Hutchinson We are having a food shelf drive the week of Community Enrichment week. We will drop bags off at neighbors and a few other places on Tuesday, Sept. 30th, and collect the food on Oct. 7th. (Contact Habilitative Services for more information: Diane Jones.)

Iron Range / Chisholm Together with the Range Providers Group, NHS-Northstar Specialized Services, Inc. is planning to do a food drive. During the week of October 5-11th, providers across the Iron Range will be conducting a Food Shelf Drive for their local food shelves in support of Community Enrichment Week – an annual event held during Disability Awareness Month that brings people of all abilities together to work to make their communities a better place to live. Donations of Non-perishable Goods and Cash are welcome!  Please support this drive. You can drop off donations at the NHS-NSS Office in Chisholm at 227 West Lake Street

Luverne Since May the individuals in Luverne have been cleaning up Pioneers Memorial. They did a great job and the memorial looks wonderful. On Tuesday, October 7th, they were honored by the Rock County commissioners for their great work in keeping the memorial up (Lori and Melissa, individuals we support, were there to receive the recognition). An additional thanks to Deb Iveland who organized this clean-up.

Mankato We are organizing a bake sale called "Buy a snack, help give back" with 100% of the proceeds being donated to the American Red Cross for National Disaster Relief. (Contact crystald@habsvinc.com at Habilitative Services, Inc. for more information.) Update: Thanks to everyone’s generosity, HSI’s first ‘Buy a Snack, Help Give Back’ on 10/10/08 was a huge success!  We raised $387.14 to donate to the American Red Cross National Disaster Relief Fund, and we also donated an entire car trunk full of snacks to the CADA shelter of Mankato, MN, which provides a safe haven for women and children who have escaped domestic abuse.  (They are full right now with 24 people total.) 

Thanks to all who helped at the sale, who donated baked goods, and who donated cash to the cause! 

Mankato HSI staff and consumers cleaned up an area of town that was in bad need of it. They picked up over 15-20 bags of garbage and had over 40 people come out to beautify the area. They made the front page of the Mankato Free Press. Huge thanks to Kim Gores on coordinating this effort and Jennifer Scholl for her help in getting the paper there!

Mankato - Dance to the Music! Harry Meyering Staff/Volunteer Appreciation
A Thank You Event will be held in recognition of volunteer contributions by individuals served during Community Enrichment Week and throughout the rest of the year. The event includes a meal, presentation of volunteer recognition certificates, and a DJ.

Mankato - Donations Make a Difference Staff and individuals served are asked to collect their spare change for a donation to Kids Against Hunger. Kids Against Hunger utilizes volunteers to package meals which are then shipped around the world starving children. Many individuals served by HMC volunteer for this program. (For more information contact Judy A at 507.387.8281.)

Mankato - Prairie Restoration Project Harry Meyering Center will be sponsoring its fifth annual Prairie Restoration Project on Sunday, October 5th in conjunction with Minneopa State Park and the Department of Natural Resources. The event kicks off at Minneopa State Park with a bring-your-own picnic from 11:30 -12:30. Participants will then gather, sort and scatter the seeds from wild flowers and grasses in hopes of restoring native plants from 12:30 – 2 p.m. The day will end with snacks and beverages provided by HMC.

Individuals served and staff must sign up by Friday, September 12. Make certain to mention the number of vehicle permits that are needed, we need to reserve them in advance! (All other vehicles will be required to purchase day parking stickers.) Remember to bring gloves, clippers, hats, bug spray, sunscreen, and water! (For more information contact Judy A or Katie S. at 507.387.8281.)

Marshall Marshall had a very successful food drive. A huge thank you to Dianne Beckendorf for coordinating it. They brought in close to 100 bags of food and they donated 592 pounds of food! WOW! They made the Marshall Independent with their efforts!

Moorhead Tuesday, October 7th: CCRI clients will play Bingo with the elderly at Four Seasons Nursing home from 4:00-5:00pm; Wednesday, October 8th: CCRI clients will walk dogs at Great Pets from 4:00—5:30pm; Thursday, October 9th: CCRI clients will stand by to collect food for the food pantry at CCRI from 4:00-5:30pm. Contact Laura Naylor at lnaylor@creativecare.org for more information.

New Ulm Habilitative Services They are having a food shelf drive the week of Community Enrichment week. They will drop bags off at neighbors houses between Sept. 30-Oct. 3rd and collect the food from the neighbors on Oct. 7th and 8th. (Contact Habilitative Services for more information: Emily & Danielle Hubert.)

New Ulm MBW Company This year, we asked for volunteers(both staff and clients), who wanted to participate in the United Way Day of Caring. We had enough interested people to form two teams and were able to provide assistance at four different home sites in our community. Those individuals who were not physically able to do the work tasks involved, had the opportunity to support the United Way by baking cookies to be distributed to the community teams. It was a great opportunity to work together and provide an oportunity for the people we support to be, and been seen as, contributing members of the community.

St. Paul Fall 2008 Restoration Event
Xcel High Bridge Planting Event
Saturday, October 18th, 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. St. Paul, MN
Great River Greening is entering its 11th year of work at the Xcel Energy plant. This year, 300 volunteers will plant trees, seedlings, and shrubs in order to close a gap in the forest canopy in an effort to help ensure the ecological health of the surrounding floodplain forest and Mississippi River. The planting will help ensure the health of a rich diversity of plant and animal life. The closed canopy will also help improve wild bird habitat and encourage the return of endangered bird populations. The project as a whole helps protect the water quality of the Mississippi River which positively impacts the entire metro area water shed.

Support for this project has been provided by Xcel Energy.

Individuals of all ages, families, community and corporate groups are welcome to participate in Greening’s restoration events.

Tracy They are having a food shelf drive the week of Community Enrichment week. They will drop bags off at neighbors houses between Sept. 30-Oct. 3rd and collect the food from the neighbors on Oct. 7th and 8th. (Contact Habilitative Services for more information: Sue Muenchow.)

Waseca On October 11th volunteers will be cleaning trails at Courthouse County Park in Waseca. (Contact heyer.jocelyn@gmail.com at Elm Homes for more information.)

Wayzata Art by Twin Cities metro area artists with disabilities, representing the juried artwork of thousands of artists with disabilities from seven organizations, will be on exhibit at the gala opening of Hennepin County Library's "Art-Abilities Gallery" at 12:00 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5th at the Ridgedale Library, 12601 Ridgedale Dr., Minnetonka.  Many of the artists will attend the opening. The opening and gallery are open to the public free of charge.

Families, friends, and members of the community are invited to view the art. The Art-Abilities Gallery will open at 12:00 p.m. on Oct. 5th and be open through Oct. 19 during the library's regular open hours.  Hours are 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 12 noon-5 p.m. on Sunday. The gallery is located on the second floor in the library along the walkway that turns right at the Service Desk. See images of this event.

(Contact Lori Merriam at Homeward Bound for more information.)

Windom Windom donated 50 bags to the southwest Crisis Center. In each bag they everything from toothpaste and toothbrushes to towels and soap. Their picture was taken and a story will be run in this week's Windom Citizen. Thanks to all those who helped coordinate it: Carmel Benson, Juana Baez, Jessica Krumwiede, Doreen Hartog, (DSP's) Daniel, Marlene and Evelyn (individuals we support)

Winnebago They also brought treats into the local nursing home and that went well. Thanks to Mary Jo Felion for coordinating that.

Worthington They celebrated Community Enrichment Week early this summer. In July they volunteered at the International Festival in Worthington. It was much needed help!

For more information or to tell us about your CEW event, contact ARRM's PR Director, Barb Brynstad, at 651-291-1086, extension 4, or email her at bbrynstad@arrm.org.