On Saturday, March 17, Senator Melisa Franzen joined CLUES as the guest speaker at the YA! Minneapolis Institute. Senator Franzen spoke with the students and mentors about how to be involved and engaged in your community and gave advice about how to be a part of making change. She also answered questions from the group.
Many thanks to Senator Franzen for joining us! Click here to learn more about CLUES’ YA! Program or apply to be a mentor.
On Saturday, Feb. 10, CLUES staff participated in the 2018 Community Connections Conference held by the City of Minneapolis’ Neighborhood and Community Relations initiative. Nearly 700 attendees participated in the event and learned about resources and organizations providing critical services to the community.
Thank you to the city of Minneapolis for inviting us to share about CLUES’ work at this event! If you’re interested in learning more about CLUES, browse our website at www.clues.org, give us a call at 612-746-3500 or stop by one of our offices.
On Saturday, February 10, CLUES welcomed more than 50 individuals and families who have recently arrived in Minnesota from Puerto Rico at our Welcome Boricua open house.
More than 30 volunteers and staff helped to provide our new Puerto Rican neighbors with warm winter clothing, resources on managing stress, an introduction to Minnesota culture and customs and critical assistance to access healthy food, employment, healthcare, transportation and affordable housing.
The event was part of CLUES’ efforts to support the hundreds of Puerto Rican individuals and families who have come to Minnesota in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. It’s anticipated that thousands more Puerto Ricans will arrive in the US and Minnesota over the coming year as the island works to recover from these devastating storms.
Following the event, CLUES is now offering ongoing walk-in hours to assist with FEMA, MNSure, SNAP, housing, transportation, employment and other applications and vital services for the Puerto Rican community. We anticipate offering additional open houses and live events to ensure the urgent needs of our new neighbors are met.
Learn more about our project by checking out this news segment from Fox 9!
If you’d like to support CLUES’ services for our new Puerto Rican neighbors, click here to make a donation today.
Thank you to everyone who helped make this event a success and continues to work to support the Boricua community in Minnesota.
Last week, representatives from CLUES, the Science Museum of Minnesota, the Association for Science & Technology Centers and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology gathered to present and discuss the Celebrating Urban Birds project and our ongoing collaboration over the past several years.
Since 2015, CLUES has been a part of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Celebrating Urban Birds initiative, a citizen science project focused on better understanding the value of green spaces for birds. This project connects people of all ages and backgrounds to birds and the natural world through the arts and fun neighborhood activities. It aims to to increase diversity in participation and access to the sciences.
Throughout the project, CLUES Youth in Action (YA!) students and mentors have participated in a number of activities, including collaborating on two murals that illustrate their immigration stories. They also participated in focus groups to support the university’s research and did community service projects like preparing gardens on Earth Day, making bird feeders and teaching kids about birds and habitats.
In the coming year, CLUES will take another group of students to Cornell University as part of the program and will continue to participate in bird-related art and science projects.
Thank you to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and all community partners that have supported our projects!
In honor of National Mentoring Month, the CLUES Youth in Action – YA! Program would like to thank our volunteer mentors for their investment in our students! With their support, our Latino youth are moving forward and becoming first-generation college students. Thank you for your care, advice and positive examples! Check out the many reasons our students love their mentors:
Youth from CLUES YA! Youth in Action program have been busy giving back through a variety of service projects this holiday season. Their projects have included:
- Making sock snowmen for the homeless
- Writing holiday cards for people in detention centers in Arizona
- Sorting toys at the Toys for Tots warehouse
- Gathering clothes for those resettling in Minnesota from Puerto Rico
- Volunteering at CLUES Al Niño con Cariño event
Thank you YA! students for making us proud with your incredible service!
Today was Al Niño con Cariño at CLUES! More than 900 kids and their families enjoyed crafts, treats and holiday cheer as parents were able to select gifts for the holidays. Thank you to our volunteers from Wells Fargo, Ecolab, Target and others for helping make this day a success!
CLUES was honored today to receive a $100,000 grant from the the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee (MNSBHC) Legacy Fund!
CLUES staff, MNSBHC and Latino community members gathered today for a special celebration where guests participated in games, enjoyed Latino food and beverages and were treated to a special performance by a children’s mariachi group from Academy Cesar Chavez Charter School. CLUES was honored to have in attendance St. Paul Mayor-Elect Melvin Carter III, Representative Jon Koznick, Representative Tim Mahoney, Hon. Consul of Mexico Gerardo Guerrero and other community leaders.
The grant will be applied toward building a teaching kitchen in CLUES’ expanded Headquarters on the East Side of St. Paul to engage the community in healthy eating and better nutrition. The new cooking facilities, part of our building expansion that will begin in 2018, will help Latino youth and adults learn about healthy food habits, meal preparation, business entrepreneurship and more.
“The expansion of our headquarters in Saint Paul is a long-term effort to engage more Latino families and immigrants with critical access to information and education,” said Ruby Lee, President of CLUES. “This grant from the MNSBHC will help us provide training and education for youth and others to lead healthier lives and pursue new job opportunities such as careers in food-related industries.”
The grant is part of the Super Bowl Legacy Grant Program. Through its 52 Weeks of Giving campaign, the MNSBHC has launched a yearlong effort to make Super Bowl LII a statewide event by awarding 52 communities with grants that will help improve the health and wellness of young people in Minnesota.
“CLUES is an important resource for Latino families, young people and immigrants in the Twin Cities and across Minnesota,” said Dana Nelson, Vice President of Legacy and Community Partnerships, MNSBHC. “We are so pleased to help this organization expand its headquarters. We know the investment of a food prep and educational kitchen will help young people in Saint Paul learn healthy cooking and food preparation techniques and share these lessons with their families and neighbors.”
The Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee is a private, nonprofit corporation formed to plan and execute Super Bowl LII. CLUES is Minnesota’s largest Latino-led nonprofit and is focused on enhancing the capacity of individuals and families to be healthy, prosperous and engaged in their communities.
As a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) approved site, CLUES provides free tax preparation services for low income individuals and families. We processed more than 1,300 tax returns last year, retuning more than $2.5 million in refunds to the community!
We rely on the support of dedicated volunteers to make this service possible. We are currently seeking bilingual Volunteer VITA Tax Preparers as well as greeters, screeners and interpreters for the upcoming 2017 tax season. Volunteers should commit to a minimum of 3 hours per week between Jan. 26 – April 17, 2018.
To learn more and apply, follow this link: www.volgistics.com/ex/portal.dll/od?from=194315
For any questions, please contact:
David Soto: dsoto@clues.org or 612-746-3550;
Emily Gehlsen: egehlsen@clues.org or 651-379-4263.
On Nov. 28, Minneapolis CPED – Employment and Training, the Minneapolis Workforce Development Board and the Minneapolis Youth Council awarded CLUES as its Adult Service Partner of the Year for our strong performance in the Minneapolis Works program.
CLUES offers free job counseling, job placement, workshops and assistance developing job skills for our clients. While services focus on Latinos, our staff’s capabilities enable us to serve individuals and families from all walks of life including new immigrants and low-income families who dream of a better future.
Thank you to the City of Minneapolis for this incredible honor! Congratulations to Ann Meyers, CLUES Associate Director of Employment & Career Development, and Maribel Navarrete Reyes, Employment Coach.
