Four Nonprofits Honored with 2011 Touchstone Award
Two groups that rallied in the depths of the recession to feed the region’s hungry, an organization that lit a civic fire with a sustainable business model and a gathering that sparked dialogue between Native and non-Native voices were honored today as among the best examples of nonprofit work in the Northland.
The Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation awarded its 2011 Touchstone Award to Grand Marais Art Colony, Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank, Sustainable Twin Ports and the Madeline Island Anishinaabeg Gathering. Grand Marais Art Colony and Second Harvest were honored in the category of generosity for their efforts to feed the hungry in 2009, when the need for food spiked with the economic downturn. Sustainable Twin Ports won the civic engagement award for its work to transform businesses and organizations from sustainability students to teachers of the innovative approach. The Madeline Island group was recognized for organizing a gathering of more than 650 on the island to discuss the history and future of the Anishinaabeg people, who consider the island sacred.
The Community Foundation granted all four groups funds in 2009 for their initial work. As Touchstone Award winners, each will receive an additional $2,500.
“This is work that makes our community stronger and makes our community special,” said Holly C. Sampson, president of the Community Foundation. “All nine of our Touchstone Award nominees this year offer great examples of the concepts of generosity, civic engagement and inclusiveness. They make this a better place to live.”
The winners and the five other nominees were recognized at the Touchstone Award luncheon at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. Sponsors of this year’s luncheon were: the Duluth News Tribune; Essentia Health; M&I Bank and M&I Wealth Management; Minnesota Power; U.S. Bank; Barker’s Island Marina; Eikill & Schilling Ltd.; Fryberger, Buchanan, Smith & Frederick PA; Republic Bank; Wells Fargo Investment – The Private Bank; and Wheeler Associates.
Additional information about the Touchstone Award winners:
Generosity: Grand Marais Art Colony
In the depths of the economic downturn, as many nonprofits as well as for-profit businesses fought for survival, Grand Marais Art Colony did almost the unthinkable: It invested time, money, power and other resources to raise funds for another charity, the Cook County Food Shelf. Through the Empty Bowls Project, artists, schools and community members made and donated ceramic bowls. Local restaurants made and donated soup and bread. Residents paid to attend the dinner and bid on items in a silent auction. From 2007 to 2009, Cook County saw a doubling of the number of families needing food. Revenue from the Empty Bowls project now represents the largest annual contribution to the Cook County Food Shelf.
Generosity: Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank
Food distribution up 25 percent. Volunteer hours almost doubled. Financial contributions increased by 32 percent. A $1.6 million food warehouse expansion built through the generosity of donors. Was it all work done in robust times for the Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank? Hardly. This work occurred over the last two years, when the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression struck and hunger soared throughout our region. Second Harvest led the regional response to this epidemic. Its decision to partner with other area agencies battling hunger required a sharing of power, credit and resources by all. Without this generosity and selflessness, more area residents simply would have gone hungry.
Civic Engagement: Sustainable Twin Ports
Creating businesses and other operations that are “sustainable” is a good idea. They’re economically efficient. They respect the environment. They live on without living off or becoming a burden to society. But imagine if businesses and organizations that benefitted from turning this spotlight on themselves suddenly turned it around and used the bright beam to show others how to do it. That’s what happened with Sustainable Twin Ports. An operation designed to help on a company-by-company basis exploded, with larger organizations and industries taking up the sustainability mantra. For example, Duluth’s Gloria Dei Lutheran Church not only applied sustainable practices but also took the ideas to a regional association of churches, which adopted and promoted them to other churches. The approach became more than a good idea. It became an example of civic engagement.
Inclusiveness: Madeline Island Anishinaabeg Gathering
Madeline Island is the sacred center of the Anishinaabeg world. Unfortunately, few Anishinaabeg have lived or felt welcome on the island for more than 100 years. The Madeline Island Anishinaabeg Gathering Organizing Committee requested funding for an educational and celebratory event Sept. 25, 2009, that included presentations, traditional performances and feasts bringing to life the historical, spiritual, and cultural significance of the island to the Anishinaabeg people. Organizers expected to draw 200 participants, but more than 650 attended, including from all 19 bands of Ojibwe. After the event, Project Coordinator Lorraine Norrgard said the event was “new way of seeing each other across cultural boundaries and differences. It brought together people from far and wide who feel a deep ancestral and personal connection to the place. It broke down barriers of historic pain … It was an opening of hearts and an acknowledgement of each other through collaborative work.”
Additional information about other award finalists:
Generosity: Range Transitional Housing Inc.
The Iron Range has always prided itself on taking care of its own. Tight-knit communities. Neighbors helping neighbors. Residents stepping up to ensure that each other get back on their feet when trouble hits. When the economy took a dive, Iron Range generosity was on display to homeless and potentially homeless people through Range Transitional Housing’s Hibbing Transitional Housing Project. The project helps homeless families and individuals secure and maintain housing for up to 24 months, assessing immediate housing needs, providing housing resources and referrals, serving as a liaison between tenants and landlords and helping with transportation, child care and job training.
Civic Engagement: College of St. Scholastica, Alworth Center for Peace and Justice
For more than two decades, the Twin Ports region has benefitted from a jewel of civic engagement in its midst, the Alworth Center for Peace and Justice at the College of St. Scholastica. Last year, the center, which engages local audiences in the subjects of peace and justice, recorded its first standing ovation for a speaker. Author and environmentalist Bill McKibben came to town to speak on “The Wealth of Communities.” His lecture was the final installment in a three-lecture series titled, “The Future of Capitalism.” McKibben presented the view from his book, “Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future.” He argued that we need more of a community-based and less of a global approach to prosperity, including local production of food, energy, culture and entertainment. More than 600 people attended the McKibben lecture. They were standing and applauding at the end.
Civic Engagement: Friends of the Finland Community
When is construction of a community center in a small town an excellent example of civic engagement? When that small community lacks a building or even a true town center around which area residents can rally, learn and celebrate. The Friends of the Finland Community requested funds for work that produced the Finland Community Center and its programs. The project was designed to help make the Finland area a more livable place by creating community spaces, starting social programs, supporting economic initiatives, enhancing natural surroundings and supporting Finland’s comprehensive community plan. In 2010 and 2011, the building has been used for events including: the annual St. Urho’s Day celebration, a series of meetings to assess the area’s social services and economic needs, a Wilderness First Aid class and a meeting of Northeast Minnesotans for Wilderness.
Inclusiveness: CHOICE, unlimited
Problem: Children putting on theatre performances who have difficulty projecting their voices to a larger audience. Solution: A simple request for funding to buy lapel microphones. CHOICE, unlimited requested funding to help its performers be heard with their important messages. As part of each production, performers are given the opportunity to speak directly to the audience about the struggles they have faced because of their disabilities. These monologues are an essential part of BOLD-Choice Theatre’s messages of acceptance, inclusion and celebration of diversity. Now, young actors know they will be heard. Said one BOLD-Choice actor, “It feels good to know that everyone in the audience will hear what I am saying. I don’t have to worry about that. I can focus on my performance.”
Inclusiveness: Duluth Task Force on Police Accountability
Trust and accountability. They are building blocks of all strong communities and pillars of successful police work in any community. The Task Force collaboration between community organizations and Duluth police has worked to build trust and accountability between the department and minority groups where some members have historically had negative perceptions or uncertainty about the police. This project, the result of years of work at building trusting relationships across racial divides, underscores the challenges but also the rewards when community leaders commit to being more inclusive. The task force has already achieved an accomplishment by creating trust and respect where once only tension existed.
