Chisholm, MN

Hello is anybody here ? Maybe I can sneak in and they won’t notice I haven’t been around for awhile. I’ve been playing hookie but now I’m back.

Chisholm Horizons teamed up with the Chisholm Youth Facility on June 25th for a Skateboard/Family Day event at the the Lake Park. The upgraded Skateboard Park withstood the onslaught of about a dozen determined skateboard warriors with their tricks and unpadded elbows for 3 hours on that breezy, sunny day. The wish to be younger could be seen in the eyes of the those over the legal age (quite a bit over) and the yearning to show off the would have been battlescars from attempting this x-games sport. There were a few spills and a few chills but nothing the youngsters couldn’t handle. All the spectators young and old were treated to a fantastic showing of fine talent. If you missed this demonstration, don’t worry because Shane from the Youth Center has plans for more in the future.

Chisholm Horizon’s tent contained literature from Rural Rides, Arrowhead Transit, Kids Plus, Horizons, AEOA, and a final inspection showing of the Chisholm Horizon’s Resource Directory before final printing of 2000 copies.
Representatives from the Chisholm Rec , Chisholm Chamber, and Kiwanis manned the Kiwanis food trailer which was transported by Chisholm NHS/NSS. Jubilee Foods donated chips to go along with the hot dogs and buns purchased there. McDonald’s of Chisholm donated their punch, dispenser and cups , Kids Plus the pop, and the Range Center loaned the tables and chairs. The local SWOP took care of the park cleanup before and after. The Summer Work Outreach Program consists of 10 or 12 kids each from Mt. Iron, Buhl, and Chisholm ages 12 to 14. They are taught a mixture of life skills while earning a wage by working in the 3 towns.

The Chisholm Police Annual Children Fishing contest followed the Horizons event and included a record 88 registered kids. They fished out of 12 boats and from the fishing piers around the north side of the lake. Some prizes passed out were Minnkota trolling motors, fishing rod combos, and filled tackle boxes. Wednesdays just don’t get no better.

I admit that I am late in blogging, but you know I’ve NEVER been called Late for Supper .

     Deborah Moore, from the Youth Work Institute, gave a mixture of Chisholm youth and adults a real treat on June 18th at the Chisholm Youth Center. Her impressive presentation called New Horizons : Step Back, Step Up, Make Change initiated inter-generational dialogue within the group. We focused on what gets in the way of youth and adults sharing leadership, what can make or break relationships between youth and adults, and how the community can partner with youth and make the partnerships work. We also looked at recognizing individual strengths that can be shared within leadership roles.
We highly recommend Deborah Moore and the Youth Work Institutes programming for any communities youth/adult partnership training.

www.extension.umn.edu/YouthWorkInstitute/

First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the University of Minnesota Extensions for helping us thru this process over the past 18 months.  Monica and Lori were alot of help and we do appreciate all you did for us.  It was great meeting and working with you these past months. 

The Horizon’s Community Awareness Group met for what would turn out to be the last time under the guidance of the University of Minnesota Extensions on Tuesday, June 10th.  As of June 30th, our Horizon’s groups will be “on our own” to reduce poverty in Chisholm.  We are in “transition” now from participating in a multi-state prescribed program to an independent local, community-driven program.  New faces and ideas are always welcome.  If you are interested in joining our groups to help fullfil our project goals, please contact any one of the leaders listed below.

One goal the Community Awareness Group had was to create a resource guide that focuses on resources and services available for residents, both old and newcomers. We identified resources that link people in our community to services in the following areas:  Housing, Transportation, Food, Health, Legal, Community Services, and Community Centers.  A template has been created and a “draft copy” will be available for community viewing at the “Family Day at the Skate Park”, which is scheduled for Wednesday, June 25th from 11am - 3pm at the Chisholm skate park at the North end of Long Year Lake. 

After the community viewing of our “CHISHOLM COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS”,  corrections will be made, if needed.  Then we will have 2000 booklets printed in which we will mail to every home in the community.  We also hope to have copies available in some local establishments in town.

I am very pleased with the way this booklet turned out and I hope the community feels the same way.  I hope it is a great resouces for everyone in our community, old and new.

Anyone interested in joining our Horizons groups please contact:   

“Youth Involvement” Group Leaders:   Gus Cronberg @ (218) 254-2960:  Sadie or Marketa Anderson @ (218) 254-7628 

“Community Awareness” Group Leader:  Karen Amistadi @ (218)  969-1310                                                                                                                                                    

Local Organizer:   Lynne  Johnson  @ (218) 966-1256

COME ON!   GET INVOLVED!                                                                                HELP MAKE OUR COMMUNITY BETTER FOR  EVERYONE! 

 Submitted by:                                                                                   

Karen Amistadi, Community Awareness Squad Leader            

    A Dollar Works 2 Training was held on April 29th in Grand Rapids. This is a comprehensive personal financial education program developed by educators from the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Family Development. This “train the trainer” workshop explains how to present the 12 financial subjects in the curriculum such as making a spending plan, understanding pay statements, and using credit wisely.

Shane Walters , the adult advisor of the Chisholm Youth Center and I had the opportunity to attend this training. We feel that financial literacy is one of the most important life skills lacking in todays culture. Cindy Petersen and Lori Hendrickson gave an outstanding presentation on financial literacy and managing money. We plan to use this training to help develop and enhance Shane’s own programming for the Chisholm youth. We will purchase the curriculum when it comes out in print later in June and are very thankful that Horizon’s gave us this opportunity to attend.

Submitted by Gus Cronberg

On May 28th Marketa, Karen, Brenda and Gus attended the grant writing clinic in Duluth. The class was taught by Lori Ann Williams. It was a packed 3 hours of information. We hope we were able to gain some insite on grant writing to continue with the Horizon’s program. We were given a lot of web sites to help in the research process. If anyone has more information or wants some information please get a hold of one of the Horizon team members.

The Horizon Team met to cover the items listed as goals and accomplishments in the draft Work Plan. 

The Work Plan is a necessary component of the Horizons Project.  Once this Plan is completed, it will be submitted to MN Extensions and brought to the Northwest Area Foundation for consideration.  ONCE the plan is approved, the Community of Chisholm will then receive the last payment from the NWAF of $8,500.00.  This money is and can be accessed to help Chisholm fight Poverty!

The Horizon Team is also looking to schedule a “Community Transitional” Event on Friday June 13th.  This will be a Fabulous event where all those people that gave of their own time to help our Community by getting involved in the Horizons Program will be acknowledged!

If you are interested in attending this event, please contact Lynne at 218-996-1256.

On Wednesday, April 9th, I attended my first Youth Involvement Meeting.  At this meeting, the group was discussing the Family Event to be held at the skate park on the north end of Chisholm Lake, which is being planned for June 14th.  I was impressed with how well organized this small group was in the planning stages for this event.  They are working together with Shane at the Youth Center and coordinating the entire event.  The group leaders, Marketa Anderson and Gus Cronberg deserve “kudos” for a job well done!  Thanks to the others who have brought their ideas to the table also! 

The Youth Engagement met on Tues. at the Chisholm Youth Center. We are looking at having a Family Day at the skate park in June. We are planning to have special guests to talk about the laws, safety and equipment. We are in the planning stage right now, with more information to follow. The new hours at the Youth Center are Mon., Tue. and Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Fri. 5:00 p.m . - midnight for grades 7th - 12th. Thrus. 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. for grades 4th - 6th.

If anyone is looking to hire youth for small or large jobs: mowing lawns, shoveling, raking, ect. You can contact Shane @ 969-7762 he can help you contact youth looking for work.

Some other things we are looking into is Youth debates, concerts, and more activites for the kids to do. We will keep you up dated.

The next meeting is Apr. 15th @ 4:00 p.m. @ the youth center.

A few notes from the March conference call with 4 reps of U of M Extensions and reps of New York Mills, Hoka, Mt Lake, Fertile, Eveleth, and Chisholm.

Updates:

The Northwest Area Foundation would like to see more blog reporting showing the Horizon group’s progression in their endeavors. Don’t keep it a secret, let everyone know what’ shakin’ in your Horizon community.
The Grassroots & Groundwork Conference is at the end of May in Bloomington. Some of the costs can be covered if you would like to attend. More info on workshops at www.grassrootsandgroundwork.org/

Regional Training Workshops will be held at 4 locations around Minnesota. One will be held on Saturday April 5 at the Hibbing Park Hotel. Workshops include Nonprofit 101,Committees at Work, Resource Development, and Youth Development. Registration at 9:30 and will last until 3:00. There is NO COST and is open to anyone in the community. Register online at minnesota.communityblogs.us/ or contact anyone from the Chisholm Horizons. Check that same website for the new Blogging Contest.

Questions to Think About:

A few of the Communities have received business donations or grants to help with projects or insurance costs. Some reps volunteered names of neighboring towns who might be interested in the next wave of Horizon Communities.

The “Study Circles” have changed their name to “Everyday Democracy” www.everyday-democracy.org/en/index.aspx and would like to contact the people who have gone through the study circles. They have updated products to get out. More info will be coming soon.

     HarvestHouse Community                     Food Distribution:   During our January 19th Horizons Training session, the subject of Harvest House was brought to our attention by Mrs. Burnett.  The third Saturday of each month, they hold a food distribution service in a warehouse behind the Family Video Store in the Graysher Shopping Center, Hibbing MN.  She mentioned their need for volunteers to help unload the semi and to distribute the food.            I decided to check it out on the 3rd Saturday in February partially out of curiosity. I arrived a bit before 6:30 for the truck unloading/sorting crew. This crew works from 6:30 till about 9:30 or until all is set up. About 60 people helped sort the food after it was unloaded by a forklift. We bagged onions, potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers and other veggies into plastic bags, stacked cans of soup, packs of mushrooms, cartons of milk, and boxes of lettuce on the length of tables set up.  Once everything was sorted, the volunteers were called into the unloading area for instruction.  Twelve or more of us volunteered to help cart out the food to the vehicles, while the others would distribute the food to those in attendance.  The distribution ended around 12:30 or so and cleanup till past 1:00.  When they say “for each share bring 3 large boxes” they mean it.            All are welcome to partake in this act of generosity and many communities are represented.  I had a great time working with a large group of new friends. A large number us were there to volunteer for the first time.  I was surprised to find out that the distribution has been running since last summer.The next distribution is slated for Saturday, March 15, 2008. Shares are $15.00 donationThe tentative timetable is:6:30 - Helpers welcome to unload truck and sort food.8:30 - Distribute food11:30 - Clean upStay to help as long as you wish.Questions - Call 218-263-4971 Pastor John or Athena

Submitted by: Gus Cronberg