As we entered our 2nd year of the Cov-Id pandemic, we worked hard to find ways to do good things in our community, while keeping everyone safe. We still relied on Zoom, but we did have some in-person gatherings later in the year. Here’s an overview of the things we did:
MAKING CONNECTIONS
In May we starting weekly Wednesday Morning Park Chats where anyone who wanted to could join us in a different park each week. When it got to cold to be outside we moved to Barnes and Noble at Har Mar. We met a total of 34 times!
Real Life Mr. Rogers was a 2 part series:
- Good Neighborhoods
- Welcoming Neighbors
We introduced the concept of time banks.
We tried one Sidewalk Talk Listening session at the Library.
SOCIAL JUSTICE
This year we hosted our 3rd annual Juneteenth Celebration in our community.
In 2020 we hosted a series called “Talking About Race” based on the materials from the National Museum of African American History”.
In 2021 we added 4 additional sessions based on other sources:
- Microaggressions
- White supremacy
- How Race is Lived in America
- Binary Code of Race
This was a 3-part series:
- Ojibwe Place Name Reclamation
- Sovereignty
- Dakota Language Preservation
We partnered with Shoreview Human Rights Commission and the Ramsey County Library to bring in speakers on the following topics:
- Advancing Inclusive Economic Growth
- Racism in Policing
- Racism in Real Estate
- Ending the School to Prison Pipeline
We moderated two programs on basic needs with Nine North this year:
- Examining Food Insecurity in the North Suburbs
- Homeless in the Suburbs
VOLUNTEERING
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to volunteer as a group. Here’s where we were this year (considering Cov-Id):
- Kite Day in the Park
- Kids in Need MN (twice!)
- Wild Rice Festival
CIVICS
With a grant from Ramsey County, we worked on voter engagement and registration with
- Pop-ups at 9 community events
- Hosted a Party at Unity Park
After learning about Racial Covenants, in July and August we invited Roseville City Staff to teach us how City Code impacts who can build what and where:
- Zoning Code
- Building Code
SUSTAINABILITY
We partnered on our first program related to Sustainability.
COLLECTIONS AND DONATIONS
This year we did a Red Bin collection of Winter Layers for people experiencing homelessness.
Our 2nd Bake Sale to buy new winter coats for school kids was a success!
For those who don’t have a garage to participate in the city-wide garage sale, we created a No Garage Garage Sale at Calvary Church.
FAITH
We like to find opportunities to bring local faith communities together. This was a discussion of community needs and the Angel Fund.
FUN !
For the second year, Kiwanis Malt Shop at the State Fair provided free kites so we could have Kite Day in the Park
With pandemic still hanging on, we promoted local restaurants and encouraged people to order take-out!
The Roseville Visitors Association created Restaurant bingo when we asked for their help to support local restaurants.