October 2010
Dakota Woodlands is the only facility specifically for homeless families in our county.
Dakota Woodlands was awarded the 2009 Minnesota Nonprofit Excellence Award
Links:
From Our Executive Director
Reyne Branchaud-Linsk
Hi Everyone,
This will actually be my last Dakota Digest. I am leaving Dakota Woodlands at the end of the year and retiring from a wonderfully rewarding 35 years career in social services.
In this issue we are introducing our new Executive Director and highlighting our incredibly successful Flying Home Event.
Stay tuned for monthly news about the work of Dakota Woodlands. With a tear in my eye and pride in my heart from amazing memories of this special place, I want to thank you for your support of our work.
Best wishes to you,
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Welcome Beth Bromen
New Executive Director at Dakota Woodlands
I am happy and honored to join the staff of Dakota Woodlands as Executive Director. My journey to Dakota Woodlands began with my interest in community development issues that include early childhood education, community health and welfare, and emergency services. Over the years I have been fortunate to participate in organizations that addressed these issues. Most recently I was the Executive Director of the Central Minnesota Chapter of the American Red Cross where I gained experience in understanding just how complicated the world can be and that anyone may need a helping hand during their lifetime.
Dakota Woodlands has demonstrated the ability to be that helping hand to hundreds of families whose lives have been positively changed because of their time here. It is my aspiration to continue in the standard of Reyne Branchaud-Linsk’s devoted and capable leadership to the best of my ability. I hope you will join me and all the staff and volunteers at Dakota Woodlands to work together so that hundreds of more lives may benefit from the excellent programs at Dakota Woodlands. I look forward to the privilege of meeting you soon. ~Beth Bromen
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Flying Home
A Night to Remember
Our 5th annual Flying Home was held October 8, 2010 at the Eagan Community Center. The night could not have been more wonderful. It was a beautiful fall evening filled with delicious appetizers, beautiful music, great people and amazing generosity.
In all, we had 108 silent auction packages that were each paired with the most wonderful hand-decorated birdhouses. As many guested walked around the room to bid on packages, they shared that the birdhouses made the event feel like an art show. Many different artists, amateur to professional, put in a lot of hard work in to each of the birdhouses.
Our silent auction featured 8 incredible packages that were auctioned off by Glen Fladeboe, of Fladeboe Auctions. Glen was an entertaining and engaging auctioneer that brought a new energy to the event. He had a great repartee with our Master of Ceremony, Eric Webster, who did a fabulous job of engaging our quests all evening.
The highlight of the night came during the live auction program. A former resident, Julie, shared the many challenges, milestones, and achievements in her life since she lived at Dakota Woodlands over 20 years ago. She spoke from her heart and shared her struggles, the joy of overcoming them, and how she came to where she is today. A key to her many successes was education. After Julie spoke, Glen, our auctioneer, encouraged the guests to donate to our educational services and give other families the opportunity for the success Julie has experienced. A surprising $13,000 was raised to assist us with GED tutoring and testing, classes in budgeting and responsible renting, and for children’s educational services.
Kowalski’s catered a multitude of deliciously prepared appetizers and desserts. A dessert favorite was the peanut butter nests with M&M eggs. The new addition of the Birds Nest, a jewelry drawing that combines the anticipation of not knowing what you might win, with the gratification of always winning, was very successful and added a new type of fun to the event.
Every aspect came together perfectly to create a wonderful night of friends, fun, food and fundraising. We are proud to announce that we raised $75,000 to go towards our supportive and educational services.
----------------------------------------------------------- Volunteer of the Month
Flying HOme Volunteers
Our 5th annual fundraiser, Flying Home, on October 8th was a big success. The Eagan Community Center was a beautiful venue, the food catered by Kowalski’s was delicious, and we raised a significant amount of money for our programs. There were many people behind the scenes who helped make this event special and we ’d like to thank each and every one of them. We engaged volunteers in every aspect of the event from decorating birdhouses for our silent auction, to selling raffle tickets, and cleaning up at the end of the evening in the dark of night. Truth be told, we couldn’t have done it without our volunteers, so thank you from the bottom of our hearts to the following friends of Dakota Woodlands:
Al and Gail Barta Craig and Stephanie Hatfield Ashley Ochsner Melissa Bartz Mike and Katie Herdan Colleen Osgar Deke Branchaud Linsk Sarah Hennen Megan O’Halloran Arlene Cepull Jade Houdek Deepa Panicker Katelyn Childs Ashley Houle Bob Radecki Jackie Corone Amy Huber Rachel Rolseth Ann and Mike Ducatelli Katie Jamison Jackie Roswick Jean Dubbink Mary Johnson Paula Sevenich Paula Ehrich Rich Kelley Kat Southard Jennifer Ernst Linda Knutson Sarah Tapia Debby Evans Brenna Kolar Ed Usset Amy Fitzpatrick Kimber Maurine Amy Vasterling Loren Grassmann Monica Mooreland Lisa Willems-Connelly Adam Gregory Arch Mrkvicka Ashley Wittig Ann Hagberg Barb Nicolazzi Jenni Wood Megan Hard Laura Northrop
To learn about volunteer opportunities, please contact Patty at (651) 456-9110 or volunteer@dakotawoodlands.org.
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Find us on Facebook
We invite you to sign in and follow us on Facebook. It is a great way to keep up with what is going on at Dakota Woodlands. Keep an eye out for upcoming activities and events, new pictures, information on ways to help and news about homelessness and poverty. We welcome your feedback and hope you join our network of support.
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Current Needs
* Bedroom dressers and chest of drawers (preferably matching sets)
* New, medium sized stuffed animals
* Toddler Car Seats (regular car seats not boosters) to 40 pounds
* Gift cards for gas stations, movie theatres, ice cream, fast food and other local places for activities and events for our families.
* Sippy cups
Contact Abby at resource@dakotawoodlands.org or
(651) 456-9110 to learn more about these needs.
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Volunteer Needs
There are many ways to get involved and help out Dakota Woodlands. Currently we could use someone for pick-up and delivery of Eagan Target donations to Dakota Woodlands,on Mondays. Another way individuals or groups could help Dakota Woodlands is by making brunch, lunch or dinner here, any day of the week.
Remember us during the holiday season; there are many ways to support our residents and the work of Dakota Woodlands.
If you are interested in volunteering or would like more information, please contact or Volunteer and Holiday Cordinator, Patty at (651) 289-3565 or email her at volunteer@dakotawoodlands.org
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3430 Wescott Woodlands, Eagan, MN 55123
Phone: 651-456-9110 www.dakotawoodlands.org.
