EVENTS CALENDAR

18

11:00 am - 2:00 pm

Mainstreet Hopkins, MN United State

Stop by the Resourcewest booth at the Hopkins Celebration of Community during the Hopkins Raspberry Festival and meet our Interim Director, Renae Oswald-Anderson.

18

10:00 am - 1:00 pm

Items being collected:

• Art Supplies • Office Supplies • Books – ALL Ages • DVDs – ALL • Shoes • Socks

• Recorded Music • Backpacks • Ink Cartridges – household • Winter Wear

• Bedding – ALL • Clothing – ALL • Fleece Blankets/Fabric • PJs – All Sizes

• Bikes/Pumps/Baskets • Soccer Balls/Jerseys • Puzzles/Games • Tonka Wear

• Cell Phones/Laptops/Tablets • Video Games

Please bundle items by categories listed

THANK YOU!

10

4:30am - 7:30pm

6

9:30am - 4pm

Keeping kids warm throughout the cold winter is essential in Minnesota. Too often, we see children and adults braving our tough weather with the bare minimum of winter outer wear — or none at all. ResourceWest receives frequent requests from Hopkins and Minnetonka school staff looking for winter clothing for students without the most basic cold weather items.

The Winter Warm Wear Program is open from November through March each year. We stock up with new or gently used winter jackets, snow pants, boots, and new hats and mittens. This program provides winter essentials for more than 700 children of local low-income families.

The program is for children from newborn to age 18. In addition, we have a limited selection of adult jackets available. Each qualified child will receive (if sizes are available) a winter jacket, a hat, and a pair of mittens.

To qualify for this program:

• Your child(ren) must be students in the Hopkins or Minnetonka School Districts or living with these 7 cities: Hopkins, Minnetonka, Excelsior, Shorewood, Deephaven, Greenwood, or Woodland.
• Your family must have an income that qualifies your family for the Free or Reduced School Lunch
• Program. To see if you qualify, please contact us for the guidelines
• You must have physical custody of the children
• Your children must be under the age of 18 and registered for school.

• Current utility bill (within 30 days for proof of residency)
• ID for yourself
• ID for your children (school ID, medical insurance cards, Social Security card)

For more information: info@resourcewest.org / (952) 933-3860.

20

(10:00am – 4:00pm)

Keeping kids warm throughout the cold winter is essential in Minnesota. Too often, we see children and adults braving our tough weather with the bare minimum of winter outer wear — or none at all. ResourceWest receives frequent requests from Hopkins and Minnetonka school staff looking for winter clothing for students without the most basic cold weather items.

The Winter Warm Wear Program is open from November through March each year. We stock up with new or gently used winter jackets, snow pants, boots, and new hats and mittens. This program provides winter essentials for more than 700 children of local low-income families.

The program is for children from newborn to age 18. In addition, we have a limited selection of adult jackets available. Each qualified child will receive (if sizes are available) a winter jacket, a hat, and a pair of mittens.

30

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

1011 First Street So. ~ Hopkins

Tuesday ~ September 30

2:30 – 3:30pm

ResourceWest ~ Community Room

1011 First Street So. ~ Hopkins

Join us as we thank Judy for her 7 years of dedicated hard work leading ResourceWest and wish her well as she transitions into her new life in Southern Minnesota.

24

We kick-off our Back-to-School supply drive on July 15th!

We are looking to fill our collection barrels with donated new school supplies and back packs, but we also need to raise money to help support this valuable program.

You can help send children to school ready to learn by watching for our collection barrels and dropping off new school supplies and back packs.

Or you can donate and we’ll do the shopping for you! This year our fundraising goal for this program is $25,000. Click here to help us make an impact on the students of the Hopkins and Minnetonka School Districts.

20

Our fiscal year end is June 30th. Your continued financial support will help families like Traci and John’s to work through their economic crisis, and find stability in their own lives, and the lives of their children.

“Traci and John are two very hard working, involved parents who are doing their very best to love and provide for their two elementary aged girls, Sophia and Ellie. They both work full time jobs, but unfortunately, the family still lives paycheck-to-paycheck and is unable to build their savings. This winter John lost his job, the family was struggling financially and didn’t have any extra income to buy their children gifts for the holiday.

John was emotionally devastated that he was unable to provide for his family, and was concerned and stressed about how his girls would feel if they did not receive any gifts for Christmas. awhile sharing his concerns with a neighbor , he learned about the children’s programs at ResourceWest. John was embarrassed that he couldn’t afford things for his family, but he wanted Sophia and Ellie to not suffer because of his job loss. He swallowed his pride and asked for help. ResourceWest was able to provide his family with holiday gifts, and later Traci came in and met with our social worker. Through the many resources, referrals and assistance from ResourceWest, John and Traci were able to get back on their feet. In fact the family is doing so well right now that Traci wants to organize a Winter Warm Wear Drive at their girls’ school to give back to ResourceWest.”

Your gift of:

• $55 will sponsor a child for all three of our programs
• $100 will provide gas or bus cards for 5-10 individuals for getting to work
• $300 will help a family fix their car; often the lifeline for stable work
• $550 will sponsor 10 children for our programs
• $1,500 will provide emergency grants to 5 individuals/families

We rely on community contributions as they represent 61% of our revenue. Your continued support allows us to continue to help the families in our community. Our neighbors. Our friends.

“Eve and George came to ResourceWest for school supplies and holiday gifts for their four children. They met and started working with our social worker to get assistance paying for gas to get work. The family lives in Hopkins and both parents work full time. Eve works in Chanhassen and George works in Robbinsdale and they share one car! Things were going well and we didn’t hear from Eve and George for awhile. One day, Eve called, stressed and very worried – their one car that they rely on to get back and forth to work was broke down and needed several costly repairs! They did not know how they would afford to fix the car, they asked friends and family and no one could help them with the costs. Without a car, both of their jobs were at risk. Without their jobs, they would lose their housing – they were stressed and worried about how their family would pull though this newest crisis.

Our social worker provided funds from our Project Starfish to help Eve and George get their car repaired. Today, Eve and George’s car is working safely, and more importantly, getting them both to work. They are still trying to juggle work schedules with one car, but they make it work. They continue to work with our social worker getting help with budgeting, counseling and other needs, and the family is stable in their home.”

Please join us in helping our neighbors like Eve and George by making a contribution at any level to ResourceWest today!

Again, thank you for your past support and your continued support as we enter continue into our next 20 years of serving the needs of the people in our community.

Sincerely,

Judy Elling, LGSW, MSW-PDPA Executive Director

P.S. After more than 20 years of ResourceWest helping children and families, I can tell you that there is never a failure of opportunity to effect change – we are simply too often paralyzed by our unwillingness to effect change – we are simply too often paralyzed by our unwillingness to even try. Please show your support for neighbor by making a donation today.

26

Join us at our annual fundraiser for a fun night of casino – entertainment – heavy appetizers - wine and beer

Tickets: $60 per person (includes starter fun money)

Purchase Tickets

Hospitality Table Check-in 6:30 – 7:00pm
Game Tables Open 7:00 – 8:00pm
ResourceWest Program 8:00 – 8:30pm
Live Auction 8:30 – 9:00pm
Game Tables Reopen 9:00 -10:00pm
Raffle Prizes Awarded 10:00pm

11

You are invited to join us at our 16th annual Empty Bowls Event to choose your favorite handmade soup bowl, eat a simple meal of donated soup and bread, enjoy a variety of musical entertainment, and make a generous free will donation. Professional potters have donated beautiful bowls and related art for our silent auction.

What is Empty Bowls?

Since its small beginnings in 1990 at Lahser High School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Empty Bowls has become an international grassroots project to raise funds for local food shelves. In 1999, Hopkins Public Schools art teachers and leaders in Hopkins Community Education saw the growing need for a fundraiser for hunger in our own community. Art students and community potters have been creating hundreds of unique soup bowls for the event ever since.

Over the first 14 years of Empty Bowls, our Hopkins Schools community has raised a total of $695,275 to assist our neighbors through the work of ResourceWest and ICA Food Shelf!

Are there hungry people in our community?

• ICA Food Shelf, located in Minnetonka and Excelsior, provided 11,945 food assists in 2012, an increase of 112% since 2008, and distributed $301,735 last year to assist families with rent, mortgage and utilities.
• ResourceWest, located on Mainstreet Hopkins, connected over 10,000 area residents to the resources they needed in 2012, including emergency financial support to over 600 families, over 1,100 Second Harvest commodity food packages, and more than 130 emergency food bags on behalf of ICA Food Shelf.

• Be a sponsor in the SUPERVALU Challenge! You decide your sponsorship level, send it in by March 1st, and be recognized on all print materials at the event. Sponsors of $250+ will have their logos prominently displayed.
• Make a ceramic or felt bowl in a Hopkins Community Education class in February.
• Be an in-kind sponsor of soup, bread, coffee, and other needed materials.
• Volunteer at the event.
• Artists can donate a fine art bowl or hunger related art for the silent auction.
• Musicians can donate their time and talent by entertaining at the event.
• Schools can include hunger issues in the curriculum, bowl making in art classes, promotional poster design in art and tech classes; students and staff can help serve soup or perform at the event.

www.HopkinsSchools.org/EmptyBowls
www.Facebook/HopkinsEmptyBowls
Barb Westmoreland, Hopkins Public Schools Volunteer Coordinator 952-988-4069
Barb.Westmoreland@HopkinsSchools.org

Awards given to our community’s Empty Bowls Event:
• WCCO Good Neighbor Award 2005
• Minnesota FoodShare’s 2005 Most Creative Drive Award
• Minnesota Community Education’s Outstanding Project Award for 2000
• National Community Improvement Projects 2000 Honorable Mention Award
• Minnesota FoodShare’s 2000 Outstanding Community Contribution Award
• City of Hopkins Human Rights Award for 1999
• Minnesota FoodShare’s 1999 Most Creative Drive Award Together we can make our community a healthy place for all to live.

www.HopkinsSchools.org/EmptyBowls