Churches in America (ELCA), and
• Bishop Michael Hoeppner, Catholic Bishop of the Crookston Diocese.
  

Donations were accepted with the money going towar gas and transit cards to assist workers and people seeking employment.

Service Learning

Lakes & Prairies staff visited Minnesota State University - Moorhead and talked to Dr. Steve Bolduc's Economics and Women's Studies 305AM -- Poverty, Discrimination, Inequality class about Service Learning opportunities. Already, 2 students have contacted us about the opportunities available -- one about the tax site and the other about working with low income and special needs students.



Opportunities available include:

• Tax Site Assistance (Tuesday and Thursday evenings) either from 5-7 or 7-9 p.m. This opportunity includes greeting clients, offering to do a benefits analysis of what services or programs families may be eligible for, and/or providing clients with the completed tax papers and having them sign. Opportunities are available with some Saturday opportunities as well. Contact.


• A Minnesota Without Poverty event (Saturday, February 27 evening). Help is needed at the event and in some pre-planning and promotion in early February. Contact.


• Project Homeless Connect event (April 6th training and April 7th providing services and assistance to homeless individuals and families. At the last event more than 500 people in need of assistance attended. Services ranges from food, haircuts, dental care, and helping people to get a drivers license, to connecting people with employment and housing assistance services. In all, more than 100 volunteers are needed. Students who volunteer on April 7th must attend the evening training on April 6th. Students volunteering as part of a service learning project should indicate their interest in Frebruary. Training is about 2 to 3 hours and the day of the event will have 3 hour shifts including 9 a.m. - noon; noon to 3 p.m and 3 p.m - 6 p.m. Contact.

Other opportunities include working in the following Lakes & Prairies programs. These programs include:

• Head Start is a state and federally funded program for children ages 3 and 4. The program offers comprehensive services to enroll children and families, giving priority to limited income families and children with special needs. Volunteering can include work in the classroom with teachers or helping with special events.


• Rainbow Bridge - Safe Exchange and Visitation Center provide safe exchanges and monitored visits for parents/guardians visiting their children. Training for this is about 3 hours and each visit is about 2 hours. Those volunteering should be able to commit to 18 hours of visitations and exchanges. Hours for this can be some afternoons, evenings and weekends.


• Family & Community Services programs work in a number of areas including homelessness prevention, food support, heathcare application assistance, self-sufficiency, and asset development.

All of these can be found on our website.

Please mail your interest to info@lakesandprairies.net and we will pass along your interest to the appropriate staff members. If, for any reason, you haven't had some response after 3 workdays after you contacted us, please send a second email and we will follow up. This should not happen but everything from snow days, to out of office meetings can occur and we will be happy to respond to a second request. (We don't expect that will happen too often.)

Community Discusses GAMC

General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) is being replaced by MN Care health coverage for some 70,000 individuals in Minnesota. On January 7, Lakes & Prairies Community Action Partnership collaborated with St. Joseph Parish to hold a community conversation on the ending GAMC assistance and its negative impact on low-income indivduals. Hospital representatives spoke to the increased costs that they will incur. County Social Service staff spoke of the plight of those who would be unable to pay the MN Care co-pays or to purchase needed prescriptions. The County Sheriff spoke to anticipated increases in a variety of emergency responses such as for those who are unstable without their required medications. Representatives Morrie Lanning and Paul Marquart spoke about upcoming discussions at the MN Legislature when it convenes on February 4 and how this was a priority issue to be addressed. Brian Rusche, Executive Director of the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition in St. Paul, spoke to many of these same concerns as well as the need for fairness, equity and justice in how we help those who are most in need. For many, this is truly a life and death situation. Rusche reminded those attending that there were plans to go to the State Capital on February 4th, day one of this legislative session and for the statewide "Justice We Pursue -- Day on the Hill" gathering on Thursday, March 25, 2010. For information on these two dates go to http://www.jrlc.org/.

Board of Directors - Opportunities

Clay County Low-Income Representative Needed to fill Lakes & Prairies Community Action Partnership, Inc. Board Vacancy

Lakes & Prairies Community Action Partnership, Inc. is seeking candidates interested in running for election to the Board of Directors of the Agency. This seat provides a representative for the low-income sector of Clay County and is up for election.

Qualified candidates must reside in Clay County and be at least 18 years of age. Nominees need not be low income themselves, but must be able to represent the needs of the low-income population. Preferred qualifications include an Early Childhood Education Professional. The names of interested individuals will be included on an election ballot and distributed to the low-income electorate of Clay County for voting.

Interested candidates should call Lori Ward at 218-299-7268 or Joseph Pederson at 218-299-7019 or toll free at 1-800-452-3646 or go online to www.lakesandprairies.net to receive a Nominee Data Sheet to be completed and filed with the agency no later than July 30, 2012. Secret ballots will then be mailed to low-income clients in Clay County.

For further information about Lakes & Prairies and/or the Board of Directors and Nominee Data Sheet, please click here.

A Minnesota Without Poverty Gathering

An estimated 55-60 people attended A Minnesota Without Poverty gathering in Moorhead, MN. The event included presentations and reflections from:
Bishop Larry Wohlrabe, Bishop, Northwestern Minnesota Synod ELCA,
Bishop Michael Hoeppner, Bishop of the Crookston Diocese, and,
Gregory Gray, Director, Legislative Commission to End Poverty in Minnesota by 2020.

Joe Pederson, Executive Director of Lakes & Prairies Community Action Partnership,
shared a history of how we got to where we are today as well as moderated the event. Those attending received an Executive Summary of the Commission’s work that Gregory Gray brought with him. In addition, those attending received Rooting Out Poverty badges and the Community Action Partnership Executive Summary of the Rooting Out Poverty campaign. Planning was aided by materials from Rev. Nancy Maeker, Acting Director for A Minnesota Without Poverty, Minnesota Council of Churches.

A MINNESOTA WITHOUT POVERTY

Business, Government and Faith leaders to gather on January 21, 2009 to Affirm Recommendations to End Poverty in Minnesota by 2020, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 218 10th St. S., Moorhead, MN 56560 from 3:00 PM—4:00 PM


Fargo-Moorhead – A Minnesota Without Poverty, the statewide movement that is galvanizing support from business, government and the faith communities in Minnesota, announced plans for a Jan. 21, 2009, public affirmation of recommendations made by the Legislative Commission to End Poverty in Minnesota by 2020. A gathering at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Moorhead, MN will be held simultaneously with the St. Paul ceremony. The public is invited to attend and participate.


The Legislative Commission to End Poverty in Minnesota by 2020 has compiled a comprehensive list of recommendations that erase or reduce the barriers that force people to live in poverty. The recommendations identify problems and solutions in key areas: Education, Health Care, Transportation, Employment and Welfare. The recommendations, if implemented, would have the potential to lead to a poverty-free Minnesota by 2020.

State Deficit and God’s Abundance—JRLC’s Faith Forecast for 2009 Legislative Session

This message is about the state's budget deficit, but here's where we start: God's creation is good. We live amidst abundance in this beautiful part of the globe with neighbors and friends who are generous and kind. We share God's vision for us -- there will be no poverty; the economy will ensure basic income and opportunity for all. When we are sick or disabled, we will receive the care we need. We will stand together in adversity. We will make sure people have housing and heat this winter. We will be productive, creative, compassionate, and forgiving in the way we respond to God's gift of life....


Ending poverty is possible when we show up, stand up, sign up, and speak up.

A Minnesota Without Poverty is a statewide, interfaith movement to end poverty in Minnesota by 2020.


Stand Up for people experiencing poverty.

Sign Up. Add your name and support to a movement that will put an end to poverty in Minnesota.

Speak Up. Tell the story in your place of worship and in your community.

Week of the Young Child

Linda Lembke, Director

Lakes & Prairies Child Care Resource & Referral

Early learning in focus
Published Monday, April 14, 2008

Fargo Forum

_________________________

This week is nationally recognized as the Week of the Young Child. Early care and education has become a priority across the country as mounting research tells us that the years children spend in these settings is a time of fantastic brain growth and development that sets lifelong learning patterns. The Federal Reserve has convinced us that investments in early learning have a higher rate of return than traditional economic development strategies.
Initiatives in Minnesota and North Dakota are gaining momentum to broaden support for early care and education. Quality rating and improvement systems can offer parents easy-to-use information about child-care programs and can serve as a road map for programs to meet quality standards. Efforts to attract, train and retain people to work in child care and preschool programs are being expanded.
Locally, United Way of Cass Clay is leading the way with its Success By 6 early childhood initiative to provide children the best opportunity to succeed by the time they enter school. Imagination Library puts books into young children’s hands, Countdown to Kindergarten helps build the skills of 4- and 5-year-olds, and the Born Learning awareness campaign inspires us all to turn everyday moments with young children into learning moments.
Our region has a higher percentage of working parents than anywhere else in the country, so these families rely on a stable supply of quality child care and preschool opportunities. While parents are and will always be a child’s first teacher, it only makes sense to take advantage of the time children are in child-care settings to maximize their learning.
Week of the Young Child is a time to recognize the importance of early learning and early literacy, and to celebrate the teachers and policies that bring early childhood education to young children. Please join Child Care Resource and Referral in thanking the teachers and caregivers who spend their days with babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Imagine hosting a
10-hour birthday party five days a week and you can begin to appreciate what their work is like. They do this day in and day out, without the compensation and respect they deserve.
The Week of the Young Child is a time to reflect on what we want for our children in the future and also what we can do now to make sure that future is bright.
Lembke is director of Lakes & Prairies Child Care Resources and Referral, Moorhead.
E-mail lindal@lakesandprairies.net