Misc

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:

May is New Member Month for the Friends and Foundation of the Northfield Public Library.

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.

The Northfield Citizens Online (NCO) board is looking for two fans (or critics) of Northfield.org to join the “What’s Next for NCO?” workgroup.

The group, chaired by Christopher Tassava, will be meeting bi-weekly, and will look at the big picture question - what changes can we make to better pursue our mission “to create an electronic commons that strengthens the fabric of community in the greater Northfield area.”

What should we keep doing? What should we stop doing? What should we start doing?

The workgroup will develop questions (and methods) to gather feedback from the public about our future directions. The goal is to present concrete recommendations for short term and long term goals to the Northfield Citizens Online Board this summer.

  The Community Action Center of Northfield is seeking nominations for election to the Board of Directors.  You may nominate yourself or someone else by completing an application and including a letter describing the nominee's skills, background, and interest in serving on the Board.  Nominations will be reviewed for upcoming vacancies and maintained for future consideration.

The Northfield Skateboard Coalition has received the Healthy Community Initiative’s “Making a Difference” Award for March/April 2013. The award celebrates those groups and individuals in the community who have a positive influence on Northfield youth.

Rob Hardy, an adult adviser to the group, and filmmaker Cecilia Cornejo nominated the coalition members for the award, citing the dedication and resolve the youth demonstrated throughout the lengthy civic process of working to bring a permanent skate park to Northfield.

“There have been times when the adults have gotten frustrated, angry, or rude, and the kids have never done that. They’ve been models of good behavior and civility,” Hardy said.

The First UCC has decided to postpone the April 20 tree planting at River Bend Nature Center, but has rescheduled the planting for Saturday, May 4, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The public is welcome to join in this delayed Earth Day project. This is an intergenerational event, planting 150 bare root seedlings of Red Oak, White Oak and Basswood. Dress for the weather, and bring a picnic lunch and stay for the whole time, or come when you're available that day.

To register:   www.transitionnorthfield.org

RBNC is located in Faribaut at 1000 Rustad Drive.

For more information, call 507-645-7532.

More than 10 full-time AmeriCorps positions are available in Northfield for next school year working with youth and/or families.

CLICK HERE to see the descriptions and application processes for positions that are currently accepting applications.

Application review for many of the positions is underway so APPLY TODAY!

Positions are available with the Northfield Public Schools, Growing Up Healthy, the Northfield LINK Center, the Northfield Union of Youth/The Key, the Northfield Tackling Obstacles and Raising College Hopes (TORCH) program, and Accelerate Northfield.

Questions?  Contact the Northfield Healthy Community Initiative.

The brand new River Bend Nature Center Outdoor Adventures Programbegins in June. This exciting program seeks to engage both youth and adults in a variety of outdoor recreation activities. There will be programs on camping, fly-fishing, archery, slack lining, canoeing, and rock climbing. Many of the programs are designed for those with limited experience who are looking to try something new outside. 

At their February and March 2013 board meetings, the Northfield Healthy Community Initiative (HCI) Board approved grants to support eight projects and activities designed to benefit Northfield youth.  The projects are funded through HCI’s Investing in Youth grant program.

Funded projects included:

“Jungle Adventure” is the theme for this month’s edition of the Northfield Area Family YMCA’s popular Kids Night at the Y, set for Friday, March 22, at the National Guard Armory, 519 Division St.

Kids Night—an evening of fun conducted by the Y—is open to children ages 3 to 10. It features games, crafts, music and dinner. The program runs from 5 to 8 p.m. Dinner is served at 5:30 p.m.

YMCA members pay $10 each for the first two children in the family – a fee that include dinner – and $5 for each additional child. Nonmembers pay $15 each for the first two children in the family, then $10 for each additional child.

The Ron Griffith Young Leaders Fund announces a new grant recipient, Alex Beeby, operations manager at Just Food Co-op.

Alex participated in the Rising Star 2 (RS2) leadership training that was offered by Cooperative Development Services. This training has resulted in Just Food implementing trainings, communications and evaluations systems and establishing an employee personal development plan.

This opportunity allowed Alex to refine and reinforce approaches he has learned over the years and will continue to have an impact on not only Just Food Co-op, but on the larger community as well.

The Ron Griffith Young Leaders Fund announces new grant recipients, Victoria Ostenso and Ellie Youngblood, both representatives of Carleton College Student Farm.

Victoria and Ellie participated in a Sustainable Agriculture Education Conference in Corvallis, OR. Victoria and Ellie are developing a community outreach program through the Carleton Student Farm that involves teaching sustainable agriculture, plant science and cooking to Northfield area youth in the schools and summer programs. They are also working on networking with other food-related groups at Carleton and St. Olaf to fuel initiatives in the greater Northfield community.

Two longtime volunteers with a Northfield Boy Scout Troop have received the Northfield Healthy Community Initiative’s “Making a Difference” Award for January/February 2013. The award celebrates those groups and individuals in the community who have a positive influence on Northfield youth.

Ed Buchwald and Clark Webster have each served as adult leaders of the Carleton-based Troop 337 for more than four decades. Buchwald, a retired Carleton College geology professor, stepped down as Scoutmaster last October but still helps out with the troop, which he started in 1968. Webster joined the troop as its committee chair in about 1970, a position he still holds.

Both men greatly enjoy camping and backpacking, which is one reason they continue to volunteer with the troop, long past the days when their own sons went through scouting. They also have found it rewarding to share their knowledge and enthusiasm for the outdoors with the boys.

Four Northfield area residents have been added to the Northfield Area Family YMCA Board of Directors.

Named to serve three-year terms on the volunteer board were:
• Kris Estenson, associate director of Employer and Alumni Engagement at St. Olaf College.
• Kris Finger, owner of the Rare Pair and co-owner of the Quarterback Club.
• Kelly Irvine, director of marketing and communications for Carlson Capital Management.
• Jim Pokorney, former Northfield City Council member and owner of Medical Elements, LLC.