I Can!

Self-empowerment.  What is that?  It can be kind of a vague subject.  To me, it means to give power and authority to yourself.  Usually it’s the power to be in control of yourself, and the self-awareness that can give you confidence in your abilities and your interactions with others.  It seems like something that we aren’t always aware of, and we might take it for granted.  Personally, I know I don’t congratulate myself when I have a good discussion and am able to confidently express myself.  That’s just how interactions are, and I don’t give it a thought.

But it’s not uncommon for my example to be the opposite of how people feel.  Non-assertive communication styles and, on the other end of the spectrum, aggressive communication are not uncommon.  However, these ways of expression can become hurtful to people and detrimental to relationships, and it can get in the way of learning about ourselves and others.

At the Sherburne County Area United Way, we believe that the ability to know yourself is important, and it is one of the goals of this week’s iCan Summer Camp.  The iCan camp is a week-long camp that started on Monday and finishes on Friday.  The group we have at the camp is a collection of middle-schoolers from the community.  The campers get to participate in a variety of activities that will give them the opportunities to get to learn more about themselves, others and how they interact with others.

The other side of self-empowerment, and another goal of the iCan camp, is to gain self-reliance skills.  An important part of feeling empowered is to know that you can do things for yourself, knowing that you can rely on yourself and it’s within your power to achieve things.  The work that we do with the iCan camp strives to give the campers the knowledge and skills that will help them be self-reliant.

There have been a variety of activities that the campers have been able to be a part of, such as going to Hillside HOPE Thru Hooves.  Hillside HOPE Thru Hooves is an organization in St. Michael that partners with the community to help youth, families, groups and individuals to help find solutions to the challenges of life through horse assisted therapy.  The campers also got to hear presentations from Rivers of Hope and the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Department.  Today, they are visiting CAER to help put together Kidz Kitz, which are meals for kids home during summer vacation who might otherwise not have a meal.

All the while, the iCan campers have been learning about how they interact with others, how that impacts their relationships, and what alternatives there are.  It has been an opportunity for the campers to grow, and possibly even change in a positive way, making them more empowered young adults.  All of this is with the goal that these middle-schoolers will keep that empowerment, and even be an example to others on how to interact and be self-empowered.

Celebrate Summer with Fun New Activities

Blog – First Day of Summer 2011

Happy First Day of Summer!  Sure, it’s cloudy and rainy and the high is only supposed to be around 70 degrees… but it is still officially summer.  So even though the weather might not be cooperating, I’ll take it.  After all, even a wet and windy summer day is a great day.

There’s always so much to do during the summer.  Especially for kids, it’s the most fun time of the year.  A time when you get to be with friends, stay up later, and dedicate yourself to having fun, rather than focusing on homework.  Summer means getting to go to the lake, going swimming, campfires, going to movies, bike rides, water balloon fights… I could continue, but I think you’ve got the picture. 

Unfortunately summer can also mean boredom, as I remember from when I was a kid.  After those first few weeks of freedom, glorious freedom, what is there left to do?  In honor of the first day of summer, I have three tips on how to keep boredom away.

Tip #1:  Make Your Own Kite

• Cut a piece of paper into a square
• Take two sticks – such as wooden shish kabob skewers – and glue them to the paper in a +, so the end of each stick is at a corner of the paper
• Attach one end of a string to a toilet paper roll and the other end of the string to your kite
• Make sure the glue is dry, and then try out your kite!

*This is a simple kite, you can find more complex designs online.

Tip #2: Homemade Bubbles

• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons glycerin
• 4 table spoons dish-washing liquid (such as Dawn, not dishwasher detergent)
• Mix ingredients together, and enjoy!
• You can use pipe-cleaners, metal hangars, cookie cutters and more as the bubble wands

*You can substitute glycerin for light karo syrup, which is found at most grocery stores

Tip #3: Homemade Snow Cones

• Use a blender to crush ice cubes
• Mix 2 cups sugar, ¾ cups water and a Kool-Aid packet to make syrup

*You can also buy flavoring for snow cones instead of making it

In addition to things you can do at home, there are also fun summer activities offered by local organizations and businesses that can keep kids and grown-ups alike occupied.  You could visit Reading Frenzy bookstore in Zimmerman and find out about the summer activities they have planned, visit the Splash Park in Princeton, or check out your local library for activities they’re doing.  These are just a few of the things to do in Sherburne County, for more information on things happening in the community you can check the local paper, go online or  visit organizations that have been involved in the past.

Of course, it’s always fun to grab a good book or have a movie day, but always keep in mind the best thing about summer is the memories that you get to make.  Have fun, and feel free to share tips and stories about fun summer things you’ve done!

How People Make the United Way Work

How does the Sherburne County Area United Way work?  This is one of the questions that I’ve been asked a lot recently, ever since I started working for the United Way.  There are many ways that I could answer this question: We raise money to help the Sherburne County Area.  We identify community impact areas through surveys of community members so we can find which areas within the community need to be improved.  Both of those are accurate, but one thing I make sure to say is “people”.  Everything we do is for the people in our community, and we could not do what we do without the help of so many wonderful people.

Let me give you an example.  Take an event we did this week: Ladies Night Out.  Ladies Night Out, an annual event, was planned this year by Sherburne County Area United Way’s Women’s Leadership Council as well as employees of the United Way.  Over forty vendors participated in the event, bringing purses for the silent auction and offering free services to the people who attended.  The members of the Women’s Leadership Council not only helped plan the event, but they brought volunteers to work at the event, ensuring that it ran smoothly.  Many of those who bought tickets had been to Ladies Night Out in the past, and brought more friends with them this year. 

It’s only with help that we can achieve our goals and advance the common good within the Sherburne County Area, and we not only receive help but we also provide it.  We give grants to a number of agencies within the community, all of which help create opportunities and inspire hope within the community.

How do we work?  We work with people.  Everything we do, Ladies Night Out included, could not be done without the great people involved who give their time, services, and skills to help our causes and who donate to us. 

For more information and ways to become involved you can visit our website www.shercounitedway.org

Ladies Night Out

Two things that I love to do are to have fun and to give back.  Do you know what I like even more than having fun and giving back?  It’s the opportunity to do both at the same time.  The opportunity to enjoy myself and give back while I’m doing it, that’s great.

Sometimes it can be difficult to find such events where you can have fun while making a positive contribution.  But for readers of this blog, it just got a bit easier.  The Sherburne County Area United Way’s Women’s Leadership Council is putting on its third annual Ladies Night Out on Tuesday, June 14^th, at Carousell Works in Big Lake.  This event gives people the perfect opportunity to have a fun night out, while also supporting the United Way and local businesses.  What a great combination.

Ladies Night Out features many free services from local businesses, including massages and product samples.  Food is being catered by A Catered Service.  In addition to these services, there is also going to be entertainment by the Sisters and a fashion show by maurices.  There is also the opportunity to participate in a purse auction.

Sure, this sounds like a lot of fun, but how is it giving back?  Well, the cost of tickets, either $20.00 in advance or $25.00 at the door, benefits the Sherburne County Area United Way.  All monies raised will go toward local human service agencies that are making a difference in our community.  But more than just providing money, participating in the event connects community members with each other.  Ladies Night Out is not only a chance to get together, it is an opportunity to learn more about how the Sherburne County Area United Way and the Women’s Leadership Council impact the community.

If you’re interested in tickets for Ladies Night Out, or if you’d just like to learn more, you can check our Facebook page or call 763-633-5886.

Welcome to Our Blog!

Hello!  Welcome to the new blog for the Sherburne County Area United Way!  We’re all new to this, so let me tell you what this blog is all about.

First and foremost, I hope that this blog will serve as a resource for its readers, as well as an opportunity to discuss many of the issues that are present in our communities.  We work with community members to find out what issues are most important and most need to be addressed.  This blog will address these community issues and provide information and resources related to them.

But that’s not all this blog will talk about.  Our goal at the 

Sherburne County Area United Way

 is to create long lasting changes that prevent problems from happening in the first place.  In addition to discussing issues brought up by the community, this blog will discuss other issues that come up either in the community, the media or the news.  No matter what the topic is, we will always relate it to local circumstances.  After all, there’s no point in discussing an issue in Texas if it’s not relevant to the Sherburne County area. 

I also really want to point out that while we will be talking about a lot of serious topics, we are also going to have fun with this blog.  We’re here to promote health and happiness, not doom and gloom.

Of course we want this blog to be informative, but we also would like to create a dialogue.  What you have to say matters to us, so feel free to comment on our blog.  You can also like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.  Or all three, we love hearing from you!