Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity

Mark your calendars!!! 

What: A one-day building project in the Twin Cities metro area.

When: Saturday, November 22, from 8:30-4.

***Note: There is a limit of 13 volunteers for this particular event.***

Please email me at schm1319@umn.edu if you are interested in being one of these lucky volunteers!!!

Hope Lodge Dinner

Our first event of the year is coming up on Friday, October 10!!!  We will again be volunteering to prepare a meal for residents at the Hope Lodge.  This is an excellent opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others and spend some time with your classmates!  Please take a look at the Hope Lodge link on the right hand column of this page and see what a great experience volunteering at the Hope Lodge can offer!

Volunteer for Health Insurance Coverage Outreach!

Volunteer to Help Educate Community about the Uninsured and the effects on community health. This will occur at the May Day Parade on Sunday, May 4th!

Health Insurance Coverage Outreach: Join students and staff from UMN’s School of Public Health as they provide public health insurance program enrollment information to parade visitors.

Location: Powderhorn Park (a block south of Lake St between 10^th and 14^th Aves in South Minneapolis), north side of the lake. (look for the “Cover the Uninsured” banner)

Date: Sunday, May 4

Time: 11 AM to 7 PM (2-hour volunteer shifts)

Info: Contact shadac@umn.edu or 612-624-4802 to sign up for a shift

Run for Others 5K a success!

Despite the inclement weather (which actually turned out quite nice for those that ran), we had a great turnout for the Run for Others 5K which raised money for Habitat for Humanity. Between runners and volunteers we had around 20 MHA'ers participate in the event.

(not pictured: Scott Mortenson, Lali Silva, Hashir Hamza, Nive Girotra and Shriram Parashuram... hope I'm not forgetting anyone)

ACHE Volunteer Event in Chicago

Thanks to all who participated in the ACHE volunteer event at Drake Elementary School located in Chicago’s south side Bronzeville neighborhood. The school enrolls a student body of 408 Pre-K-8 students, 89% of whom come from a low-income family environment.

The effort everyone put in to get those projects done was phenomenal! The clean-up crew created a wonderful, usable storage space for text books and materials, the bench builders provided some much-needed seating for the gym, and the mural artists really came through with a beautiful piece.

I hope you all found it as rewarding an experience as I did - especially when the kids all came to pitch in and help! How cute were they?!

Thanks to all who volunteered at this event - it was wonderful.

***Here are additional pictures of the event***

April Dinner at the ACS Hope Lodge

This event coordinated by Alicia Judkins and Jerry Birk ---

Please let me know if you are available to cook for patients and families residing at the Amercian Cancer Societies Minneapolis Hope Lodge on Friday,April 4th or Friday, April 11th.

The event includes food purchase, preparation, serving, cleaning and also eating with the residents. I will purchase the grocery items and take voluntary financial contributions when we are done. For this event, a volunteer may offer time, money or both. (total expenses approx. $200-$300)

Time committment should be around 3 hours, starting about 4pm.

MORE INFO...What are Hope Lodges? – Free, temporary housing facilities for cancer patients who are undergoing treatment. They provide a home-like nurturing environment, so patients can get support from others going through the same experience. A cancer survivor’s recovery involves much more than medical treatments; it takes hope to heal. Hope Lodge offers the warmth andsecurity of home in a setting where the love and encouragement of others enlighten and inspire guests. At Hope Lodge, guests rally around each other, building life-affirming connections and lifetime friendships.

Learn More Here: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/SHR/content/SHR_2.1_x_Hope_Lodge.asp?sitearea=SHR#mn

Location: MINNEAPOLIS 2500 University Ave SE Minneapolis, MN 55414

Resident Capacity: 40 Year Open: 2007

Contact:Mary Wiles Phone: 612-238-7603 Fax: 612-379-6353 mary.wiles@cancer.org

MS Society Walk Team

On May 4th, there will be a 6.5 mile walk from 8 A.M. - Noon in Minneapolis. A team has been started by Catherine Hinz for MHA students, and they are looking for more people to join. There is no requirement to raise funds, but each person can choose an amount to donate when they register as part of the team. The team has a tentative fund raising goal of $1,000 and possibly more. Follow the link to register your spot on the team. Spouses, kids, family, and friends are all invited to join the MHA team! The funds are used for research for a cure, and programs to aid those affected by MS.


How to register:

Enter your information on the team page to register. The team page is found here and information and directions to the walk can be found here.

Our team is called: U of MN-Master's in Healthcare Administration

Team leader: Catherine Hinz

5K Run / Walk for Habitat for Humanity

Tyler and Scott are in the process of coordinating this 5K Run / Walk event for Habitat for Humantiy. The event is scheduled for Saturday, April 19th, 2008 (Registration 8am). The "Cemstone Run For Others 5K" will be held at St. Andrew's Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi, Minnesota. Mahtomedi is just about 30 minutes from the U. The plan is to get as many people to participate as possible, with even more to just take the trip to route on your classmates and barbecue in the afternoon. There is a $20 registration fee, but you get a long-sleeve T-Shirt! Post your Comments to let us know you want to participate!! Click here for the registration form: http://www.vacationsports.com/runforothers5kreg.html

Calling All Cooks!

Are you interested in cooking a meal for patients and their families? The "American Cancer Society (ACS)- Hope Lodge" and the "Ronald McDonald House (RMH)" provide opportunities for groups to cook homemade dinner or brunch for families currently recieving healthcare services in the local area. If you can cook, clean or just buy groceries please get involved. We need up to 10 volunteers and around $250. Do you want to lead one of these cooking projects? Let us know by posting your comments.

Ronald McDonald House (RMH) - Contact Summary (JB)

The following is a summary of the initial contact with Ronald McDonald House (RMH) facilitated by Jerry Birk:
Date of Contact: 2-1-08
Contact: Katie Dahill, Volunteer Coordinator, Katie@rmhtwincities.org , (612) 767-2787.
Summary: Katie was pleased that the MHA group had considered RMH as a recipient of our volunteer efforts. Several volunteering capacities were identified, but those which were most suitable for our efforts related to group (10 people max) events at an RMH House. These events may be based on either "Fun & Food", "Lend-a-Hand", and "Community Support". For a detailed list, please see the RMH Opportunities for Groups document listed as a link on the Blog Space.

2 Projects which may be most convenient to immediately arrange are:
Household Projects - Routine household tasks are arranged for a group during the week for a 2-3 hour shift. This type of event can be made for a single day, or scheduled for a regular monthly or quarterly basis. (Tasks such as cleaning, yard work, holiday decorating, etc.)

Meal Projects - A calendar is made identifying available meal dates during the week or weekend. Due to its popularity, dates are quickly filled. Essentially, a group is expected to prepare a weekday dinner for approximately 100 people served at 5:30 pm, or a weekend brunch for 65 people served at 11:30 Sat or Sun. As an alternative, groups may also prepare Birthday Party events held once per month. Meal preparation includes purchasing food supplies, cooking, setting up buffet service and cleaning up. Cost estimates for this type of dinner are $200-300.

Several different opportunities based on Community Support exist such as: Drives and Campaigns (collecting items such as Laundry Supplies, Kids Videos, Paper Products, etc.), Breakfast Bags, Pop Tab Collecting, Donation Drives and Fundraisers. Please see the RMH Opportunities for Groups document for details.

Next Steps: Select a meal or household event and contact Katie.
Barriers/Issues/Other Comments: This would be a good opportunity to get something rolling right away. Discuss use of Class Funds for funding meal events.

Blog Open to All MHA Students and Select Faculty - Comments Please!

Preliminary design and development efforts have brought us far enough to invite all of the MHA Students and Faculty to view and participate with the iniative. Comment sections have been 'turned on' and we are anxiously awaiting your feedback.

If this is your first time to the Blog, please scroll down to the "Welcome" section to get a general idea of what its about. For a more in-depth review, please click on the hyperlinks on the side of the page under "Supporting Documentation". Here you will find the original working document which was used to establish the foundation and direction for our volunteer efforts. I encourage you all to be familiar with the "Main Description".

In your comments, please identify if you are interested in leading a project, participating with a project, or investigating or sharing a new opportunity. Whatever your interest, one of the council members will contact you.

All comments are welcome, please share your opinions and feedback so that this may become an effective tool now and in the future.

1st Year Student Champion Needed

Are you a 1st year MHA student who is interested in leading this campaign on behalf of your class? If so, please contact Jerry Birk. Ideally, the stewardship council should represent a collaborative model comprised of both first and second year students. Lets discuss it!

Initial Review Nearly Complete - Next Steps!

Of the 10 sites which were originally investigated, 3 appeared to have very promising opportunities for short and long-term participation. These sites were:
The American Cancer Society
The American Heart Association
The YMCA
(See the Blog Posts - Contact Summaries - Below)

Some contact summaries remain to be reported, such as:
Ronald McDonald House (waiting for email response)
Courage Center
Neighborhood House

It was found that the remaining sites either provided limited opportunity, did not meet our objectives or were too difficult to communicate with.

Next Steps (In Progress):
1) Sending YMCA Directors more info on the initiative so that their needs and our interests may be appropriately matched.
2) Sending ACS completed application.
3) Review Your Comments on the Blog Posts for AHA, ACS and YMCA to plan for and schedule upcoming events.

United Way Refers to 'Hands On Twin Cities' - Contact Summary (JB)

The following is a summary of the initial contact made with the United Way facilitated by Jerry Birk:
Date of Call: 12-30-07
Contact: 2-1-1 United Way Helpdesk (612-340-7400)
After contacting executives with the United Way, I was referred to "Hands on Twin Cities". This website http://www.handsontwincities.org/ essentially coordinates volunteer activities (projects) for several different organizations accross the Minneapolis and St. Paul areas. The site provides a comprehensive, one stop resource for finding various volunteer activities and positions. A brief review of the site indicated a strong correlation between the objectives of our initiative and their mission and services. In essence, they facilitate between sponsors (agencies) who need volunteer assistance and volunteers willing to provide their time. One particular value to the site was a search engine and calendar for local volunteer opportunities. While it appears unlikley that as an organization the United Way or HandsOnTwinCities are candidates for long-term partnerships, the website may be usefull for planning one time efforts.

ACHE Volunteer Opportunity for Congress 2008!

Please hurry to register for volunteering in Chicago this March, 2008 in partnership with ACHE during Congress. Some of us have already signed up. Members of the Class of 2008 had a wonderful experience last year, where they joined other ACHE members to work with Habitat for Humanity. (See Picture). In adition to providing much needed assistance to the New Orleans community, it was a fantastic professional networking opportunity. Think about the chance to spend one on one time with Hospital Administrators outside of the class sessions of congress.

The Details:
Wednesday, March 12, 2008, from 12:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Transportation will be provided. Registration this year is free and is open to all Congress attendees and their guests. Space is limited, so reserve your spot-and one for a friend-today!

Click here to register: http://chicagocares.kintera.org/ache

For more questions contact:
Nancy Miller, Administrative Manager (ACHE)
(312) 424-9345
nmiller@ache.org

American Diabetes Association - Contact Summary (TL)

The following is a summary of the initial contact made with the American Diabetes Association facilitated by Tyler Lindquist:
Date of Meeting: 12-3-07
Contact: Jenni Hargraves, Executive DirectorServing Minnesota and North Dakota - 5100 Gamble Drive Suite 394St. Louis Park, MN 55416 - (763) 593-5333, ext. - jhargrav@diabetes.org
Next Steps:
Tyler reported that Jenni had a good level of interest with following up with the MHA students and provided the following ideas:
--- School Walk:www.diabetes.org/schoolwalk Can be done in multiple schools, your group could take on one school district and work from the superintendent to the individual schools.
--- Choose to Live:www.diabetes.org/challenge Click on "Your Survival Guide" for the guiding information for the modules that are educational from presentations.
--- Winning at Work:http://www.diabetes.org/communityprograms-and-localevents/diabetes-in-the-workplace.jsp These educational resources and modules are geared for implementation in companies.
--- Step Out to Fight Diabetes:www.diabetes.org/walk Click on Minnesota to learn of the Walks in Minnesota. Planning and working to get more people, more teams registered could be a project for your group.
Barriers / Issues / Other Comments:
(Tyler wrote) - These opportunities all appear to give us a lot of autonomy which is good (as opposed to hand-holding). My concern would be the (implied) lack of involvement with the people in the ADA itself. Tylers impression was that the MHA students may be given materials, project goals, contacts and then asked to run with it.

American Heart Association - Contact Summary (TL)

The following is a contact summary provided by Tyler Lindquist after meeting the representatives from the American Heart Association.

Contacts: Sueling Schardin and Barbara Ducharme
Sueling Chan Schardin, MPH, RD
Director, State Health Alliance
American Heart Association, Midwest Affiliate
4701 W. 77th Street, Edina, MN 55435 - Tel.: (952) 278-7917 - sueling.schardin@heart.org

Project Management (Opportunities):
-- Create a viral email campaign that encourages women to sign up for the Go Red for Women movement in February
-- Create a viral email campaign that encourages people to sign up for Power To End Stroke in May
-- Create and manage a Go Red event on Wear Red Day. Can use our props.
-- Find a youth group with whom to partner and create an event to publicize the messaging
-- AHA-KMOJ Power To End Stroke Awareness Event – most likely in May, planning starts in January
-- Power To End Stroke Awareness at Juneteenth – June 14, 2008, booth w/ activities and sponsor segment on one of the stages, planning starts in January
-- Search Your Heart / Conozca Su Corazon program planning around heart disease and stroke (www.americanheart.org/searchyourheart)
Volunteer Opportunities:
-- Stop/Go Girls and Guys in both downtowns and selected malls the last week of January
-- SUPERVALU promotion volunteers in February, other Go Red and Power To End Stroke opportunities
-- Advocacy volunteers at HOTH in March
-- Heart Walk volunteers in April
-- Power To End Stroke event activities volunteers in May
-- World Wide Day of Play volunteers in September
-- Autumn Go Red event volunteers in October
-- Power To End Stroke and/or Search Your Heart activities in November
-- Hugo Challenge activities in December

Tyler reported that both Sueling and Barbara seemed very open and excited about this opportunity.

American Cancer Society - Contact Summary (AJ)

The following is a summary of the initial contact with the Amercian Cancer Society facilitated by Alicia Judkins:
Date of Meeting: 5th December 2007
The American Cancer Society (The Hope Lodge)
Contacts: Joan McNealy - 651.255.8100 - Joan.McNeely@cancer.org
Level of Interest:
--- Immediate Activities
--- Long Term Partnerships
Next Steps: Fill out application for our program (In Process)

Alicia shared the suggestion from Joan McMealy that we become specifically involved with the Hope Lodge that was just built on University and 26th. This is a particularly promising opportunity because of the National Status of the ACS and its close proximity to campus.

More to be reported after the documentation is completed and sent back to the ACS.

YMCA - Contact Summary (SM)

The following was summarized by Scott Mortenson after his initial contact with representatives with the YMCA. We will be looking forward to more information from the YMCA later in January.

Contacts:
Robyn Hedrick - Director Greater Twin Cities - 612-465-0531
Sarah Testen - Community Program Director – U of M YMCA - 612-676-7700
Emma Sandberg - Community Program Director – U of M YMCA - 612-676-7700
Interest:
--- They are extremely excited that we would even consider such an initiative with ongoing, perpetual service.
--- They will consider options that will be both beneficial to them and supportive of the MHA programs goals.
Next Steps:
--- They would like more detail on the initiative.
--- Will be sent by email so they can review it.
--- They will consider projects that may be applicable to the program (MHA) and the organization (YMCA).
--- Will correspond in January
Issues:
Finding the right initiative that is not only valid for both U of M and YMCA but also sustainable so that we can do it each year as an MHA program.

Initial Organizations Selected

The following organizations were selected by the class and paired with student representatives to initiate discussions for participating with immediate volunteer activities and for developing lasting partnerships:

Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) - Alison Greiner
American Heart Association (AHA) - Tyler Lindquist
American Diabetes Association (ADA) - Tyler Lindquist
American Cancer Society - Alicia Judkins
America's Promise - Alison Greiner
Ronald McDonald House Charities - Jerry Birk
United Way - Jerry Birk
YMCA / YWCA- Scott Mortenson
Courage Center – Kirsten Johnson
Neighborhood House - Aaron Patnode

Student representatives were expected to initiate contact and summarize key points of the discussion. These summaries and the most current contact/activity status can be found in the corresponding blog entry for each organization.