YMCA News Archive

JCPenney and Emma B. Howe YMCA in Coon Rapids Bring Holiday Joy to Deserving Kids on December 21

jeffrey.needham — Tue, 17 Dec 2019 19:52:20 +0000

JCPenney and Emma B. Howe YMCA in Coon Rapids Bring Holiday Joy to Deserving Kids on December 21 jeffrey.needham Tue, 12/17/2019 - 13:52

25 local youth to be surprised with $100 JCPenney gift cards and shopping spree

WHAT: JCPenney is spreading holiday cheer by teaming up with the Emma B. Howe YMCA in Coon Rapids and surprising 25 deserving local kids with $100 JCPenney gift cards to the store on Saturday, December 21. Each child will receive a $100 JCPenney gift card to purchase the perfect gifts for everyone on their Christmas lists. Media are invited to attend this heartwarming event and capture footage of the surprise and shopping with 25 kids and their families who participate in YMCA programs.

Photo and interview opportunities will be available with kids and their families who participate in YMCA programs, a YMCA representative and JCPenney store general manager.

WHEN: Saturday, December 21, 2019, 10 a.m.-Noon

WHERE:

JCPenney at Riverdale Village
12550 Riverdale Blvd
Coon Rapids, MN 55448

Visit jcpnewsroom.com and follow @jcpnews on Twitter for the latest announcements, images and JCPenney information.

JCPENNEY ON SOCIAL MEDIA: @JCPenney #AllAtJCP #JCPCares

About the YMCA of the North

The YMCA of the North is a leading nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Established 163 years ago, the Ys provide life-strengthening services across the greater Twin Cities metro region, southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin communities. The 29 Y locations and program sites, eight overnight camps, 10 day camps, and more than 90 child care sites engage more than 370,000 men, women and children of all ages, incomes and backgrounds. To learn more about the Y’s mission and work, visit www.ymcamn.org.

YMCA Partners With the Sheridan Story and John W. Mooty Foundation to Provide Nutritious Food During Winter Break

jeffrey.needham — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 17:02:36 +0000

YMCA Partners With the Sheridan Story and John W. Mooty Foundation to Provide Nutritious Food During Winter Break jeffrey.needham Mon, 12/16/2019 - 11:02

Minneapolis, MN – The YMCA of the North, a leading nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility, is partnering with The Sheridan Story and John W. Mooty Foundation to provide free, nourishing food to families in the community to ensure youth have food during the winter break.

From December 21, 2019 through January 5, 2020, families can stop by the front desk at any YMCA of the North location, several Minneapolis Parks locations and other partner locations and ask for a free bag of food. Membership is not required at any partner location. Supplies are limited.

“We are grateful to partner with The Sheridan Story and John W. Mooty Foundation to ensure all of our families in our community have access to food during winter break and no child goes hungry,” said Glen Gunderson, president and CEO of the YMCA of the North. “The YMCA is committed to working with community partners to address the more than 200,000 children in Minnesota who live with food insecurity by providing education, access and support.”

“Many children don’t look forward to winter break because they don’t have enough food at home,” said Rob Williams, executive director of The Sheridan Story. “In fact, more than 15 percent of the children in Minnesota face empty kitchen cupboards. We are fortunate to partner with two great organizations to close the winter break food gap.”

“The John W. Mooty Foundation loves to bring outstanding organizations together to address significant community issues,” said Bruce Mooty, a trustee of the John W. Mooty Foundation. “The YMCA and The Sheridan Story are two stellar organizations which are having a profound impact in nurturing, developing and feeding youth in our community. We are thrilled to collaborate with them to provide much needed food to kids and their families, while schools are closed during this winter break.”

For more information and to see all food distribution locations, visit www.thesheridanstory.org/winter-break/

WHO: The YMCA of the North, The Sheridan Story and John W. Mooty Foundation

WHAT: To ensure youth and their families have nutritious food during the winter break, the community can get a free bag of food while supplies last.

WHERE: Ask at the front desk of any YMCA of the North, several Minneapolis Parks locations or other partner locations for the bag of food.

WHEN: December 21, 2019 – January 5, 2020 at 7 a.m. – 8 p.m. Please check www.thesheridanstory.org/winter-break/ for specific hours for each location.

About the YMCA of the North

About the John W. Mooty Foundation

The John W. Mooty Foundation supports a variety of educational, medical, youth development, housing, wellbeing, spiritual and other community initiatives. The Foundation is dedicated to fostering collaboration and helping community members realize their potential.

About The Sheridan Story

Every child. Every meal. Over 200,000 children in Minnesota live in food insecurity – they don’t always know if they’ll have food for their next meal. In order to fight this devastating reality, The Sheridan Story focuses on the food gaps, the times throughout the year when children aren’t able to receive free and reduced meal programs at school. In the last six years, The Sheridan Story has grown from serving one school with a weekend food program to implementing multiple food gap programs serving some 10,000 children across over 275 locations. To learn more visit www.thesheridanstory.org.

YMCA and Community Partners Launch New One-of-a-Kind Stable Homes Stable Schools Program to End Homelessness for Families and Increase Academic Success for Children in Minneapolis

jeffrey.needham — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 17:57:49 +0000

YMCA and Community Partners Launch New One-of-a-Kind Stable Homes Stable Schools Program to End Homelessness for Families and Increase Academic Success for Children in Minneapolis jeffrey.needham Mon, 12/02/2019 - 11:57

Research shows that students who have experienced homelessness are less likely to graduate high school and less likely to attend secondary level education programs.
In Minnesota on any given night, more than 6,000 young people, ages 24 and under, are experiencing homelessness. (2018 Wilder Research MN Homeless Study)
Last year 2,500 Minneapolis Public School Students experienced homelessness.

The YMCA of the North, a leading nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility, launched with community partners the new Stable Homes Stable Schools program to address homelessness for families with elementary age students in Minneapolis by connecting them to safe and stable housing and providing life coaching for all members of the family to meet individual needs and to help the families achieve their goals.

Research shows that students who have experienced homelessness are less likely to graduate high school and less likely to attend secondary level education programs. All students are more successful when families have long-term housing, starting from the elementary years. In this time of rising rents and low vacancy rates, it is challenging for low-income families to find affordable housing in Minneapolis. In Minneapolis Public Schools, thousands of students experience homelessness each year.

Stable Homes Stable Schools is a pioneering partnership between the YMCA of the North, the City of Minneapolis, Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, Minneapolis Public Schools, Hennepin County and the Pohlad Family Foundation. Together, this partnership is tackling the issues of homelessness and the achievement gap, simultaneously.

“Safe and stable housing is among the most significant out-of-school factors for predicting student success in school,” said Glen Gunderson, president and CEO for the Y. “We know that investing in stable housing for young learners is proven to break the cycle of poverty, bringing long-term economic benefits to children, families and our communities. The YMCA could not be more proud to be the nonprofit partner chosen to lead this life-changing impact.”

The goal of the Stable Homes Stable Schools program is to ensure that kids from the top 15 schools in Minneapolis with the highest number of students experiencing homelessness receive the support they need so the children can stay in school and the family’s lives can become stable.

The families referred to the Y benefit from more than just financial assistance as the Y will focus on providing holistic life coaching to the family. The Y will work to remove any barriers in the way of the family becoming stably housed, supporting families with anything from securing vital documents to helping caregivers secure childcare so that they can work.

The program is extremely flexible and allows for support that is specific and unique for each family to help them succeed.

The goal of this program is to serve 320 families, including 650 children, representing 20 percent of the total of students experiencing homelessness in Minneapolis Public Schools, over the next three years.

This program has just begun and has already made significant strides in supporting more than 165 families since April 2019.

Along with the Stable Homes Stable Schools program, the Y team offers additional programs and services that support youth facing barriers including:

Youth Resource Line is a free resource line for youth and young adults 12-24 who are in need of community resources. YMCA Life Coaches offer referrals to YMCA and community resources based on the young person’s needs. Call 763-493-3052 and leave a message to get connected.
School, Street and Community-Based Outreach Services provides a connection to YMCA staff who travel to meet youth where they are at and provide short-term life coaching, housing assessments and connections to resources and basic needs.
Prevention Resources aim to prevent homelessness through life coaching, mediation, family reunification, eviction prevention assistance and connection to other community resources.
Communities Host Home Program bridges the gap between concerned community members and homeless youth and young adults. Members of the community volunteer to host young people experiencing homelessness. The Y provides life coaching for youth and support for hosts to facilitate transitions, minimize barriers and ensure that youth's goals are set and achieved. For information on becoming a Host Home, contact hosthomes@ymcanorth.org.
Young Parenting Program provides community-based independent housing and life coaching to young adult parents (and their children) as well as support of the Nurturing Parenting Curriculum and early childhood resources.
Independent Housing Program works to support young adults experiencing homelessness with independence and stability. Young people continue to receive life coaching services after they are settled into their own apartment, and are supported to set and achieve their life goals.
Enough. Program provides youth who have experienced sexual exploitation or trafficking, or those at risk of, with life coaching support to holistically heal from trauma and thrive. Not A Number, a national sexual exploitation and trafficking prevention curriculum, is also offered to young people to educate them on risk factors to avoid future youth becoming exploited or trafficked.

Learn about one-of-a-kind Stable Homes Stable Schools program offering housing resources or support and supportive services for families at risk of or experiencing homelessness – Stable Homes Stable Schools

Discover how Desiree and her family found a home through Stable Homes Stable Schools program – Desiree’s Story

Explore innovative programs to help prevent or mitigate homelessness – Stable Homes Stable Schools for Social Media

YMCA Youth Intervention Services offers many additional programs to meet the needs of youth experiencing homelessness, involvement with the juvenile justice or foster care systems, or who are disconnected from their school or community. Among these services is the Youth Resource Line, a free resource available 365 days a year by Y life coaches to assist youth ages 12 to 24 who are in need of community resources: 763-493-3052.

Because the Y is a leading nonprofit committed to helping all young people thrive, financial assistance is available to those in need. With the generous support of community members, the Y ensures that all have the opportunity to participate. To learn more about the Y’s Youth Intervention Services and other youth development programs, please visit ymcamn.org.