Leadership & Volunteerism Future Squads will be holding a joint meeting on Tuesday, March 25, at noon, in the Library Meeting Room to discuss plans for our upcoming Round table discussion to be held Thursday, April 3, in the City Hall Ballroom.

as submitted by Pat Fredley

The Economy Squad, which is working on the Farmer’s Market, will be holding an informational meeting on Monday, March 3, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. in the large community meeting room in the County Bldg (NYM).  Anyone interested in becoming a vendor, or just would like more information about the Farmers Market, is encouraged to attend.  Dallas Flynn, a vendor at the Detroit Lakes Farmers Market for the past 8 years, and a board member of the Minnesota State Farmers Market Assn, will be present to provide general information about farmers markets, setting up, etc. and answering  questions. 

Pat Fredley

Horizons Meeting
Monday, February 11, 2008, 5:30 pm,
NYM High School Media Center

Present: Pat Fredley, Lori Rothstein, Julie Adams, Lynn Kasma, Pam Robinson, Janet Malone, Heather Cassidy, Elise Korentayer, Karen Oelschlager, Pat Buerkle, Victoria McWane-Creek, Kevin Cederstrom, Connie Warner, Bill Warner, Todd Cameron, Michelle Helmeke, Beverly Backstrom

Meeting began at 5:40 pm, Todd Cameron welcomed everyone.

Because Pat Fredley had to leave the meeting early, the Economy Future Squad report was moved up in the agenda. Pat reported that the Economy Future Squad has three new members and met two weeks ago. They met with Dallas Flynn from the Detroit Lakes Farmers Market. He gave them information on grants, an outline on how to set up a Farmers Market, etc. Their goal is to have the Farmers Market up and running mid-to-late summer. They have 3 more meetings scheduled, the next one being February 18, 10 am, at Subway. Their main goal will be to find a location and to find 4 or 5 committed vendors. They are writing a grant for signage.

Lori Rothstein gave an overview of the Horizons program.

The minutes from the last Horizons Team meeting on Friday, January 11, 2008 were reviewed.

Todd and Lori gave information on the financial structure and the process for allocating funds. There is $1,729.03 in the account, $1,500 of which is the first part of the $10,000 Northwest Area Foundation grant to be used for the final Work Plan. The remaining $8,500 is coming later. The $2,000 in Barrier Elimination Funds is expected soon. Lynn Kasma also reported that a $1,000.00 grant in conjunction with Youth Service Day was received. This grant will be administered through IMPACT to be used for the Community Garden by the Quality of Life Future Squad. Todd said there is a one page requisition form for Future Squad members to use when requesting funds. All allotments will be signed off by the Horizons Team.

Different aspects of marketing the Horizons program were discussed. Lynn will be organizing a booth for the Trade Show coming up on March 29th. Victoria McWane-Creek handed out copies of the brochure she put together. After discussing how many to print and for what reason, it was decided that Victoria will look into getting a modified quote. Julie Adams discussed how each Horizons Team member plans to meet with an organization or two in the community to discuss the Horizons Program. Todd will be on “Talk of the Town” on Lakes Radio next week. Kevin Cederstrom writes articles pertaining to Horizons as the need comes up.

Lori showed the group the Horizon’s sponsored Minnesota blog http://minnesota.communityblogs.us  and explained the different features. Julie showed the group the New York Mills blog at http://newyorkmills.communityblogs.us. Lori explained that it is very important for us to blog all of our activities as the Northwest Area Foundation uses the blog to track the activities of each Horizon community. Julie gave a brief outline on how to use igoogle to see the latest entries in the blog.

Future Squads Updates:
Economy—report was given earlier
Quality of Life—Lynn reported that they have narrowed their focus to working on the Community Garden. They have written an Action Plan and have received a Youth Service Learning grant. They want to start the Community Garden this spring. Right now they are looking at locations. They also hope in incorporate the school and the Cultural Center in on some activities such as having “green” classes, canning classes, and art classes using items from the garden. Todd suggested that he would be interested in teaching a “square foot gardening” class. Their next meeting will be soon.
Leadership—Julie reported that they have met and are looking at sponsoring Leadership Plenty, but in a modified form. Lori had agreed to help teach if her schedule allows. Julie reported that Denise Peltier has been doing research into mentoring programs.
Volunteerism—Victoria reported that her and Connie Warner have met and are putting together a form that will be mailed to all the organizations in the community. They information gathered from the form will help them but together a registry so that connecting people to volunteer opportunities will be easier. They are trying to include youth in on their project. Victoria asked if it is possible if students could get Service Learning credit for volunteering.

Lori reported there will be regional training sponsored by Horizons coming up this spring—the dates and location is to be determined. The topics they hope to cover are Non-Profit 101, Youth Engagement, Resources, and Committees that Work. Lori will get more information out to us as soon as possible.

Lori also reported on the Community Education Fund. There is $1500 in that fund. There is a form to fill out and can be used for trainings and workshops to help the Future Squads jumpstart their work. The applications for those funds go to Lori.

Discussion about the status of the Thrift Store idea that had come from the Study Circles—it was decided that it would be a project that the community would support, so if we find the right person to start this, it could be very successful.

The date for the next Horizons Team meeting was not decided.

The meeting adjourned at 7:05 pm, with the room available for any Future Squads that wanted to meet.

Kevin Cederstrom, New York Mills Herald–Published Thursday, February 7, 2008

The New York Mills Horizons community vision group is holding a meeting Feb. 11, 5:30 p.m., at the school. The meeting is open to the public including all past and present participants in the program, as well as a chance for new people to get involved in this community vision process.

The agenda includes an overview of Horizons and what the group has accomplished to this point, marketing, discussions on the blog site, the Horizons Team Work Plan, and Future Squads update. The Future Squads, four focus groups formed earlier in the Horizons process, consist of Economy, Quality of Life, Volunteerism, and Leadership.

The purpose of these groups is to find ways to better serve the community through ideas such as improving the economy, promoting energetic leadership in the community, helping various volunteer groups to work together, and how to carry out specific ideas such as starting a community garden in New York Mills.

Economy – support and assist agriculture, entrepreneurship and established business support

Leadership – Locating, training and mentoring visionary leaders for NY Mills’ future

Quality of Life – Addressing outdoor recreation, culture and arts, and other issues impacting quality of life

Volunteerism – Unify volunteer efforts, support service organizations, engage new volunteers, mentor youth and volunteer recognition

The public is invited to attend the meeting and encouraged to get involved with one of the four Future Squads.

The Horizons program, sponsored by the Northwest Area Foundation and brought to New York Mills by the University of Minnesota Extension, is a community leadership program aimed at reducing poverty in rural and reservation communities with populations of 5,000 or fewer. The program is about the changes a community can make to move from waiting to leading, from talking to action, from control by few to the participation of many, and from indifference to pride. Ultimately, it is about community leadership that can act to reverse a community’s economic and population decline and move toward prosperity.

It explores the perceptions and the sources of poverty, recognizing that it isn’t always just about lack of money. The program focuses on poverty, because poverty impacts everyone in a community. Horizons builds stronger community leadership, acknowledging that leadership is as important as good roads, great schools and clean water.

From: Lynn Kasma

RE: Your Grant Status: State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grant

We got the grant below to help us out with the Horizons project!  See you on Feb 11 at the Horizons meeting.

State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grant
Congratulations! Youth Service America (YSA) has selected you as a State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grant winner. As one of 100 grant winners, you were chosen from applicants across the United States for your leadership and commitment to engage youth in service-learning. We are excited that youth will address important issues in your community, implementing unique service-learning projects that engage public officials, the media, and youth of all abilities.

The State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grant is administered by Youth Service America and funded by State Farm. This grant, of up to $1,000 helps underwrite youth service projects for Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) in the U.S. on April 25-27, 2008. GYSD, the largest service event in the world, is a public awareness and education campaign that highlights the amazing contributions that young people make to their communities 365 days a year.   On GYSD, young people will design and lead service-learning projects in areas ranging from literacy and the environment, to healthcare, hunger, and help for the elderly.

The goals of Global Youth Service Day are:
To MOBILIZE youth to identify and address the needs of their communities through service.
To SUPPORT youth on a life-long path of service and civic engagement.
To EDUCATE the public, the media, and policymakers about the year-round contributions of young people as community leaders

We thank you for your hard work and dedication, and we offer our sincere congratulations.

Yours in Service,
Steven A. Culbertson
President & CEO Youth Service America
1101 15th St, NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20005
www.YSA.org

The New York Mills Workforce Housing Partnership has been working to determine if it should put together an application for the upcoming Greater MN Housing Fund grant cycle.  This collaboration started in November with participants from City Government, Local Financing, Community Orgs, Local Businesses along with reps from both Greater MN Housing and MN Housing Finance Agency attending a meeting at OTWCAC.  

The decision was made to conduct a survey to see what type of housing was needed to accommodate the workforce and other residents interested in living in NYM.  The survey (NYMWFHP Survey) was created, delivered and received with much support in December.  We had a terrific response. 

Quick summary: 2614 surveys out (1000 in the paper), 153 surveys in (10 from the paper).  48 replying they want to move to NYM.  See survey summary NYMWFHP Survey Summary .  

Many respondents are interested in Saving for Downpayment, Homebuyer Eduation and Financial Literacy .  Since homeownership is one of the best asset building vehicles out there, it is critical to help as many people who want to own a home become mortgage ready as this will go a long way towards reducing poverty.  Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.

January 21, 2008, the day honoring Dr. King’s legacy is fast approaching.  Dr. King’s legacy is one of service to others “Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve!”  This philosophy ties in well with the Horizon program mission to use local resources to eliminate poverty.  Together we can all make a difference and improve the lives of people living in our communities by supporting each other and building upon what we already have! 

Girl Scout troop 30408 is serving that day by serving lunches at the NYM Senior Citizen Center, and reading and singing and sharing with the residents at the Elders Homes.  I volunteer at Share House on occasion to help the residents with their babysitting needs to attend support groups.  Service comes in many shapes and forms, so pick something you love and share it, or pick something that concerns you and do something about it! 

On Monday, January 21, 2008, HONOR THE DREAM, MAKE IT A DAY ON, NOT A DAY OFF. 

The Volunteerism Future Squad will meet on Thursday, November 29, 7 pm at the Library.  Please join us as we brainstorm ways to marshall our volunteer efforts for greater impact.  Your imput is welcome!  For information, contact Victoria or Connie @ 385-2900.

On Saturday, October 27, over 60 community members worked together to create vision for the future of our community. Looking 10-15 years out, this is what we came up with:

New York Mills is a special community that has developed a unique economy which encompasses culture and arts, outdoor recreation, and the tradition of agriculture. Farmers markets and buying local provide an opportunity to support our young entrepreneurs, our neighbors, and in turn sustain our community and ourselves. New York Mills is a welcoming place for everyone from the young to the young at heart.

Our heritage of cooperation is strong in our collective spirit. Our traditional values nurture strong volunteerism. The involvement of youth is seen in every aspect of the community. We have a collaborative, close-knit and supportive community culture that is underpinned by visionary leadership.

Share your thoughts with us!

1. Take a survey. It is only 7 questions and will help us reach the 15% benchmark:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=2_2f4_2bvFKcTfr5arUadbhbiw_3d_3d

2. Come join the action. Our next meeting will be: Tuesday, November 13 at 6 pm at the NY Mills School Media Lab. Free dinner will be provided.

Together we can make a difference!