Minnesota VIkings and MN Wild Give Back at Waite House

Minnesota's sports community knows how to give back! Players from the Minnesota Vikings and the Minnesota Wild gathered at Waite House on November 17th to donate turkeys to over 75 families.

In tough economic times for Minnesota families, our own sports community teamed with Second Harvest Food Bank and Waite House to make the dreams of a happy, healthy Thanksgiving holiday come true for the families we serve.

A big thanks goes out to the Vikings and the Wild for their commitment to Minnesota and the needs of Minneapolis families.

Learn more about supporting Essential Resources at Waite House and all of Pillsbury United Communities' neighborhood centers by clicking here.

To view more photos from this event, click here.

Youth Voices Conference this Friday and Saturday

Join Pillsbury United Communities at the Youth Voices Conference this Friday and Saturday at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

The Youth Voices Conference is the first youth-planned and hosted national conference put on by the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. The highlight of the conference will be creative presentations given by teams of youth from different garden-based programs from around the nation. Listen as they present lessons learned, memories, and the impacts of
garden programs on their lives.

Youth are rarely given the opportunity to influence the direction of program planning, design and implementation. Join us for a truly extraordinary experience, where youth are given the opportunity to share their take on things. Your job is to listen in an effort to improve program goals and enhance outcomes. With an emphasis on youth employment, leadership, and empowerment through garden-based programs, this is sure to be a one-of-a-kind experience!


Pillsbury Youth will be there. Will you?

For more information or to register, visit the Youth Voices Conference website by clicking here.

Volunteer at the PUC Fall Festival Event

Volunteer at the PUC Fall Festival Event

Where: Oak Park Neighborhood Center
When: Friday, October 30, 2009

This is the perfect opportunity this fall for Volunteer Groups, families and friends to join together and lend a hand, all while having a great time.

This fun filled event caters to youth of all ages. PUC needs volunteers who can provide four hours of service to help with:

• Food service
  
• Handing out candy to Trick- or - Treaters
  
• Game supervision
  
• Face painting
  
• Haunted House Staff
  
• Clean up Crew

If you love working with youth, come out to see the smiles on the faces of Minneapolis youth. You can make a difference in the lives of Minneapolis youth today.

To learn more about this opportunity, contact Volunteer Coordinator Jovon Perry at (612) 302-3407 or perryj@puc-mn.org. Deadline to volunteer is October 15th.

Oak Park Youth Shoots the Breeze with the Lynx

One of the common misconceptions about nonprofit organizations is that the only way to donate or effect change in an organization is to give money. While we'll always welcome monetary donations, sometimes the most effective gifts are those giving our participants experiences they'll never forget.

Minnesota Women Lawyers, along with Former Senator Mark Dayton recently donated tickets to Pillsbury United Communities for Wednesday's Minnesota Lynx game and the Minnesota Women Lawyers "Back to School" event. Staff member Lisa Dunlap took some of Oak Park Youth Prgoram's amazing young women to the game.

The Minnesota Lynx, Minnesota Women Lawyers and Pillsbury United Communities are unified and committed to the empowerment and education of girls. Together, an amazing opportunity was provided to girls from Oak Park to experience a WNBA game and spend time with some exciting women from MWL and the WNBA.

Pillsbury United Communities thanks Minnesota Women Lawyers, Mark Dayton and the WNBA for giving our girls an experience they won't soon forget!

• View more photos from this great field trip here.
  
  
• To find out more about Youth Programs at Oak Park and other Neighborhood Centers, click here.
  
  
• To learn more about supporting the work of PUC through donations and volunteerism, click here.
  

Debating health care - not a problem at PUC

The country is buzzing about changes and innovations in the health care system in the United States. And no matter your stance on the political issues, all Americans can agree those in need must have adequate care. What if there were a place Minneapolis residents could go for in-depth, honest, open and free healthcare? There is!

Pillsbury House's Integrated Health Clinic is taking a new approach to healthcare. Pairing traditional medicine with complementary and alternative practices, the Integrated Health Clinic provides the services best for you and your family. From massage therapy to acupucture, psychology to chriopractic care - Pillsbury United Communities is commited to the health and wellness of Minneapolis residents.

Those who visit the Integrated Health Clinic will walk away with a deeper understanding of their health and well-being and create a lasting bond between their mind, body and spirit.

To learn more about the Integrated Health Clinic, click here to visit us online.

All services are free and open to the public!

Host a Party with a Purpose

Create a lasting bond with Pillsbury United Communities and give your friends and family the same opportunity by hosting a Party with a Purpose for Pillsbury United Communities.

How many times do you have a birthday party, cocktail party, housewarming, etc. and receive gifts you'll just never use. Give your guests a purpose for your next party and ask that in lieu of gifts, they consider a contribution to PUC. Then, at your party, a PUC staff or Board member will give a five minute overview of our services and mission. Guests will have the opportunity to support us with an investment, but without pressure or sales tactics.

You tell us the date and we'll help you in any way we can:

• Designing invitations
• Making follow-up calls to guests
• Providing logistics support.

Our Development & Marketing Staff can support an event of any size. Join us by investing in Pillsbury United Communities today with a Party with a Purpose.

For more information on hosting a party with Pillsbury United Communities and other ways to spread the message of change, choice and connection in your community, click here.

It's PGA week!

Pillsbury United Communities has been selected as one of the nonprofit partners for the PGA National Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Course. Over the past few months, the PGA has worked tirelessly to put together a phenomenal tournament that is as much philanthropic as it is competetive. Provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in tickets to local nonprofits, the PGA sets itself apart by giving without taking.

On Monday, some of Pillsbury United Communities' summer youth participants journeyed to Chaska to golf with the pros. Taught by some of the PGA's best golfers, the kids learned the basics of golf and got to meet some of the greats. The enthusiasm and smiles on the faces of the youth participants said it all.

Thanks, PGA, for making it possible!

Pocket Change for Social Change

Join Pillsbury United Communities for "Pocket Change for Social Change." This youth hip-hop performance will benefit causes chosen by the kids you'll see perform. Come with your friends, come with your families, bring the kids along to this free event. All we ask is that you also bring some pocket change to donate to the youth-selected social causes.

When: Tuesday, August 11th - 6:00 p.m.

Where: Cedar Cultural Center - 416 Cedar Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN

This show will highlight youth-created music completed through a summer hip-hop class led by Brandon Allday and Medium Zach of Big Quarters. The “Jumpstart Crew” Participants represent the four youth program sites of Pillsbury United Communities: Brian Coyle Community Center, Oak Park Neighborhood Center, Pillsbury House and Waite House. Please come out and support them for their first performance ever, showcasing emceeing, beatmaking, spoken word and more, with guest appearances from local hiphop acts.

Message from the President, Anthony Wagner: July 2009

As summer wears on in Minneapolis and greatness of this city emerges, we can all see the impact Pillsbury United Communities youth participants have on this city.

This summer, youth from Brian Coyle Center and Waite House have collaborated with Hope Community on a Summer Mural project. The two murals created add beauty and meaning to the Phillips and Cedar-Riverside communities. One of these murals is recently completed, and I invite you all to take a drive to Cedar-Riverside to view a work of art examining the issues of capitalism and power, equal access to healthy food and several other topics selected and designed by our youth participants.

The mural completed in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood can be seen at the Southwest corner of 13^th Avenue South and 29^th Street East at the Fabulous Catering Building. Stop by now to admire how our youth are working to enhance Minneapolis.

Of course, you can be instrumental in providing Pillsbury United Communities the resources we need to complete projects like the murals in Phillips and Cedar-Riverside. To donate to Pillsbury United Communities, click here.

Thank you for following our blog! Don't forget to find us on Facebook and Twitter.

Sincerely,

Tony Wagner, President

Pillsbury United Communities

In today's economy...

In recent months, it's difficult to be in any conversation without hearing the words "in today's economy." And in the nonprofit sector, the weight of those words is heavy at best. Development Departments, Executive Directors and the like are asked daily, "How are you doing in today's economy?" With a bleak outlook, it's nice to have a fresh perspective every now and again. A blogger from the National Council of Nonprofits has a new outlook on nonprofits and the recession.

Quoting from her recent blog post:

• "Was your organization founded before 1980? Then you made it through the 1982 recession. So did the Women’s Network of the Red River Valley.
• Was your organization founded before 1970? Then you also made it through the 1973-1975 recession. So did the United Way, which made history during this downturn with the first $1 billion campaign by a single organization.
• Was your organization around before 1920? If so, then in addition to the above two recessions, you also made it through the Great Depression. And that’s kind of a big deal. The North Dakota Community Foundation would know—it survived as well.
• Finally, if your organization was founded before 1890, the same time as many of the Western states, you survived the 1894 recession. So did the Sierra Club. And look where they are now."

Pillsbury United Communities traces our history back to 1879 and the Minneapolis Bethel Settlement. Our work and our commitment to creating change, choice and connection in Minneapolis has remained unwavering through countless recessions.

In today's economy, what Pillsbury United Communities knows for sure is that an investment in us is still an investment in Minneapolis, no matter the economic climate. You can donate to Pillsbury United Communities today! Click here to learn more!

Pillsbury United Communities enters the world of social networking.

The nonprofit world is buzzing and the word is social networking. In today's struggling economy, it is even more important that nonprofits reach out to participants, volunteers, donors and event attendees in new and innovative ways.

Pillsbury United Communities is excited to join some of Minnesota's best nonprofits in web 2.0. Follow us and keep in touch with what's going on at PUC with the following tools.


Click here for Twitter
- Bookmark us at www.twitter.com/pucmn




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- Search "Pillsbury United Communities" on your Facebook search bar




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