Minnesota

We’re having a grand old time here at the Holiday Inn in Fairmont today — we have several Horizons participants attending from St. James, Mt. Lake, and Elmore.

I learned a lot in Monica’s session this morning on Nonprofits 101, including a little about the history of nonprofit organizations in the US.  I had no idea the first American nonprofit was the Humane Society!  Only after people started fighting for animal rights did they expand to work for children’s rights.

Other sessions were on Committees that Work, a great program from U of MN Extension, presented by Katie Rasmussen,

a session from the Youth Work Institute, and our very own Sara Radjenovic on Fundrasing.

- posted by Jessica from Monica’s account

Katie Rasmussen and Monica Herrera

I was at a meeting this morning and the mayor shared that there is a FREE one day seminar coming up in May about bringing broadband to your community. I know some of you have talked about the possibility of making this happen, perhaps this is the networking you need.

Symposium Details:

Leveraging Success - Making Muni-Broadband a Reality

May 14, 2008 - Minneapolis Embassy Suites - Airport Bloomington

8:00 am - 4:00 pm

Covers:

• Overview of Muni programs from around the country
• Legal: What are the legal and regulatory hurdles? How to avoid them?
• Funding: How do you pay for it? What have others done?
• Triple Play Business Models: Open Access, Sole Provider and Hybrid
• Lessons Learned: What has worked and what didn’t for the various business models

Register and get more info at: http://www1.alcatel-lucent.com/us/ftps/?_requestid=11121

A third approach identified through the Thriving Communities Guide is Help people meet their urgent needs  This approach focuses on individuals basic needs of food and safe shelter.  Actions that have evolved from this approach include:

• a community starting a food pantry
• starting an emergency shelter in the winter
• programs that deliver food to homebound people
• health care facilities that also provide food and emergency assistance information
• developing a community resource list of where to go for help
• creating a pool of money to help with emergency needs (heating bills, car repairs, etc.)

Read more about this approach on the Everyday Democracy (formerly known as Study Circle Resource Center) website at http://www.everyday-democracy.org/en/Issue.12.aspx

Please click on the link below to read the press release.

New CEO Appointed

In the second day of revisiting the Thriving Communities Guide I’ll focus on the second approach to reducing poverty, CREATE MORE AND BETTER JOBS.  This approach focuses on helping businesses create jobs, getting rid of barriers to a creating a healthy business climate, and having a workforce that has adequate skills and is paid a livable salary.

Some examples of action taking place around this approach includes:

• holding an “entrepreneurship showcase” to create interest and support for people starting new businesses
• raising funds for a local community owned bank or credit union so they can create a pool of loan money for new businesses
• increase the number of people visiting your community to generate more funds being brought into town
• work with different individuals who have similar independent businesses and create cooperative business entities (like a farmer’s market or a quilt store)

Are there any other ideas your community is doing that fits under this approach?  Let us know!

All of you who went through the Thriving Communities conversations last fall and spring may remember that part of the discussions focused on how communities could actively address poverty reduction.  As new folks have joined in Horizons activities, I’ve noticed some folks who didn’t participate in those conversations ask, what specifically can we do to reduce poverty?   what are other community’s doing?

Read more here… (more…)

Click on the link below to access the Extension catalog.  The catalog doesn’t list everything that Extension provides but rather the resources we thought Horizons communities would find valuable.  Remember that if any Future Squad would like to access these resources, you can tap into your community funds to cover the expenses.  Talk to your communty coach if you have any questions.

Catalog of Extension Resources

About FreeRice

FreeRice is a sister site of the world poverty site, Poverty.com.

FreeRice has two goals:

1. Provide English vocabulary to everyone for free.
2. Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.

This is made possible by the sponsors who advertise on this site.

Whether you are CEO of a large corporation or a street child in a poor country, improving your vocabulary can improve your life. It is a great investment in yourself.

Perhaps even greater is the investment your donated rice makes in hungry human beings, enabling them to function and be productive. Somewhere in the world, a person is eating rice that you helped provide. Thank you.

Click on the link below and play the rice game.  The original game was invented by a father who wanted to help improve his son’s ACT/SAT scores.  He liked it so much, the family donated the game to World Hunger Relief and hence was born the rice game.

One warning, it can become addictive!!

 http://www.freerice.com

Are you looking for ways to get youth involved? Are you working on poverty awareness issues? Are you looking for an inspirational and educational group to speak and perform at your next community event?

Sheltered Reality is a group of young people who have overcome hardships and struggles in their lives. Together they perform as a drum line and share their stories about homelessness, living in poverty, and more. Check out their website for more information and booking guidelines. If you have a Jaycees chapter in your (or an area) community, contact them for support as Sheltered Reality is a priority project of the MN Jaycees this year. There are also several videos of Sheltered Reality onYouTube:

Register today!

Stepping Up to Sustainability Conference - April 15, 2008

Sustainability is a growing trend for tourism businesses and consumers.

On April 15, 2008 the University of Minnesota will host Stepping Up to Sustainability the third conference on Sustainable Tourism.

Learn ways to benefit your bottom line and meet growing consumer demands with sustainable tourism practices. Keynote speaker is Joel Makower, a nationally respected voice on business, the environment, and the bottom line. The Associated Press has called Makower “the guru of green business practices.”

Highlights of the conference include:

· business and community best practices

· an all-day resource fair

· learning stations for “how to” actions you can do!

The conference is April 15 at the DECC Harbor Side in Duluth.

Registration is $95.

Register online today! www.tourism.umn.edu

Attendees are encouraged to bring their own recycled name badge.

Heading North from the Twin Cities? Conserve energy and relax with coffee and the paper on our chartered motorcoach! Details on the registration page!

Conference lodging is available at The Inn on Lake Superior. The Conference rate of $79 is guaranteed if booked by March 15.

Sponsors include the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Minnesota Power, the Northeast Minnesota Sustainable Development Partnership, the Central Region Sustainable Development Partnership, and the Forest Products Management Development Institute at the University of Minnesota.