Helping Our Neighbors In Need
November & December Gift Card Drive
Two organizations have been chosen for AAUW-St. Paul to support in 2024-2025:
Women’s Advocates and Emma Norton Services
During the months of November and December, you can help women in these organizations by donating cash or $25 gift cards (Target, Walmart, Aldi, Holiday, Speedway) for them to use to purchase holiday gifts for their family or for things they need. (We will purchase gift cards with any cash donated.)
A box will be provided at meetings in November and December for you to place your donations. All that are collected will be divided between the two organizations.
●●● Please write the amount on the gift card(s) you are donating. ●●●
More information about these organizations is provided below. Website links are also provided if you want to explore further.
Thank you in advance for your generosity in supporting these neighbors.
Jan Parkman
VP Fundraising/Community Outreach
COMMUNITY OUTREACH GOALS
AAUW St. Paul members generously contribute their time, money, and materials to support Community Outreach projects, especially those that impact women and education. The purpose of our outreach is three-fold:
1. Help our neighbors in need
2. Develop partnerships with charitable organizations in the Twin Cities
3. Build public awareness of AAUW St. Paul
If you have any suggestions for future outreach projects, please let us know. We’d love to consider other St Paul organizations empowering and supporting women and supporting education!
Committee members: Chair, Jan Parkman, Sue Greimel, Pam Lande, Mari Wittenbreer
Community Outreach 2024-2025
- School Supply and Toiletries Drive for Project Reach, a program in the St. Paul Public Schools for homeless students. We will be collecting items and cash donations during the month of September.
- Drive to collect Gift Cards ($25) to support women of Women’s Advocates and Emma Norton Services in November and December.
Women’s Advocates
Women’s Advocates was the first shelter in the nation established for victim-survivors of domestic violence. They offer a secure place for women and their children where they can trust that they will be safe 24/7 from physical harm and emotional trauma.
Services provided by Women’s Advocates:
Violence Prevention & Education
Shelter & Healing: secure shelter and access to basic needs for up to 50 victim-survivors daily.
Safety After Shelter: Women and children leaving our shelter have access to advocacy and ongoing support for a year after departure.
Find out more on the Women’s Advocates website: https://www.wadvocates.org/
Emma Norton Services
Emma Norton is a trauma-informed organization that promotes healing and recovery, operating at a scale that brings a full array of resources to women, individuals, and families who have experienced homelessness. Housing and services are exemplary, offered in collaboration with key community partners.
Mission: Provide transformational housing and growth for women and families on their journey of recovery
Values: Community, accountability, perseverance, innovation, and protecting and valuing the whole human spirit
Goals are to: Provide safe, secure, affordable housing for women, individuals, and families in transition, as well as support, advocacy and referrals to community services for individuals and families to stabilize their lives, build confidence and enable self-sufficiency.
Find out more on the Emma Norton Services website: https://emmanorton.org/
Community Outreach 2023-2024
The Community Outreach Committee selected 2 organizations to support during the 2023-2024 program year; the Jeremiah Program and Dress for Success.
Dress for Success
Any AAUW St. Paul members that have clothing, accessories or electronics to donate please go to the Dress for Success Twin Cities website to get current information on their needs and where to drop off your items.
Thank you for your contributions.
Ongoing Outreach opportunity:
Jeremiah Program
There are still ways you can help us support the moms and their children who are participating in the Jeremiah Program throughout the year:
1) Welcome Basket Items: Jeremiah gives out “Welcome Baskets” to new families entering their program. This is a year round need. The Welcome Basket list of needed items is below. A link is provided HERE where you can order and pay directly at Amazon and have the items delivered to the Jeremiah Program.
2) Community Dinners: Jeremiah welcomes help in providing Community-building dinners for their JP moms and their children. These are scheduled usually twice a month on Wednesdays from 5pm – 6:30pm Community hosts usually bring food prepared and ready to go for approximately 25-30 people To learn available dates and to schedule, please contact Mai Moua (mmoua@jeremiahprogram.org).
If you have questions, contact the Community Outreach Committee. Thank you for your generosity!
MORE ABOUT THE JEREMIAH PROGRAM
The Jeremiah Program’s missions and goals align closely to those of AAUW: supporting the education and empowerment of women. The Jeremiah Program has one of the nation’s most successful strategies for disrupting poverty, serving two generations at a time by providing:
• College access and career support
• Quality early childhood education
• Safe and affordable housing (paying no more than 30 percent of their income for rent)
• Empowerment, leadership, and career training
• Supportive community
“The Jeremiah Program supports 100% women, 100% single moms experiencing poverty, and 100% parents in pursuit of a college degree with 80% of those parents identifying as Black, Latinx and Indigenous. Higher education is not the solution for inequity in our country, but it remains the greatest lever of economic mobility.”
–Jeremiah Program website
Additional Outreach Opportunities
Additional Outreach Opportunities will be posted to this page as they come up, so check back often.
AAUW members will also receive occasional emails with updates, and can find detailed reports of our Outreach activities in the 990 News.
Updated: 9/12/24