President Edeth James’ Quote of the Day: “We must give more in order to get more. It is the generous giving of ourselves that produces the generous harvest.” ―Orison Swett Marden
Check your email for important Rotary dates or, if you prefer, you can download them here. Here are the highlights:
- April 6, 2021 (Tuesday Club Meeting) /CPY LUNCHEON
- April 15, 2021 (7:00 – 8:30 PM) END HUMAN TRAFFICKING A COMMUNITY FORUM FOR ALL LEARN. UNITE. ACT. PREVENT - Human trafficking is not a new problem, but caring about it is. Join us for this free, virtual forum for students, parents, teachers, & residents. Learn about human trafficking in our community, how our students are most vulnerable, online safety, and how to spot the signs. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ZTuD32G7Q6eHYkEizffV6Q Sponsored by: Rotary Clubs of Arden Hills-Shoreview and New Brighton-Mounds View.
Ed expressed the desire to meet outdoors for one meeting a month when the weather permits. Stay tuned.
Nyle Zikmund introduced the Executive Director of the Community Support Center, Karen Meyer. The mission of the Community Support Center (CSC) is to prevent homelessness. CSC accomplishes this through carefully administered emergency financial assistance to prevent evictions and electrical service shutoffs. CSC continues to work with their client families over time to help them achieve financial stability. For a family to receive financial support, they must:
- Live in New Brighton, Mounds View, North Oaks, Shoreview or Arden Hills
- Have applied for County services
- Show evidence of interest in working with CSC long-term
- Be financially sustainable
CSC receives referrals from Ramsey County, United Way, Churches, Ralph Reeder Food Shelf and others including landlords, schools, police, landlords and the CSC website. Once families are accepted into the program, CSC partners with a variety of social service organizations (including Ramsey County, St. Paul Foundation, Community Action Partnership, St, Vincent DePaul Society, Salvation Army, Suburban Ramsey Emergency Coalition and local faith communities) to help families avoid eviction. Once eviction has been avoided, CSC begins the long-term work needed to prevent financial difficulty in the future. This involves meetings every few weeks to work on goal setting, resource utilization, red tape negotiation, budgeting, etc.
CSC is supported by contributions from eleven founding faith communities and four founding community organizations. NBMV Rotary is one of the founding organizations and John Johnson represents us on the CSC Board. CSC also gets support from individuals in the community who recognize CSC’s value to the community. Karen specifically thanked the Suburban Ramsey Emergency Coalition for their recent grant of $5,000.
Covid-19 has necessitated changes in the way that CSC staff interact with clients (mostly Zoom now) but there have also been changes in levels of financial need and how those needs are being addressed. Clients are seeking help with CSC for much higher debt but Covid relief money is available and relatively easy to access, so far. Karen also noted a sharp increase in mental health issues affecting families financially. Covid-19 has forced the cancellation of the CSC Spring Luncheon, but the “Walk a Thousand Miles for Your Neighbor” fundraiser is planned for July 25th from 10AM-2PM at Silverview Park in Mounds View. Karen can be reached at 651-387-8050 or staff@communitysupportcenter.org