Preparing youth & families for healthy lives
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An electronic newsletter from your friends at NYFS Preparing youth & families for healthy lives |
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www.nyfs.org |
December 2007 |
IN THIS ISSUE: |
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Tip for a Perfect Holiday: Forget About Perfection NYFS is Changing Lives for the Better The McKnight Foundation awards $100,000 to NYFS for Discovery Initiative Penny Pinchers Thrift Store Celebrates Grand Reopening Target Donates $10,000 for Penny Pinchers Vouchers Rising Costs Create New Crisis for Low-Income Families NYFS Sponsors Warm Hearts, Warm Coats Drive Taste Wrap Up Contact Information |
If you have any comments or suggestions for future publications, please contact Sandra Bahr sandra@nyfs.org. |
Dreaming of that perfect holiday season? Enchanted by the idea of a loving, close-knit family gathered by the fireside singing songs but dread the idea of your own squabbling relatives coming to visit?
Stop dreaming and get real – you’ll be much happier says NYFS Director of Outpatient Mental Health Rachel Cain. “Put enjoyment as a higher priority than getting everything right.” As in all other areas of our lives, something about the holiday season is bound to be less than perfect. Fixating on getting all elements of the season “just right” is a certain prescription for stress and disappointment.
“Do you want to remember being tired and cranky and not enjoying your family, or do you want to remember being relaxed and having some good conversations with your kids?” Cain says. “Once you have decided how you want to remember the season, make it a conscious priority to do things that facilitate that vision.” That doesn’t mean running ragged trying to bake sixteen varieties of cookies, hand writing 116 holiday cards or breaking the bank buying extravagant presents.
It does mean taking frequent breaks from holiday tasks and savoring the season. “Consciously build in treats for yourself during a stressful day,” says Cain. “You might say ‘I’m going to stop at 4 p.m. and have a cup of tea,’ and then you have to make sure you actually do it.”
Cain suggests participating in only the holiday activities you and your family truly enjoy. Assume that there is no one “right” way to celebrate and make a conscious decision to savor the time you do spend on holiday activities.
It may not be “perfect” but it could be the best holiday you have ever had.
For more information about coping with holiday stress, click on the following link from the Mayo Clinic.
A Note from Kay Andrews, President, Northwest Youth & Family Services.
In an instant, our lives can change. A troubling diagnosis, a crisis or a painful revelation can stretch or even break apart the safety net of friends, family or resources that we thought we could rely upon.
Every day at Northwest Youth & Family Services, we are dedicated to providing a wide safety net for our community. We are changing lives for the better, one person and one family at a time.
Whether it is a single mother struggling to find safe housing for her children, an adolescent battling mental illness, a parent at wits end with a strong-willed child, or a youth in trouble with the law: because of your support, all of these people can and do find help at NYFS.
While we may not be able to turn a life around in an instant, we are committed to spending the time and securing the funding for programs and services that prepare youth and families for healthy lives. Click on this link to learn more about how NYFS is helping prepare a youth in our Diversion Program for a better life as he recovers from addiction.
Since our beginning in 1976, donors like you have been the key element in our collective success. Together we can do so much more than any one of us could do individually. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to NYFS this holiday season. Together we are changing lives for the better. Donations can be sent to:
Northwest Youth and Family Services
Attn: Jerry Hromatka
3490 Lexington Ave. N.
Shoreview, MN 55126
You are also welcome to make a safe and secure online donation via PayPal on our web site www.nyfs.org. Whatever you chose to do, please know your partnership with NYFS is greatly appreciated.
The McKnight Foundation recently awarded NYFS $100,000 over the next two years to fund the NYFS Discovery Initiative – a new approach to providing meaningful out-of-school experiences for youth 11-21.
The Discovery Initiative goes beyond just providing young people something to do after school. The program supports learning – in and out of the classroom – along with developing critical thinking skills that will help them move into adulthood and be productive, contributing community members. This is critical to their success in life and to our community’s long-term success.
NYFS plans to serve 120 youth each year through this program. For more information about the Discovery Initiative, please contact Elissa Achten, Discovery Coach, at 651-379-3413.
NYFS’ Penny Pinchers Thrift Store celebrated its grand reopening on Dec. 4 at the Moundsview Square Mall. Due to increased demand for high quality, slightly used merchandise, the store recently moved to a larger location within the mall. The event was attended by Mounds View Mayor Rob Marty and City Council Member Carol Mueller.
In addition to providing low cost, high quality clothing, household items and furniture, Penny Pinchers also serves as a work skills training site for at-risk youth. The store is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The store is located in the Moundsview Square Mall, 2565 County Road 10 in Mounds View. For more information call 763-783-3626.
Target recently awarded a $10,000 grant to NYFS to support the voucher program at our Penny Pinchers Thrift Store. 
The vouchers help our school social workers serve families who are struggling to provide the basic necessities for their children. We also serve families who have been directed to us through emergency hotlines or other service organizations such as the Ralph Reeder Food Shelf in New Brighton. NYFS serves about 150 families and individuals a year through this program.
The vouchers can be redeemed at our Penny Pinchers Thrift Store in Mounds View. The store sells gently used housewares, clothes, outerwear, furniture and other items and is a valuable resource to low-income families looking for affordable goods in the suburbs. The store itself is also a training site for youth who are at risk of failing in a traditional workplace.
Since opening its doors, Target has given 5% of its income to organizations that support education, the arts and safe families and communities. Today that translates to $3 million every week.
For more information about Penny Pinchers, or the voucher program, please call the store at 763-783-3626.
The cost of living is increasing – a trend many of us notice as we pay more for food at the grocery store – and pay higher gas prices just to get there. A recent article in the Star Tribune notes that the cost of basic staples like eggs has risen 37 percent over the last year. While many of us are able to absorb the increase and tighten our belts a bit, families living on the economic edge are hurting.
“The issue of families never having enough food has been there all along but lately it seems to be increasing,” says NYFS Community Social Worker Janet Larson. “I've seen it first hand with my clients when they show me their empty refrigerators and cupboards.”
Use of emergency food shelves in the Twin cities has increased 45 percent since 2001, according to the Greater Twin Cities United Way. The fastest rate of increase is in the suburbs where nearly 60 percent of users are among the working poor.
“The parents of the families I work with get so stressed and anxious when they feel there is no way for them to get food for their kids,” Larson says. “They share these thoughts and feelings with me, and it's because they care about their children very much and don't want them hungry for even an hour let alone a whole day or more.”
While our Community Social Workers do have some discretionary funds they can use to help clients, it isn’t enough to meet all their needs. Larson adds that it can be frustrating to use funds to address immediate crises, such as a lack of food, when both the family and the social worker would like to use the funds to find long-term solutions to their problems.
In response to this need, NYFS is now accepting donations specifically for community social work families in need of emergency food aid. You can help calm a parent’s fears by making a tax-deductible donation to the CSW Food Fund – 100% of which will be used to purchase food for these families in crisis.
To make a safe and secure online donation click on PayPal and in the process specify “CSW Food Fund” in the “add special instructions” box. Or you can mail a donation to:
NYFS/CSW Food Fund
Attn: Jerry Hromatka
3490 Lexington Ave. N.
Shoreview, MN 55110
Thank you for considering a donation to NYFS. Please know that any contribution will make a real difference in the lives of the families we serve.
Due to an overwhelming response, and need, NYFS is opening up its office coat drive to the general public.
NYFS began its own employee-driven coat drive in November and the response was tremendous – but unfortunately so was the need. Despite our best efforts, we are still finding families we serve without proper protection from the cold.
“Winter gear is an essential for everyone,” says Tim Gusk, Director of Community Services. “Unfortunately, gloves wear out, kids grow out of last year’s coats and we have families that just don’t have the resources to find or buy enough winter gear.”
Gusk adds that NYFS Penny Pinchers Thrift Store regularly sells winter gear at low prices, but even their inventory gets low this time of year due to the high demand.
Gently used coats, hats, gloves, scarves and boots can be dropped off during regular business hours at NYFS headquarters, 3490 Lexington Ave. N. in Shoreview until Jan. 14. A special donation box has been placed at the main entrance for your convenience. For more information, contact Tim at 651-379-3406.
We would like to thank everyone who made our Taste of Northwest such an overwhelming success. Together we raised over$19,000 in financial support that will benefit the programs and services offered by NYFS. 
We would like to extend a special thank you to our event sponsors and participating restaurants:
Event Sponsors
Allegra Print and Imaging, Bank Cherokee, Creative Catering, ION, Land
O’Lakes,
Pioneer Press, Sam’s Club, Shoreview Community Center, Wells Fargo, Western Bank
Participating Restaurants
Cakes by Barb, Choco Latte, Creative Catering, Dino’s, Good Earth, Granite City
Food and Brewery, Green Mill, India Palace, Jake's Sports Bar, Keys Café, Kozlak’s,
Little Venetian, Our Bar and Grille, Red Lobster, Red Oak, Tria, Vescio’s
We look forward to seeing you at our next Taste of Northwest event on Sept. 25, 2008 at the Shoreview Community Center.
Main number: 651-486-3808
Fax: 651-486-3858
Penny Pinchers Thrift Store: 763-783-3626
Kay Andrews, President & CEO: 651-379-3401
kay@nyfs.org
Jerry Hromatka, Associate Director:
Fran Smith, Business Manager: 651-379-3402
fran@nyfs.org
Rachel Cain, Outpatient Mental Health Director: 651-379-3403
rachel@nyfs.org
Jill Buckingham, Day Treatment Services Director: 651-379-3405
jill@nyfs.org
Tim Gusk, Community Services Director:
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205 Shoreview, MN 55126
Tel: 651-486-3808 -
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