September 2015 - Twin Cities 

 
Common Ground Festival of Giving- 5th Annual Music Festival  
Common Ground Meditation Center
 
Date/Time: Saturday, September 19, noon - 4:30pm
 
Location: Common Ground Meditation Center, 2700 East 26th Street, Minneapolis
 
The Common Ground Music Festival is an outdoor music concert put on by volunteers from the Common Ground Community. Admission is free! This year's festival will feature well known musicians Ellis, Dean Magraw, Alex Goldfarb, Larry Long, and Linda Breitag with Precious Sparkle Kitty, as well as spoken word performances by Louis Alemayehu and dance calling by Ann Carter. There will also be fun, kid-friendly activities. Common Ground accepts donations to highlight non-profit organizations that are doing great work to make the world a better place. Doing Good Together™ is one of five non-profits that has been selected by Common Ground to participate in and benefit from donations from the music festival. We'll be there to talk with participants about DGT™ and join in the fun! 
 
Ages: Everyone can participate
 
Time Commitment: Up to four and one-half hours

Contact: festivalofgiving@commongroundmeditation.org
www.commongroundmeditation.org

 
The Washburn Games
Washburn Center for Children
 
Date/Time: Sunday, September 27, 1:30 - 4:30pm. The fun run is at 3:45pm; closing ceremonies are at 4pm.
 
Location: Bryn Mawr Meadows, 601 Morgan Ave, Minneapolis (park near Penn Ave & 394)
 
Come play rugby, soccer, lacrosse, cricket, karate, football, yoga and more at The Washburn Games, a noncompetitive sports sampler for children ages 4 - 12. Kids can discover their favorite sport (before you sign them up for a season they don't like) and give back to the community. All participants receive a t-shirt, medal, goodie bag and the joy of helping others. Plus, there's a chance to win amazing prizes, including a $1,000 educational scholarship. Volunteers will help participants through the sports stations by retrieving balls and cheering them on. No sports experience necessary! All proceeds support children struggling with social, emotional or behavioral problems
 
Ages: Children ages 4-12 may participate in the event. Parents and teens 13 and older are welcome to volunteer.

Time Commitment: Three hours
 
Contact: Liz Jones, Development and Events Coordinator, ljones@washburn.org, 612.872.3316
www.washburngames.org
 
LOVE IN[DEED]
Wooddale Church
 
Date/Time: Saturday, September 26, 9am - noon
 
Location: Wooddale Church Gym, Door 5, 6630 Shady Oak Road, Eden Prairie. A specific project in the city of Edina will be hosted at the Edina Campus, 5532 Wooddale Avenue South, Edina
 
Join Love In[Deed] in making a difference in the Twin Cities. Just show up, choose from a variety of pre-planned volunteer opportunities, and then go serve the community. 
 
Ages: Some sites do require a minimum age due to safety concerns or the nature of the work. However, we ensure that there will be sites open to people of all ages.
 
Time Commitment: Three hours
 
Contact: For more information visit wooddale.org/loveindeed or email loveindeedwc@gmail.com
www.wooddale.org
 
Kids Against Hunger Meal Packing
Kids Against Hunger - West Metro
 
Date/Time: Saturday, September 5, 9 - 11am
 
Location: Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, 301 County Rd 19, Excelsior
 
Kids Against Hunger-West Metro (KAH-WM) is a volunteer-driven organization committed to inspiring, engaging, and educating people, starting with our children, by packaging life-saving meals that ease world hunger. No special skills or training are needed to pack at an event - just the desire to roll up your sleeves and dig in! When you arrive, a Kids Against Hunger team leader will show the group a short video describing the history and mission of Kids Against Hunger. After that, you'll wash up, don your aprons and hairnets, and choose a spot at a packaging station. You may be filling bags with food, weighing bags, sealing bags, or packing bags into shipping boxes. Team leaders will be at each station to explain each phase of the process and to provide assistance.
 
Ages: All ages are welcome to participate. Young children may be restricted from some jobs such as weighing and sealing food packages
 
Time Commitment: Two hours
 
Contact: Julie Kiefer, kidsagainsthungerwm@yahoo.com. Registration is available online.
www.kidsagainsthungerwm.org
 
2015 Twin Cities Walk to End Alzheimer's
Alzheimer's Association Minnesota North Dakota Chapter
 
Date/Time: Saturday, September 26, 7am-noon
 
Location: Target Field, Minneapolis
 
The walk takes place in a one to three mile path on the streets around Target Field. There are various volunteer positions that are fit for both adults and children, especially in the Kids Zone and Promise Garden. These positions will help walkers and their children enjoy games and other activities for kids.
 
Ages: Children ten and older are welcome to volunteer with an adult. If you have a child younger than ten and would like to volunteer, please contact  rayaz@alz.org
 
Time Commitment: Most volunteer positions will last between four and five hours
 
Contact:  Please email rayaz@alz.org
www.alz.org/mnnd
 
Family Meal Delivery
Open Arms of Minnesota
 
Date/Time: Weekdays, 10:30am - 1pm and Saturdays, 9:30am - 11:30am
 
Location: 2500 Bloomington Ave South, Minneapolis
 
Volunteer to deliver meals to our clients and help Open Arms bring nourishment to those who need it most. This year, Open Arms network of more than 2,400 volunteers will help cook and deliver more than 470,000 meals for people living with life threatening illnesses. Pick the delivery route that suits you best and your family best. Drivers must have a valid driver's license
 
Ages: Families of all ages are welcome!
 
Time Commitment: One to two hours per shift. All adult volunteers must sign up for and attend a new volunteer orientation at our office at 2500 Bloomington Ave South, Minneapolis.

Contact: Molly Kennedy, Molly@openarmsmn.org or 612.767.7343
www.openarmsmn.org
 
Farm for All
Loaves & Fishes
 
Date/Time: There are a variety of days and dates available throughout through October
 
Location: Garden plots are located in St. Paul, Richfield, and Coon Rapids
 
Loaves & Fishes is seeking volunteers to help maintain our garden plots at three locations in the Twin Cities Metro. Much of the farm work will depend on weather. Volunteer opportunities are subject to change with short notice. Volunteers will be notified of any changes via email.
 
Ages: All ages are welcome
 
Time Commitment: Two to three hours, depending on location
 
Contact:  Carly Quintus, Director of Volunteers, 612.326.3673 or volunteer@loavesandfishesmn.org. Registration is available online
www.loavesandfishesmn.org
 
Meal Service Volunteers
Loaves & Fishes
 
Date/Time: Most Loaves & Fishes dinner volunteer shifts start between 2 and 3pm and end by 7pm, depending on day and location.
 
Location: Loaves & Fishes dining sites are located throughout the metro area.
 
Loaves & Fishes is a nonprofit meal program in Minnesota, serving a hot meal to those in need. In 2014, they served over 400,000 hot, nutritious meals. Loaves & Fishes volunteers help prepare and serve free meals to those in need. Volunteers who help with meal service assist with assembling trays or plates of food and delivering them to dining site guests. Volunteers also help with cleanup associated with the meal service and dining area maintenance. 
 
Ages: Volunteers must be eight or older
 
Time Commitment: Typically two hours, depends on exact shift
 
Contact: Carly Quintus, Director of Volunteers, 612.326.3673, volunteer@loavesandfishesmn.org
Registration is available online - click here for dinner serving opportunities www.loavesandfishesmn.org 
 
Apple Valley Green Futures Community Planting
Tree Trust
 
Date/Time: Saturday, September 19, 10am - 1pm
 
Location: Quarry Point Park, 15725 Pilot Knob Road, Apple Valley
 
Help make the community a bit greener! Volunteers are needed for this community tree-planting event. Spread shade-bearing trees across Quarry Point Park for years of enjoyment. Hands-on training is provided at every event, so no experience is required to volunteer.
 
Ages: Children and dogs are welcome, as long as they're supervised.
 
Time Commitment: Three hours
 
Contact: Tate Vaughan, tate.vaughan@treetrust.org, 952.767.3919
www.treetrust.org
 
Sheridan Memorial Park Raingarden Tending
Friends of the Mississippi River
 
Date/Time: Thursday, Sept 10, 6 - 8pm
 
Location: Sheridan Memorial Park, 1300 Water St. NE, Minneapolis

Last spring, volunteers installed a large raingarden at Sheridan Memorial Park to beautify the park, provide bee, butterfly and bird habitat, and reduce the amount of polluted runoff flowing from the nearby parking lot and local streets into the Mississippi River. Volunteers are now needed to help maintain the relatively young planting by weeding out invasive species - such as birdsfoot trefoil, sweet clover, burdock and dandelions - and assisting with other tending tasks, including replanting, as needed. 
 
Ages: Children are welcome to participate with a parent or guardian.
 
Time Commitment: Three hours
 
Contact: Amy Kilgore, FMR Event Registrar, akilgore@fmr.org, 651.222.2193 x31. Please include: the name of the event, your name, address and phone number and the number in your party (up to 3).
www.fmr.org
 
Rake-a-Difference Day
Community Thread
 
Date/Time: Saturday, October 24, 9am - noon. We encourage groups to rake yards between 9am and noon, but group leaders are welcome to work with homeowners to schedule another raking time prior to or following the event. The inclement weather date for the event is Saturday, October 31.
 
Location: Seniors' yards around Washington County
 
Make a difference in your community by helping seniors remain independent in their homes. Volunteer with Community Thread for Rake-a-Difference Day on Saturday, October 24 (known as Make-a-Difference Day nationwide!) to rake the yard of a fellow community member. This is a great family-friendly opportunity to connect with local seniors and enjoy a morning outdoors. Locations are available throughout Washington County. Volunteers should bring their own rakes and gloves; homeowners provide leaf bags. 
 
Ages: Open to all ages, volunteers 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult (one adult per every five children age 12 and under).

Time Commitment: Three hours or until yards are finished.

Contact: Sara Pennebecker at 651.439.7434. If you are interested in volunteering for the event, please email Volunteer@CommunityThreadMN.org. Sign up by Friday, October 9 to secure your participation!
www.CommunityThreadMN.org
 
Trout Brook Nature Sanctuary Woodland Restoration
Great River Greening
 
Date/Time: Saturday, September 19, 8:30am - 12:30pm
 
Location: Troutbrook Nature Sanctuary, 169 E Jenks Ave, Saint Paul. There is considerable construction in the area around Trout Brook Nature Sanctuary so please plan your drive accordingly
 
Great River Greening has been planting at Trout Brook for over a year, and the restoration of this site is well underway! Help continue the transformation of this neglected former railroad site into a 42-acre nature sanctuary by removing invasive plants and woodland debris from the forested areas of the site. Once completed, Trout Brook Nature Sanctuary will provide prairie, savanna, maple-basswood forest, wetlands, recreational trails, and stormwater management-all right in the heart of the city.
 
Ages: Families are welcome to volunteer
 
Time Commitment: Four hours
 
Contact: Jen Kader at 651.665.9500 ext. 11, jkader@greatrivergreening.org
www.greatrivergreening.org
 
Sponsor a Family
Family-to-Family
 
Date/Time: Once a month
 
Location: Click here to see the communities where Family-to-Family sponsors families
 
Family-to-Family is a nonprofit national hunger and poverty relief organization dedicated to connecting, one-to-one, families with enough to share to impoverished American families with profoundly less. Family-to-Family programs create a bridge between communities with "more" and some of our country's poorest areas. Start the new school year with a new kindness commitment that will keep giving on your calendar month after month. You and your family can help an American family living in poverty with a monthly box of groceries. Your monthly donation or the box of food you ship will ensure that "your" family gets the food they need the last week of every month, when food stamps often run out.  After you sign up we'll send you details about the family you're helping. Visit the DGT™ Sponsor a Family project page for reflection ideas, book suggestions, and ways to take this project further.
 
Ages: Everyone can participate
 
Time Commitment: Varies

Contact: Nancy Hennessee, nhennessee@family-to-family.org. Visit the Family-to-Family Sponsor A Family page for sign-up options.
www.family-to-family.org 
 
KINDNESS TIPS FOR YOUR NEWSLETTER
 
Want to share kindness tips in your school, faith group or organization newsletter? Doing Good Together has compiled a school year's worth of weekly tips, which you can use weekly, monthly, or whenever you'd like! Tips include ideas for service projects, kindness practices, and other simple ways to teach children about giving, caring, and compassion. And they're FREE! (With attribution to DGT™ of course.) To subscribe or learn more, please visit our website or contact Nassim ( Nassim@doinggoodtogether.org).

 

 

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This list was compiled by Doing Good Together™ (www.doinggoodtogether.org)
 When calling to volunteer for any of the opportunities listed above, please let the coordinator know you found it through this listing. You are encouraged to ask any questions you may have of the sponsoring organization before committing to a project.
Disclaimer: This list is provided as a service to families. Inclusion of organizations in this listing does not imply affiliation, endorsement or quality assurance on the part of Doing Good Together.™ Doing Good Together™ bears no responsibility whatsoever for the activities and actions of the listed organizations. 
                                                                            

                                                                                                     © 2015 Doing Good Together™