Give Thanks and Give to the Max!
Posted by Jessie Jacobson on Nov 19th 2021
Each year around the Thanksgiving holiday we start to think about what we are grateful for. Many of us have more blessings than we can count on our 10 fingers and 10 toes. Yes, take time to give thanks and reflect on a year gone by. We work hard, we find success, we enjoy the many pleasures life has to offer. And then we fall. We experience pain, failure, heartache, and loss.
For many, pain, heartache, and loss are a constant burden to bear. For some, an opportunity to level up; perhaps a bit of a boost is all that is needed. For others, enrichment fuels opportunities to embolden a bright future. This is why we give what we can when we can. We live in one of the most generous and charitable states in the nation. We get creative with our talents, time, and resources.
Thursday was Minnesota’s Give to the Max Day. This is a Giving Holiday where Minnesotans join together in giving to nonprofits across the state. These are the 5 Minnesota organizations we are supporting on Give to the Max Day and every day at Tonakdale!
Dream of Wild Health (DWH) is an intertribal, independent nonprofit that serves the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Native American community. Dream of Wild Health is one of the longest continually operating Native American organizations in the Twin Cities. DWH owns a 30-acre farm in Hugo, MN, providing educational programs that reconnect the urban Native American community with traditional Native plants and their culinary, medicinal, and spiritual use. DWH maintains an urban presence in Minneapolis with offices in the heart of the Phillips neighborhood in the Native American Cultural Corridor on Franklin Avenue.
Each year Dream of Wild Health teaches Native American youth about gardening, cooking, and culture while developing job and leadership skills throughout youth programs. Dream of Wild Health runs a CSA called the Indigenous Food Share (IFS) and sells produce at three farmers markets in Minneapolis and St. Paul. We also grow Indigenous foods including corn, beans, and squash from a collection of rare seeds that were given to us by Cora Baker, a Potawatomi elder. Dream of Wild Health partners with dozens of urban and tribal organizations on programs that work to restore the mental, physical, and emotional health of the Native American community.
Check out their 30-acre farm and seed bank here!
Since 1995, Hopkins Education Foundation (HEF), has been an innovative source of funds for all Hopkins schools. Our non-profit Foundation, independent from Hopkins Public Schools, is dedicated to providing resources, and funding grant totaling 3.1 M, for educational innovations and enhancements for the success of our students. It is governed by a volunteer board of directors.
Each year, grant applications from teachers and staff are reviewed by the Foundation. Funds are allocated to programs at individual schools as well as to pilot projects that can be incorporated throughout the District.
Check out what HEF is doing in Hopkins Public Schools here!
This year the ICA Food Shelf is celebrating 50 years of service! Every year, ICA serves more than 2,000 families and 5,000 individuals in our community – Hopkins, Minnetonka and beyond – ensuring our neighbors have access to fresh and healthy foods, as well as homelessness prevention and employment services. Read more about ICA’s Mission, Vision, and History here!
The Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ) exists to permanently close the achievement gap and end generational poverty in North Minneapolis. With partner organizations, they walk side by side with low-income families as they put their children on the path to college. Read more about the Mission, Vison and Values of NAZ here!
St. David’s Center for Child & Family Development is a leading provider of early childhood education for children of all abilities, children’s mental health, pediatric therapies, and home and community-based support for children, youth and adults who have faced adversity and trauma and/or who live with developmental, physical, cognitive, and/or behavioral delays or disabilities. They serve over 4,300 children and families annually across the Twin Cities metro, in their two centers in Minneapolis and Minnetonka, in 30 partner sites, and in well over 1,000 homes. Read their clients empowering stores here!
We all have something to give – time, talents, and resources. Give thanks for what you can give. I do.
Warm wishes for a safe, happy, and healthy holiday season,
Jessie