Two Local Women Receive Young Leaders Grants

Angelica Koch and Monica Caldwell have been awarded grants by the Ron Griffith Young Leaders Fund. These grants will enable Koch and Caldwell to pursue additional training contributing to their future leadership in Northfield.

Koch former Director of HealthFinders Cooperative, Inc., a free medical clinic serving low-income, uninsured Rice County residents. Over the past four years, she has played an instrumental role in launching the clinic and enabling it to be a vital part of the Northfield community. As the main fundraiser for HealthFinders, Koch is acutely aware that procuring grants is essential in keeping the clinic open and ensuring its long-term viability. Consequently, she has been “eager to gain as much professional training as possible for the ultimate success and sustainability of HealthFinders Collaborative.”

In securing an RGYLF grant, Koch has been able to participate in the Advanced Grantseeking Seminar offered by the Minnesota Council on Foundations. As a leader within the Northfield community, she appreciates the opportunity “to gain tools necessary to taking [her] grant writing and research to the next level” and she looks forward “to extending grant writing expertise gained in the seminar to fellow colleagues/leaders”.

Caldwell, a beginning farmer in the Northfield area, will be participating in Annie’s Project with the help of a RGYLF grant. Annie's Project is an educational program dedicated to strengthening women's roles in the modern farm enterprise. Currently, classes are being taught in 19 states. Through six educational sessions, Annie's Project offers training to women farmers in the area of farm management, financial planning, and marketing. It fosters problem solving, record keeping, decision-making skills, and networking with farm women.

Caldwell brings to Northfield experience as an educator, manager, and community builder. She has been an environmental educator at Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, ME and a program manager at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, Illinois. She is currently participating in the Land Stewardship Project’s Farm Beginnings Program and plans to operate a small, local, organic farm in the Northfield area. She also looks forward to using her skills “to bring students out to the farm for on-farm education opportunities”.  In addition, she hopes to collaborate with the YMCA’s Ron Griffith Young Leaders Fund and Just Food Co-op in creating “outreach programs focused on the healthy foods, the environment, and nutrition.”

For more information about the Ron Griffith Young Leaders Fund please visit the Northfield Area Family YMCA website at www.northfieldymca.org or call 507-645-0088.