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LIFE By Sarah Stultz A renovation project nearly two years in the making is beginning to take shape in downtown Albert Lea. Youth for Christ’s The Rock, at 116 W. Clark St., is not only seeing upgrades to its exterior — which are perhaps the most visible — but also improvements on the interior. “It’s just a nice change up,” said Robin Gudal, director of operations. Her husband, Greg Gudal, the executive director of South Central Minnesota’s Youth for Christ, said about two years ago he and other leaders within the organization began talking about the need to renovate the building. The building’s sign was in terrible shape and water was getting in through the front walls, he said. “One thing has led to another,” Robin said. “We just needed to do something.” The group decided to move forward with a fundraising campaign to collect $60,000, reaching out to the community through phone calls and newsletters.
The Rock
takes on a new look downtown
Brandi Hagen
Greg Gudal, left, and Robin Gudal, discuss the renovations that the Youth for Christ building,The Rock, has had done.
The goal was to make the front part of the building more energy-efficient and more resistant to the weather. It should also help reduce utility bills. So far, $55,000 has been raised. Greg said initially he and others met with Minneapolis architect Pat Waddick to draw up some initial possibilities for the exterior and at first considered working through a city grant for some funding. In the end, though, they chose to do the work on their own, working with volunteers and hiring contractors when necessary. The old windows, doors, awnings and signs have been removed, and in its place are new windows, doors, awnings, framing and stone work. The main sign and exterior lighting have yet to be installed. On the inside, volunteers and contractors raised the ceiling in the front part of the building to reveal intricate textured ceilings, installed new sheetrock on the front wall and pulled off sheetrock on another wall to leave exposed brick. They have also renovated the offices, upgraded heating and rerun some vents. 4P. 2
PROGRESS
3
A PUBLICATION OF THE ALBERT LEA TRIBUNE • FEBRUARY 2013
Goy Majiok, 11, Christian Graves, 15, and Madison Seedorf, 11, are three of the kids who spend time at The Rock.
650 Kids the local facility serves in a year.
1,000 3,500 Estimated loaves of bread given out in the last year to youth and other organizations.
Estimated meals that will be served this year.
1990
14
Year The Rock moved into its current location.
Employees (full-time and parttime) at Youth For Christ’s building in Albert Lea.
55,000 Dollars raised thus far for the building renovations.
Page 2 • Albert Lea Tribune • Sunday, February 24, 2013 • PROGRESS 2013
Brandi Hagen
The food area in The Rock has yet to be renovated. The plan is to install corrugated metal along the wall.
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The Rock to wrap up by April 1 Continued from Page 1 Robin said they still plan to install corrugated metal along the wall in the food area, along with new carpet,
interior lighting and shades for the upper windows. They plan to purchase new high-top tables, re-cover the pool tables and paint
some of the walls. “It’s a cozier atmosphere,” she said. They would like to be finished with the work by April 1.
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The ceiling in the front part of The Rock was raised to reveal the original ceiling. It then was painted red. The worn pool tables will also be updated with new felt.
History of Youth For Christ South Central Minnesota Youth for Christ started in Albert Lea in 1960, holding monthly meetings for young people. The faith-based organization was in two other locations on Clark Street before moving into its building known as The Rock. The main part of the building houses a drop-in center for youth, giving kids, typically second grade and older, a place to come during the afternoons to meet in a supervised, safe environment with their peers. Offices are in the other half. They have a bigger mission than offering kids a place to meet, Greg said. The drop-
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in center is a tool to obtain that mission. “It’s good to have a place for kids to go, but if we really want to help them, we need to invest in them,” Greg said. He said the organization is focused on strong relationships, moral choices and spirituality, academics, safety and health, work ethic and service to the community The organization gives food to the youth each day after school, and meals are served two nights a week. Additional meetings are held for the youth on some evenings. “We want to reach kids, to see lives changed and to develop leaders in the end,” he said.
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PROGRESS 2013 • Sunday, February 24, 2013 • Albert Lea Tribune • Page 3
64
Percent of children at Hawthorne Elementary School who receive free or reduced lunch.
28
Children per week who benefit from the backpack program.
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Meals, two for breakfast and two for lunch, per child included in the backpacks.
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From big kids to little children … By Sarah Stultz
Several Albert Lea groups have stepped up in the last year to help reduce hunger for children at one elementary school. Through the efforts of the Albert Lea Salvation Army, two local service clubs, the Freeborn County United Way and a social worker at Hawthorne Elementary School, backpacks of food are being sent home each weekend for 28 children in need. “We know that there are kids who are not eating enough on the weekend,” said Cassandra Moffitt, case worker with the Albert Lea Salvation Army. “If they’re not eating enough, they’re not going to be able to concentrate to learn. It’s a domino effect.” The weekend backpack food program originated about a year ago as
community leaders brainstormed ideas on how to have a hunger-free Minnesota, said United Way Director Ann Austin. At the same time, Daybreakers Kiwanis Club member Catherine Buboltz, a Tribune account executive, was meeting in a Community Education board meeting. She said it came up that some of the students in the Albert Lea School District could not afford to buy items from the healthy snack carts and that they had little if anything to eat over the weekend when they were not in school. With similar backpack programs being successful in other communities, Austin suggested the idea to Buboltz, who began looking into the potential of it happening here. Austin said the United Way’s role was basically to pull together 4P. 4
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Page 4 • Albert Lea Tribune • Sunday, February 24, 2013 • PROGRESS 2013
Backpacks benefit needy children Continued from Page 3 all the entities for the project. Through Buboltz’s efforts, the Daybreakers Kiwanis approved funding $1.75 per child per week and gained approval by Superintendent Mike Funk to pilot the project at one school. Volunteers from both Daybreakers and Golden KI Kiwanis load the backpacks each week at the Albert Lea Salvation Army, and Katie Nielsen, social worker with Hawthorne Elementary School, helped determine which families and children were to receive the backpacks. She said at the beginning of the school year, there were many families at Hawthorne who had trouble paying their lunch bills even when they were already on a reduced-price schedule. There were also kids in classrooms who were always hungry, and teachers were providing snacks for many of the kids. She talked with some of the families and others who contacted her for help, and they were grateful and excited to be a part. “Most kids have backpacks, so it’s nothing unusual to see a kid with a backpack,” Nielsen said.
Mark Fenstermacher works for Mayo Clinic Health System and is a member of the Daybreakers Kiwanis Club.
How does the program work? Every week, usually on Thursdays, volunteers The backpacks each weekend contain enough food for two breakfast meals and two lunch meals for each child, plus snacks. Foods commonly placed in the bags are cereal, oatmeal, microwaveable soup packages, pudding and gelatin.
with the Daybreakers Kiwanis or Golden KI Kiwanis go to the Salvation Army to load food into the backpacks and then take them to Hawthorne for distribution on Friday. The bags, which are all different, are numbered for the family to which they will be given. The volunteers are given a list of how many and what items to include. Buboltz said the members of the clubs have been positive about the program and have loaded the backpacks dozens of times. The program began in February 2012 and then restarted at the beginning of the 2012-13 school year. “The kids are very appreciative of the food,” Nielsen said. “I’m really grateful that the Kiwanis Club keeps funding it.”
What goes in each bag? Moffitt said each bookbag provides enough for two breakfast and two lunch meals for each child, along with snacks. That could include a box of cereal or a couple packets of oatmeal for breakfast and possibly some microwave soup meals for the lunch meals. It might also include a jar of peanut butter and some applesauce. Sometimes treats are also included. Moffitt said her goal is to give food that is easy to prepare, so if
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Could other schools in the district benefit? Buboltz said if there are other service clubs or churches who want to get involved through volunteering or donations, the program may be able to expand to other schools. In addition to the backpack program, Austin said community leaders continue to talk about other ways hunger can be addressed in the community. “It’s not just about eating enough,” she said. “It’s about getting proper nutrition.” For more information about the backpack program, contact Buboltz at 377-0835 or dbkiwanis@ gmail.com.
Daybreakers Kiwanis volunteers, from left, Rex Stotts, Phil Hintermeister and Mark Fenstermacher load up backpacks with food at the Albert Lea Salvation Army for eight families to take home over the weekend in early February.
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parents are working on the weekends, they don’t have to worry about making complicated meals. “This is something small that we can do with relatively minimal effort,” she said. After the backpacks go home to the students, they bring the empty bags back to school by Wednesday of each week, and the process begins again.
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PROGRESS 2013 • Sunday, February 24, 2013 • Albert Lea Tribune • Page 5
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Page 6 • Albert Lea Tribune • Sunday, February 24, 2013 • PROGRESS 2013
The goal is to get kids reading well by third grade By Kelli Lageson
Kelli Lageson
Jenna Miller, a Title 1 teacher at Hawthorne Elementary School, works with a small group of fifth-grade students. The students from left are Oziel Valdez, Lilly Laite, Jacob Prihoda and Logan Schumaker.
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Everyone knows reading is important, but staff at Albert Lea Area Schools have made reading a big priority. That’s because if reading isn’t a priority the numbers are pretty grim. Like the fact that 74 percent of thirdgraders who struggle with reading will still be struggling in 12th grade. The average number of books in the home of a child in poverty? Just 0.5 books. Then there’s the widely used adage that before third grade a child is learning to read, and after third-grade they’re reading to learn. Albert Lea School District’s Title I coordinator and K-12 reading specialist, Mary Jo Dorman, said she hopes people try to understand the importance of reading. “If they’re not reading well by the third grade, it’s highly predictive of their future academic performance,” Dorman said. One of Dorman’s goals is to get more books in the hands of students, and at home, too, not just at school. She’s applied for grants and acquired boxes of free books to give out to students, so at least they have a few books at home. The district’s Title I program is another way to help struggling students. It’s a federally funded program that allows for extra teachers at each elementary school who give extra help to students who aren’t meeting grade level in math or reading. Katie Nielsen, mother of first-grader Alex Nielsen, said Title I has helped her son with his reading skills.
“It’s been going very well,” Nielsen said. “He has improved a lot.” Nielsen said Alex gets to bring books home each evening. He also won a big prize at the Title I family event held earlier this month. Alex won a basket of books and the chance to have lunch with Albert Lea Police Chief Dwaine Winkels. “He’s so excited,” Nielsen said. The event was held at the Albert Lea Public Library for Title I reading students and their families. Dorman said more than 300 people came, and the school district was able to give away hundreds of books — via grants — to the families. “We also wanted to get people exposed to the public library,” Dorman said. She heard from some children that they thought they would have to pay to rent the books, so she was able to explain that they can sign up for a library card and borrow books for free. Dorman said the school also wanted to involve the community, so they had firefighters come and read books and prizes included lunch with the police chief and lunch with the mayor of Albert Lea. Dorman said Albert Lea Mayor Vern Rasmussen has been supportive of the district’s reading efforts. He will sign a proclamation on March 1, in front of a class of first-graders, to promote literacy across Albert Lea. She’s glad that so many people are supportive of reading efforts in the schools. “We know we have to expose them to as many books as we can,” Dorman said.
The Albert Lea School District recently held a special night for all Title 1 reading students and their families at the Albert Lea Public Library. Teachers dressed up in costumes and students were able to apply for library cards and receive prizes and books.
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PROGRESS 2013 • Sunday, February 24, 2013 • Albert Lea Tribune • Page 7
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Page 8 • Albert Lea Tribune • Sunday, February 24, 2013 • PROGRESS 2013
Quietly, one group of people has led several health initiatives By Sarah Stultz A children’s book that encourages healthy activity. Support for the farmers market. A study on bike routes. Was this due to the Blue Zones? Or maybe the Statewide Health Improvement Program? Nope. Those are some of the initiatives Pioneering Healthier Communities has funded in the Freeborn County area since 2009. Started in 2004 as a national initiative of the YMCA’s Active America, the grant program aims to create permanent systematic environmental and policy changes that lead to a healthier community, said Dennis Dieser, Albert Lea Family Y director and co-coach of Albert Lea’s Pioneering Healthier Communities committee. Though the $60,000
has been distributed through the Albert Lea Family Y, it has gone to support at least 10 health initiatives throughout the community — including other health and wellness projects supported by the Statewide Health Improvement Program and the AARP/Blue Zones Vitality Project. “We kind of had the perfect storm with having all of those available at the same time,” Dieser said. Ann Austin, Freeborn County United Way executive director and co-coach of the local program’s efforts, said the grant funding has brought people together who have a common interest in creating a healthy environment. “I think it’s really benefited our farmers market. It’s benefited our school district, and Northbridge Mall
it’s brought everyone together,” Austin said. “It’s been amazing what our community has been able to accomplish in the last four years.” Here is what the funding has supported:
Refrigerators for healthy snack cart program: $5,400 Some of the first funding Pioneering Healthier Communities gave was to purchase two commercial-grade refrigerators for Hawthorne and Sibley elementary schools. The refrigerators allow the schools to keep healthy snack options for students that are given out each day. The organization partnered with the Statewide Health Improvement Project, which funded the carts for the snacks. Foods such as apples, string cheese, pretzels
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Sibley Elementary School first-grader Carson Severtson, front, eats Goldfish crackers from the school’s snack cart as he colors in his classroom in February.
and Goldfish are offered. Dieser said members of the community have donated to the program as well to make sure all kids can afford healthy snacks.
Front Street bike lanes: $20,000 One of the primary focuses of the local Pioneering Healthier Communities group has been to increase opportunities for extracurricular activity and encourage other modes of transportation. “It’s a good thing to be able to get around by walking and biking,” Dieser said. So when the idea for bike lanes on Front Street came forward, the group joined in to show their support. Dieser and others at-
Sarah Stultz
Photo by Melissa Baus
DOWNTOWN EVENTS Wind Down Wednesdays June 26, July 17, August 21
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• Eddie Cochran Weekend • Freeborn County Fair • Big Island Rendezvous • Big Island BBQ • Twin City Powerboat Races • Vintage Pride Snowmobile Drag & Swap • Fountain Lake Powerboat Drags
A bicyclist rides leisurely on the new Front Street bike lanes near Skyline Plaza in July 2011.
Brandi Hagen
Madaylnn Baas, 8, of Geneva goes through the obstacle course at the Bike Rodeo in May 2012.
tended Albert Lea City Council meetings and other city meetings to encourage sidewalks and safety for bicyclists and pedestrians. The lanes, which go on Front Street from U.S. Highway 69 to Frank Avenue, were ultimately approved in November 2010. Pioneering Healthier Communities was one of three entities to contribute money for the project. The money donated covered two or three years of paint re-striping. “It’s fun to drive down Front Street and see people riding their bikes,” he said. “For the most part people are using it correctly.” Officials have said the bike lanes are slowing
down motorists on the street, reducing semi traffic and increasing safety for bicyclists and pedestrians.
Bike Safety Rodeo: less than $500 At about the same time the Front Street bike lanes were implemented, several groups came together to sponsor the community’s first Family Bike Safety Rodeo. The rodeo, which was free for children and adults, featured different stations designed to help kids learn the rules of the road, how to handle a bike and how to properly wear a helmet. Free helmets were also handed out. Dieser said Pioneering Healthier 4P. 9
Sarah Stultz
Virginia Brewster of Albert Lea looks at corn and cucumbers from a vendor at the Albert Lea Farmers Market during National Farmers Market Week. Continued from Page 8 Communities funding supported advertising for the event. The event, at Southwest Middle School, has been offered in 2011 and 2012.
Freeborn County health and wellness website: $1,200 The Healthy Freeborn County website was created as a communitywide effort with multiple partners, including schools, worksites, health care providers and community organizations. It shows health initiatives undertaken through various organizations, including Pioneering Healthier Communities, the Statewide Health Improvement Program, the National Vitality Center and the Freeborn County Family Services Collaborative. The website can be found at healthyfreeborncounty.org.
Kids activity book: $5,000 Every elementary school student in Albert Lea received a coloring and activity book titled “The Healthy Adventures of Al, Bert and Lea.” The book aims to educate children about health and wellness. It includes a story about three boys who
begin their summer vacation by taking part in several recreational opportunities in the city. It also has word searches and puzzles. The Pioneering Healthier Communities group started the book in 2010 and finished it in 2011.
Oak Island Disc Golf Course: $5,000 Dieser said Pioneering Healthier Communities contributed toward this project to create an additional recreational opportunity for area residents. The project took out the nine-hole disc golf course on the upper end of Bancroft Bay Park and replaced it with an 18-hole, tournament-
quality course. Many local disc golfers provided the labor and raised funds for equipment and tee pads. He said the Pioneering Healthier Communities did not have a part in choosing the location for the course. That was determined by the Albert Lea Parks and Advisory Board, based on the fact the smaller course already existed there and at the request of course designer Ross Brandt.
PROGRESS 2013 • Sunday, February 24, 2013 • Albert Lea Tribune • Page 9 The advertising was put debit card tokens but Signs for community gardens at Halverson out through the Local not when using EBT Elementary School: Food Producers Market tokens. $35-$40 Association. The community Study on shared-user Austin said there are gardens at Halverson paths in Freeborn several unique items Elementary School were County: $10,000 grown locally that many a collaboration between The local commitpeople don’t know multiple entities. They tee has set aside this about. By promoting aim to help children and local farmers, it can help funding to support a families connect with sustain these efforts. Freeborn County-wide the source of their food “Having local produce comprehensive plan and to provide educais important,” she said. study about shared user tional tools for educators paths. on nutrition. Farmers market Committee member The plots have been advertising: $2,000 Lynn Scheevel said there used by Halverson stuPioneering Healthier is a part in Albert Lea’s dents and their families. Communities donated comprehensive plan Dieser said Pioneering funds to promote the dealing with nonmotorHealthier Communities efforts of the Albert ized transportation, but contributed money for Lea Farmers Market by there is not one for the signs at the gardens. encouraging residents to entire county. take advantage of locally The study would look Dollars remaining: grown produce. at existing bike lanes about $10,000 The market in 2011 and shared user paths as Dieser said the brought in a scanning well as areas where there Pioneering Healthier machine equipped to could be better connecCommunities committee handle credit and debit tions or expansions. is working diligently to cards, Supplemental “What’s the bigger vimake sure the remaining Nutrition Assistance sion in the county?” said money is used wisely. Program vouchers and Scheevel, who has been There is not a deadEBT transactions. on the committee for line for when the funds When a card is two years. “How do we have to be used by, and scanned, people are the group continues to tie in biking and shared given wooden tokens to meet once a month, now user paths county wide, use to purchase items. under the umbrella of People can get cash back not just in the city the Vitality Center. limits? when using credit or
INDEPENDENCE, SAFETY AND AFFORDABLE LUXURY
Sponsorship for Know your Growers: $2,500 This donation, used for advertising, encouraged people to get more connected to local farmers in the community and the different produce they grow.
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Eric Harbacheck tosses his disc toward the Hole 11 basket at Oak Island Disc Golf Course last summer. The funds Pioneering Healthier Communities provided helped pay for the Innova Discatcher baskets.
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Thank you all team members for your support and dedication! Because of you, we HAVE EXCEEDED over $500,000 in United Way donations.
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Page 10 • Albert Lea Tribune • Sunday, February 24, 2013 • PROGRESS 2013