Northfield Healthy Community Initiative

Nine Zumba instructors and around 60 community members filled the Northfield High School cafeteria on Saturday, May 11, for a Northfield Zumbathon! A Zumbathon is an extended Zumba class, Latin dance-based fitness, that serves as a fundraiser for a cause. For this event, the instructors chose to have all donations benefit the Northfield Youth Sports Collaborative scholarship fund because the scholarship fund helps all youth in Northfield participate in sports regardless of income. It was amazing to have the Zumba community come together to take a little of our time to dance so that we can provide more opportunities for Northfield youth to move and groove if they so choose! Participants won various raffle prizes, including an hour private yoga session with instructor Melissa Sharpe and an hour personal training with Juliana Lima. We all had a wonderful time, and we raised nearly $900 that will go to sports scholarships for low-income Northfield youth! Keep your eyes peeled for the next Zumbathon!
  - From Kathryn Schmidt, AmeriCorps Promise Fellow serving in Northfield through the Minnesota Alliance With Youth

Photo by Joy Riggs. From left to right, Emily Schmitz, Joyce Schlossin and Beth Endert

Three local women who led an after-school sewing group at Northfield Middle School have received the Healthy Community Initiative “Making a Difference” Award for May 2013. The award celebrates those groups and individuals in the community who have a positive influence on Northfield youth.

Joyce Schlossin started the group and recruited Beth Endert and Emily Schmitz to assist her. Over a 12-week period, they taught a group of about a dozen girls to make items such as scarves, mittens, headbands, placemats, potholders, pillows and cell phone holders.

“They were pleased – they couldn’t believe they could do it,” Endert said. “We’re already getting ideas for next time.”

Susan Sanderson, coordinator of the middle school TORCH program, said the women also taught the girls about the economics of sewing, how to save money and make the most out of every scrap of fabric.

“Joyce and her partners have great energy, and we are so fortunate to have them sharing their skills and love of sewing,” Sanderson said.

- Written by Joy Riggs, HCI Board member and freelance journalist

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The Healthy Community Initiative and the Northfield News present the Making a Difference Award cooperatively. If you know an individual or group that you would like to nominate for this award, click HERE for nomination guidelines and the easy-to-complete application or find HCI on Facebook.  Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis and are selected by a review team of HCI board members and local youth.

At their April 2013 board meeting, the Northfield Healthy Community Initiative (HCI) Board approved grants to support four projects and activities designed to benefit Northfield youth and 11 Service Learning projects designed by Arcadia middle school students.  The projects are all funded through HCI’s Investing in Youth grant program.

 

Funded projects included:

Summer Slide Prevention Program
Designed by teachers at Sibley Elementary School, this is a summer reading program that will support parents in their efforts to keep their elementary children reading and to preserve effective reading skills through the non-school summer months.

English Language Learners Year-End Celebration
Students in the Northfield High School English Language Learner (ELL) program arranged a year-end celebration of academic success.  The aim of the project is to recognize academic accomplishments throughout the year and foster increased school connectedness.

Autism Awareness
April is Autism Awareness Month. Tonya Yarmakov, a student, is organizing a gathering of her autism class members and their families in order to formally thank the staff members that work with the group.  Tonya is also organizing two bowling events for students involved in the autism program.

Cinco de Mayo Celebration
TEAM UP teachers at the Northfield Middle School planned the 3rd annual Cinco de Mayo Celebration where students and their families could celebrate and learn about Latino culture.  There were dance groups performing for the entertainment of students and their families.  The Tattered Pages Bookstore was also be open for families.

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Arcadia Middle School Service Learning Projects

Service learning is a teaching method that enriches learning by engaging students in meaningful service to their schools and communities.  HCI approved small start-up grants for the following projects designed by Arcadia Charter School middle school students:

1. Campfire Night.  A campfire and night games event meant for school bonding and for raising awareness for the Save the Depot campaign.
2. Donating Books to Women in Prison.  This was a book drive with donated books and funds to be sent to the Women’s Prison Book Project.
3. Blanket Making and Donating.  Students made blankets for Ruth’s House of Hope.
4. Bake Sale for Children with Cancer.  A fundraiser for the Children’s Hospitals of Minnesota’s cancer facility.
5. Prairie’s Edge Humane Society Fundraiser.  A bake sale fundraiser for the Prairie’s Edge Humane Society.
6. Soda Floats.  This was an event benefiting the Community Action Center’s Food Shelf.
7. Lollipop Sale.  This was a fundraiser for Ruth’s House of Hope.
8. Wreck-It Ralph Movie Night.  A fundraiser for Pennies for Peace, a non-profit organization that raises money to build schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
9. Helping Prairie’s Edge Humane Society.  Students made animal treats and toys for the animals of Prairie’s Edge Humane Society.
10. Bake Sale for Red Pandas.  A fundraiser dedicated to the preservation of Red Pandas.
11. Project Universal.  An event to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project, a non-profit that helps wounded soldiers and veterans.

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HCI offers Investing in Youth grants to projects and activities that:

• provide the opportunity for young people to develop positive intergenerational relationships with caring adults and/or
• connect Northfield youth with their communities (ex. neighborhood, school, wider Northfield)

Applications are reviewed monthly and are due by the second Monday of the month.  Visit www.northfieldhci.org/investinginyouthgrants for more information and to access the easy-to-complete application.

Funding for the HCI Investing in Youth grants program comes from the Northfield Hospital & Clinics, Northfield Area United Way, MMIC Health IT, and Allina Medical Clinic-Northfield.

Rice County is very fortunate to be able to host a facilitator training for the “Strengthening Families: For Parents and Youth Ages 10-14” program.  The training will be June 11-13, 2013, at St. Olaf College.  It will be led by Dr. Virginia Molgaard, the program’s developer.

Strengthening Families is an evidence-based program recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.  In independent research, it has been shown to dramatically decrease substance use and abuse, reduce aggression, and strengthen academic success in teens.

Click HERE for the registration form.  CEUs are available.

The registration deadline is May 15, 2013.

The training is sponsored by the St. Olaf Social Work & Family Studies Department and the Rice County Chemical Health Coalition.