Colorful murals, performances in the park, public art sculptures – vibrant, healthy communities are made up of many interrelated dimensions, but perhaps none are as visible as a community’s commitment to integrating art into daily life. Thriving communities explore and reflect the cultural backgrounds, talents and experience of all community members through art. By infusing …
It’s January. Many folks start each new year focused on improvements they want to make. Itasca area youth programs are doing the same. Today, 30 staff from nearly a dozen organizations that provide after-school activities and programs are reviewing data about the quality of their programming, and charting a course for change. The programs are …
For Mac McKinney’s son, there hadn’t been a program yet that had totally clicked. He had been working on his own with a therapist to help with his emotional and behavioral struggles, but had never engaged in group therapy. That was until Healing Foundations Therapeutic Farm opened its barn doors. “It’s a different approach to …
The achievement of Itasca-area young people was a great passion of our founder, Charles K. Blandin. That passion is still alive and burning bright today. This year, we will stand with 365 students who have made a courageous commitment to achieve their educational dream — whether it be at a community, technical or tribal college, …
In 1956, Charles Blandin gave two students scholarships to continue their education. Since then, the $23 million in scholarships the Foundation has awarded to more than 15,000 Itasca area students exemplifies his enduring commitment to expanding educational opportunities for local residents. Sixty one years after those first awards, Blandin Foundation staff and board members are …
A childcare crisis is rearing up in most rural Minnesota communities, but in Hill City, town of 608, residents are doubling down on a tested early education program. Early Start partners with parents, the local school, and the community to provide quality, intense, early childhood programming that strengthens whole families and ensures that all children …
Picture this: You are standing at the front of a classroom, laser pointer in hand, ready to launch into a stimulating discussion. You click the link on your laptop to cue the thought-provoking video that is going to get students’ minds turning when…nothing happens. You wait. Wait some more. Sigh, then give up and go …
If there is one thing you need to know about effective community leadership, it’s this: creating a shared vision for the future, a vision arising from and embraced by the community, is the engine that powers change. Sure, that sounds good on paper, but how do you go about creating a shared vision. In one word — …
Since the early 1900s, the Cloverdale Town Hall has been the gathering place for people living in Nashwauk Township. Community dances, baby showers, weddings, and funerals – the space has held a bountiful array of celebrations that have bolstered community spirit and kept community ties strong. A couple that celebrated their wedding decades ago would …
Whether you need to raise dollars, awareness or advocates, all organizations are looking for other to help them achieve their mission. Some organizations aren’t aware they need help; others don’t know how to ask for it. Last month, I attended a session at Minnesota Council on Nonprofit’s Northern Minnesota Nonprofit Summit where Minnesota Historical Society …