THRIVE-verb {thriv};
1. To prosper; be fortunate or successful.
2. To grow or develop vigorously; to flourish.
To thrive in life is probably a goal for many of us; to be the best we can be.
But what about the young children in our communities who have little or no support? What help is out there for them?
Statewide surveys revealed that an alarming number of greater Minnesota children are struggling with mental health issues and a striking lack of access to professional help.
Working together, the six Minnesota Initiative Foundations launched the Minnesota Thrive Initiative in 2007 in order to address the healthy social and emotional development of infants, toddlers and preschoolers.
The Thrive Initiative didn’t come easy; it took years of hard work and research to gather the necessary information, contacts, grants, etc. But it’s worth it because it’s SO important for our very youngest children to have the opportunities to learn and grow.
And that hard work has paid off. According to a recent project report: “Together, we have helped connect practitioners across multiple disciplines, educate community members about healthy social and emotional development, coordinate and expand mental health services, and make Greater Minnesota a better place for children and families."
The Thrive Report, published back in March, contains background information, case studies and outcomes. I'd also invite you to become inspired and better informed by reading our Winter 2008 IQ Magazine,, where all 56 pages are dedicated to the issue!
Some of our staff received an email from Dave Peters, at Minnesota Public Radio, last week. Part of it read: "Sitting in your offices last summer and fall as we planned this out, I would have been tickled to think it would go as well as it did."
We couldn't agree more.
Nearly 200 people joined MPR and Initiative Foundation staff in Long Prairie last Thursday night as they held a community forum to explore Todd County's future.
This forum illustrates how well things have been going for Ground Level, a new project that MPR, the Initiative Foundation and Bush Foundation all banded together to create.
The purpose of the project is to see how people are trying to make their communities better places to live, work and play. The Initiative Foundation is doing this by guiding them through the HCP program while MPR is exploring each community through a variety of mediums including videos, pictures, sound bites, blogs and articles. They want to reach the people on the ground level to hear what is happening in the areas they live in and to get conversations started.
- In January MPR started with Baldwin Township (in Sherburne County just south of Princeton) and focused on its growing population - which has created transportation, housing, planning and lifestyle issues. Reporters began by immersing themselves in the Baldwin community to learn as much as they could. Learn more about the results...
- In April MPR began their work in Todd County, focusing on their aging population and concern for the well-being of residents - trying to uncover the answers they have to support an aging and changing population. Learn more about the results...
We are excited to be a part of this project as we ALL work to make these communities better!
To read more about Ground Level and join the conversation, visit the MPR website: http://minnesota.publicradio.org.
According to the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits there are an estimated 4,000 nonprofits in Minnesota that will lose their 501(c)(3) tax exempt status unless they go online and file form 990-N. The nonprofits are small organizations that operate on the calendar year with financial activity under $25,000.
They will have their tax deductible status revoked (and will need to pay $750 to be reinstated to the tax status and receive tax deductible contributions) if they do not file the 990-N by May 15th, 2010.
For more information and/or to download a list of the affected nonprofits visit the MCN website at www.mncn.org.
Posts
