SHERBURNE COUNTY AREA UNITED WAY

Community support - a direct impact program we have is community connect (previously project homeless connect), where we bring together over 40 vendors to offer resources and education to people in need. We also offer free lunch, haircuts, and essential items such as hygiene products and home winterizing. Over 200 community members attended the event, representing over 400 people within the families. The short term goal of the event is to offer the resources to the event attendees. The long term goal is to expand the reach of resources and information beyond the walls of the event by the attendees sharing their information, as well as getting the community to know what organizations exist in order to help support or be supported by. Art bright since oct. 2021, we have provided sessions to 115 attendees of the program. The short-term objective of the program is to provide social interaction for the aging population and respite for memory loss caregivers. The long-term objective of the program is to provide support and education to the community about memory loss and the growing of the aging population that needs support. Communities of practice- this is a new program with different areas. One is called directors united which services the elk river and big lake area nonprofit leaders. The other is called nonprofits united which services the princeton area nonprofit leaders. These groups bring together nonprofit leaders to engage in networking, resource sharing, and community building within the various nonprofit organizations. The short term goal is to connect the local nonprofits for immediate needs. The long term goal is to build lasting relationships within the nonprofits so they can rely on each other and work together outside