Written by Susan Tincher
The Rotary Club of North Minneapolis had a busy year last year, our 10th anniversary, partnering with many Northside organizations.
We began the year volunteering at the NorthPoint food shelf, assisting clients with their shopping trips. Later in the year, we joined with other Rotary groups to help assemble furniture at a new apartment building sponsored by The Link, an organization supporting homeless youth on the Northside and all over the metro.
We held a pancake breakfast for Juneteenth at Sanctuary Covenant Church on Broadway and in August, we sponsored our third Northside Ramble, a bike ride through the Northside stopping at our breweries and learning about the history of multiple parks throughout the Northside. Proceeds benefited Gotcha Glasses, a program of NorthPoint Health and Wellness distributing eyeglasses to Northside schoolchildren.
In September, we celebrated International Peace Day as we do every year, this time joined by Brothers EMpowered, encouraging drivers to honk for peace as we waved signs at the Old Highland Peace Garden at 18th and Emerson. We also participated in Open Streets Broadway, helping out at the NorthPoint Fit for Fun activity. In November, we sponsored the Northside Love interactive creative event involving art and the spoken word at North High School. In November, we also supported the anti-gun violence art show Beauty from Ashes, a project of which one of our members, Deseria Galloway, was a key organizer.
In November, we also sold poinsettias and other holiday plants as a club fundraiser, again supporting Gotcha Glasses. In December, we volunteered at 3,000 Acts of Kindness, the holiday charity event for the homeless held at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Also in December, we reprised our popular pancake breakfast, this time at the Christmas on Broadway event at Sanctuary.
We also have multiple year-round activities, sponsoring a Northside Little Free Library on the corner of Fremont and Broadway. We also volunteered with gardening tasks at the Old Highland Peace Garden and helped sponsor solar panels on two Northside Habitat for Humanity homes, in collaboration with the Rotary Eco-club. We celebrated a year well spent with a holiday party in January full of food, games, gifts, and laughter at the St. Jane House urban retreat center.
We also heard from a plethora of interesting speakers, including Ann Dillard, director of Project Safety Nets, a charitable project that has established a maternity hospital in Senegal and distributed 27,000 mosquito bed nets. We also provided Project Safety Nets with some financial support. Also, Victoria Karpeh spoke to us. She is the executive director of the Legacy Family Center, which provides resources for West African families and youth aged 10-17 in Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center and North Minneapolis. Also speaking to the club was Allison Barmann, director of Genesys Works, a nonprofit organization that offers business technology skills training, paid internships, college and career counseling, and alumni support to high school students from underserved communities.
If your head is now spinning, that is because of all the activities that were part of the Rotary Club of North Minneapolis’ 10th year on this earth. And also because this article really needed a good editor. But, if you like serving your neighbors on the Northside in the ways described here, consider looking into the Rotary Club of North Minneapolis!
The Rotary Club of North Minneapolis meets online every Tuesday from 7:35-8:35 a.m. All are welcome. Contact northmplsrotary@gmail.com to request a link. The club is always looking for guest speakers who are making a difference in our community. For more info contact Rotary President Kathleen Hustad at kathleen@bloom44.com. Susan Tincher is a member of the Rotary Club of North Minneapolis.