Posts Tagged ‘Minneapolis’

A Well-Deserved Reputation in Minneapolis

Monday, August 6th, 2012
Today’s post originally appeared on the Points of Light blog on August 6, 2012.

Minneapolis has long been considered a bastion of civic virtue, and for good reason. With the highest volunteer rate among large cities, the city understands the impact of giving back.

HandsOn Twin Cities – the longest operating volunteer center in the country – continues to find new ways to create change. I had the chance to meet with its board members and staff, led by Executive Director Kristin Schurrer, to learn more about their evolving work.

For those looking for innovative ideas, here are two: HandsOn Twin Cities will sponsor a speed-volunteering experience (think speed dating and you’ll understand the matching that goes on!) for 10,000 people at an event at the Mall of America. And the group will also launch a skills-based, done-in-a-day volunteer expo in the fall.

Minneapolis also has a rich history of corporate philanthropy. Since 1946, Target, which opened its first store in Minneapolis, has contributed 5 percent of its annual income to support families and communities. That philanthropic leadership continues to be the high-water mark among corporations nationwide and has influenced many other Minneapolis-based companies to give back. Along with Target, I had the chance to visit with General Mills, which engages its employee volunteers to combat hunger in Malawi, and Best Buy, which engages its employee volunteers to help teenagers explore the world of technology and even choose tech careers.

I also visited with my friend Paul Terry, CEO of Staywell Health Management. His group works with corporations to improve employee health and reduce health care costs. Paul and I have been collaborating on a journal article that compares some of the key lessons and intersections of the service and wellness movements. (Stay tuned for a look at the role of champions and incentives in both worlds.)

I met with Jenny Friedman, the author of “The Busy Family’s Guide to Volunteering” and founder of Doing Good Together, who is all about cultivating a new generation of citizen leaders. Jenny is launching a new web platform called Big-Hearted Families to help families find ways to cultivate empathic children – children who are engaged in volunteer service, understand the issues around them and are equipped for a lifetime of citizenship.

I’m also inspired by Hunger-Free Minnesota, which to my mind embodies the civic ambition of the city. By 2015, this statewide coalition plans to close Minnesota’s gap of 100 million missing meals annually and sustainably. The campaign has a staff of only two but will mobilize thousands of citizen volunteers to feed hungry neighbors and community members.

This kind of civic campaign, uniting sectors and mobilizing citizens toward concrete goals, is an exciting indicator of the future of Minneapolis — and the nation.

Michelle Nunn’s Cross-Country Trip to Discover People at the Center of Change

Thursday, July 12th, 2012

 

 

This post originally appeared on the Points of Light blog site on July 12, 2012.

For a month this summer, Michelle Nunn, CEO of Points of Light, is taking a cross-country trip to learn from the people across the country who are rolling up their sleeves and tackling the critical issues before us. Across the nation, she will search out and share the stories of change agents – people who are creating new ways of using their time, talents, voice and money to address the problems they face in their communities. While the political parties are talking about the things that divide us, Points of Light will be identifying the enormous common ground that unites us – our patriotism and embrace of the responsibilities of citizenship, willingness to help our neighbors and desire to leave the world a better place than we found it.

Along the way, Michelle will be visiting HandsOn Network affiliates, AmeriCorps Alums, corporate leaders and civic innovators to check out citizen-led projects across the country. Her goal is to place a spotlight on people taking action and unearthing innovative solutions that leverage the power of individuals.

Michelle kicked off her trip by delivering a speech in the historic Amphitheater at the Chautauqua Institute on July 9. Chautauqua is a forum for big ideas and conversation, inspiring audience members to commit those ideas to action.

Click here for The Chautauquan Daily news article on Michelle’s speech.

Michelle, joined by her family, will head west though Columbus, Ohio, and Minneapolis, ending her tour in Seattle. She plans to be in Buffalo, N.Y,, July 10-11; Columbus, Ohio, July 12; Cincinnati, July 13-14; Detroit, July 15-16; Minneapolis, July 22-24; Portland, Ore., Aug. 6-7; and Seattle, Aug. 8-9, with lots of stops along the way.