Community Outreach

Helping Our Neighbors In Need

Thanks to everyone who participated in our gift drive for
The Jeremiah Project!

During the drive we collected 12 checks and 60 gift cards with values totaling over $2200.   Our cards and cash will be shared between the two sites so that regardless of the campus, JP moms experiencing cash shortages can be given gift cards from their counselors to purchase items they need.  Our contacts there say this type of extra support can really make a difference. Read the Thank You note we received HERE.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH GOALS
AAUW St. Paul members generously contribute their time, money, and materials to support Community Outreach projects.  The purpose of our outreach is three-fold:
1. Help our neighbors in need
2. Develop partnerships with charitable organizations in the Twin Cities
3. Build public awareness of AAUW St. Paul

Community Outreach 2023-2024

The Community Outreach Committee has selected 2 organizations to support this program year; the Jeremiah Program and Dress for Success. Keep scrolling to read more about them.

If you have any suggestions for future outreach projects, please let us know. We’d love to consider other St Paul organizations empowering and supporting women!

Committee members: Sue Greimel, Chair, Mary Chorewycz, Judith Devine, Pam Lande, Jan Parkman, Jane Tschida

WHAT DO THEY DO

Their purpose is to offer long-lasting solutions that enable women to break the cycle of poverty.

Dress for Success Twin Cities is part of a global movement for change, empowering women to obtain safer and better futures.

They provide each client with the tools that are essential to finding and maintaining employment. Through employment readiness workshops, individual career coaching, and additional career support they allow women to define their own path to success. The cherry on top is employment attire to build her confidence and ensure she is set for her interview or first day on the job.

Their approach is two-fold:

  1. Client-centered programming
  2. Employer systems change

With programming that focuses on supporting women as they define their own path to success, they know that it is equally as important to ensure that their clients are being hired into companies that are racially inclusive. They believe their individualized programming as well as their partnerships with employers will create positive, lasting change for women in employment.

HOW DO YOU HELP DRESS FOR SUCCESS?

Starting in January and going through March, the Community Outreach Committee will be collecting cash or checks (made out to Dress for Success Twin Cities) at our Tuesday meetings. If you are unable to attend meetings, please mail your contribution by the end of March for this worthy cause to Pam Lande (find Pam’s home address in your Membership Directory).

Any AAUW St. Paul members that have clothing, accessories or electronics to donate please go to the Dress for Success Twin Cities website to get current information on their needs and where to drop off your items. 

Thank you for your contributions.

There are still ways you can help us support the moms and their children who are participating in the Jeremiah Program throughout the year:

1) Welcome Basket Items: Jeremiah gives out “Welcome Baskets” to new families entering their program. This is a year round need. The Welcome Basket list of needed items is below. A link is provided HERE where you can order and pay directly at Amazon and have the items delivered to the Jeremiah Program.
2) Community Dinners: Jeremiah welcomes help in providing Community-building dinners for their JP moms and their children. These are scheduled usually twice a month on Wednesdays from 5pm – 6:30pm   Community hosts usually bring food prepared and ready to go  for approximately 25-30 people  To learn available dates and to schedule, please contact Mai Moua (mmoua@jeremiahprogram.org).

If you have questions, contact the Community Outreach Committee. Thank you for your generosity!

MORE ABOUT THE JEREMIAH PROGRAM
The Jeremiah Program’s missions and goals align closely to those of AAUW:  supporting the education and empowerment of women.  The Jeremiah Program has one of the nation’s most successful strategies for disrupting poverty, serving two generations at a time by providing:
• College access and career support
• Quality early childhood education
• Safe and affordable housing (paying no more than 30 percent of their income for rent)
• Empowerment, leadership, and career training
• Supportive community

“The Jeremiah Program supports 100% women, 100% single moms experiencing poverty, and 100% parents in pursuit of a college degree with 80% of those parents identifying as Black, Latinx and Indigenous. Higher education is not the solution for inequity in our country, but it remains the greatest lever of economic mobility.”
Jeremiah Program website

Additional Outreach Opportunities will be posted to this page as they come up, so check back often.

AAUW members will also receive occasional emails with updates, and can find detailed reports of our Outreach activities in the 990 News.

Updated: 12/18/23

American Association of University Women – St. Paul Branch

990 Summit Avenue
St. Paul, Minnesota 55105
(651) 227-4477
info@aauwstpaul.org

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