HCI Board funds eight “Investing in Youth” grants to benefit area youth

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:

Skate Park Research & Site Visit
Area youth skateboard enthusiasts and members of the Northfield Skateboard Coalition planned a visit to the Familia Skatepark in Minneapolis for a tour and discussion with that skate park manager about ideas for skate park design.  These youth have been in communication with several skate parks in the state about these issues and hope to bring informed ideas to the City of Northfield for the design of the Northfield skate park.

Dance Marathon
Youth on the Junior Board of Directors for Community Resource Bank plan to hold a 12-hour dance Marathon in June to raise money for the Community Action Center (CAC) to benefit the Food Shelf, Clothes Closet, and other CAC initiatives.

Family Math Game Night
Greenvale Park Elementary School staff planned to engage students and families in a math game night at conferences in March.  Students and their families were taught various math games.  Then each family was provided with playing cards and dice, so they can take these games home to play and practice math in a fun way.

Tattered Pages
The Tattered Pages Bookstore at the Northfield Middle School serves all students and their families.  The bookstore receives donated books from students and the community.  Students may redeem earned coupons to buy books for personal and home use.  Coupons are earned by students in a number of ways, including helping to do odd jobs around school, exhibiting good citizenship, donating books to the bookstore, or working in the bookstore.  Tattered Pages plans to increase the number of available Spanish books before its Mother’s Day sale, which takes place at the Cinco de Mayo celebration on May 3rd.  All middle school families are invited to the Cinco de Mayo event.

After Prom Party
The After Prom Party is an annual event that provides a safe, fun, and chemically-free place for all Northfield juniors and seniors (regardless of whether or not they went to Prom) to continue the celebration after Prom ends.  There will be many activities — bowling, casino games, prize drawings, and lots of food.  The event will take place after Prom on May 4th, with doors opening at midnight.  The event is held at the Jesse James Lanes in Northfield and runs from 12:30 a.m. to 4:00 a.m.

Earth Day Celebration
The youth of Transition Northfield are planning two projects for the annual Earth Day Celebration on Saturday, April 20.  The first project is a sewing workshop where community members can sew lunch bags, reusable grocery bags, and other items from the fabric of used T-shirts and other used clothing.  The second project is the building of raised garden beds that will be placed at centrally located First United Church of Christ in Northfield.  Produce grown in the raised beds will be available to the public, free of charge.

Senior Class Lock-In
The Senior Class Lock-In will be held on May 29, the last day of classes for seniors at Northfield High School.  Seniors will be “locked-in” at the high school from 10:00 p.m. Friday night until 5:00 a.m. the next morning.  This is a safe, chemical-free event for the 300+ students expected to attend.

Nursing Assistant Training Program
The Northfield Retirement Community (NRC) and the Northfield High School are partnering to offer an educational outreach program to Northfield High School students interested in developing skills that will prepare them for employment as nursing assistants in care centers or as resident aides in retirement communities.

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HCI offers Investing in Youth grants to projects and activities that:

• provide the opportunity for young people to develop positive intergenerational relationships with caring adults and/or
• connect Northfield youth with their communities (ex. neighborhood, school, wider Northfield)

Applications are reviewed monthly and are due by the second Monday of the month.  Visit www.northfieldhci.org/investinginyouthgrants for more information and to access the easy-to-complete application.

Funding for the HCI Investing in Youth grants program comes from the Northfield Area United Way, Northfield Hospital, MMIC Health IT, and Allina Medical Clinic-Northfield.