The Holiday Spirit at Avenues

AveNEWS | December 2020

You Make A Difference

Thank you for giving so generously during the holiday season! Together, we've raised 85% of our $100,000 year-end goal. Our community's support

is crucial to provide stable housing during an

unprecedented year. You can help us by telling your friends how a gift of $84 to Avenues provides one youth with a week of one on one case management.

DONATE NOW

Join Our Team

We're currently hiring for these positions:

Mental Health Therapist
Site Manager, Brooklyn Avenues and Minneapolis Avenues
Youth Support Specialists, On Call and Part-Time

Learn More Here

Gratitude This Month

Thank you, Comcast, for your second-year

sponsorship of the

Avenues Holiday Program! Youth were able to enjoy and unwrap holiday gifts thanks to your support.

Thank you to the Christianson Family for their thoughtful book donation! The Christianson's purchased over 50 books, authored by BIPOC and LGBTQI+ writers, from Black Garnet Books to donate to Avenues. Our three locations are each getting 17 beautiful, new books this month.

O'Nika's Angels dropped off a huge food donation this month! Avenues serves over 30,000 meals a year and will definitely put this gift to use.

Thank you Isaih for hosting a towel drive for Avenues! Isaih dropped off 101 new towels at Avenues this month.

Our Community Made the Holidays Bright

Every youth and family in our programs received a special holiday gift this year. Donors provided youth with a new winter coat, winter gear, gift cards, candy, and more.

Though the holiday program looked a little different, the joy and holiday spirit remained the same. Both houses were decorated with snow flakes and festive décor, and youth had gifts under the trees. Twin siblings living at Brooklyn Avenues said that this was the first Christmas that they had gifts. The house was teary-eyed when the siblings opened their first holiday gifts.

Thank you to the 28 donors who shopped for youth this year and Comcast for sponsoring the holiday program! It's because of you that the holidays were bright for young people in our programs.

Thanksgiving Meal for a Young Family

Last month Upper Room Church donated Thanksgiving groceries to families in our Young Families, Our Future Program. Each family got turkey, ham, green beans, pie ingredients, and more to prepare a meal for their family.

A few days before Thanksgiving, Ms. Elaine, the Young Families Program Manager, got a text from a mom in the program. The mom had never cooked a Thanksgiving meal before, and because of COVID, wasn't going to be with her extended family who normally cooked. She was anxious about making the meal and wanted the food to turn out for her family. She asked Ms. Elaine if she could drop off cooked food instead of cooking the food Upper Room Church had given her.

After a lot of encouragement and cooking tips from Ms. Elaine, the youth made her first Thanksgiving meal for her three children. She sent Ms. Elaine photos of the finished meal and said that it was delicious.

"Thank you for pushing me and believing that I could do something I've never done before," the young mom said to Ms. Elaine after she cooked the meal.

Avenues 2020 Annual Report

Through all that's happened over the past year, thank you for staying with us! Together, in our actions and in work with young people, we're lifting up Avenues' values of equity, community, respect & dignity, trust, liberation, and anti-oppression. You can learn more about the fiscal year 2020 impact, that we've achieved together, by clicking the link below.

Annual Report

Impact Opportunity

Save the Date for Building on Dreams!

Join Avenues virtually on March 23, 2021 from 8-9 a.m. for an inspiring morning in support of youth experiencing homelessness in our communities. You'll hear from a variety of speakers, including youth who have been impacted during the pandemic. We're excited to share that Kare 11's Rena Sarigianopoulos will be MCing this year's event!

Building on Dreams is Avenues annual fundraising event. We're currently looking for virtual table hosts and have sponsorship opportunities! Learn more below.

Building on Dreams