Here’s how it works:  Jeans Day - a day when employees may dress for work in jeans.  In return, the employee pays one dollar or more, which goes to area non-profit organizations.

 

Jeans Day is a way to raise funds for non-profits and at the same time boost employee morale.  We like the idea of people of the Greater Southwest Metro area wearing jeans for area non-profits on the last Friday of each month.  For the next year we are proposing the following non-profits:

 

January Big Brothers Big Sisters  - Starting something since 1904. At Big Brothers Big Sisters, we’ve been impacting the lives of children for over 100 years. And we’re just getting started. For over a century, Big Brothers Big Sisters has been helping change kids’ perspectives and giving them the opportunity to reach their potential. And we have over a century of volunteers, donors, and advocates just like you to thank. More than 100 years later, Big Brothers Big Sisters remains true to our founders’ vision of bringing caring role models into the lives of children. And, today, Big Brothers Big Sisters currently operates in all 50 states—and in 12 countries around the world. www.bigstwincities.org

 

February River Valley Nursing Center - Mission: Serving vulnerable individuals and families in our community while promoting the leadership role of nurses. Vision: Compassionate and individualized health-related services and community resources are available to all. History: We grew out of the Carver/Scott Healthy Communities Collaborative in 2003.  The 7 original partners all shared a concern for the uninsured and underinsured in Carver and Scott counties.  As of 2008, there were almost 5,000 uninsured in Carver County and 11,000 in Scott County. River Valley Community Partnership is a tax exempt organization - 501 (c)(3). Our Unique Model: Our services are provided by Minnesota licensed Public Health nurses and bi-lingual Spanish translators/community outreach providers. www.rivervalleynursingcenter.org

 

March Minnesota Food Share – Each March, Minnesota FoodShare directs the March Campaign, the largest food drive in the state and restocks 300 food shelves across Minnesota. It recruits thousands of congregations, companies, schools and civic groups to run local food and fund drives to aid in the effort. Minnesota FoodShare organizes a statewide media campaign to promote food shelf donations. It produces and distributes free promotional and educational resources for food drive organizers. It acts as a clearinghouse for cash donations and distributes the funds to participating Minnesota food shelves. Throughout the year, Minnesota FoodShare advocates on behalf of hungry Minnesota families with both state and federal lawmakers and educates the public about hunger in Minnesota. mnfoodshare.gmcc.org

 

April Autism Society of Minnesota - The Autism Society of Minnesota (AuSM) is an organization of families, educators, care givers, and professionals committed to supporting individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). It was established in 1971. AuSM has members throughout the state of Minnesota and the upper Midwest.  Mission: The Autism Society of Minnesota exists to enhance the lives of individuals with autism spectrum disorders. AuSM seeks to realize its mission through education support, collaboration, and advocacy. www.ausm.org

 

May Regional Parks Foundation of the Twin Cities – The Regional Parks Foundation of the Twin Cities is the designated non-profit partner for the Regional Parks system.   Your Donation supports ALL of the regional parks in the Twin Cities region. Parks in our area: Carver County Parks - Baylor, Minnewashta, and Waconia. Dakota County Parks - Lake Byllesby, Lebanon Hills, Miesville Ravine, Spring Lake, Mississippi River Trail, Big Rivers Trail. Three Rivers Park District (Hennepin and Scott Counties) - Baker, Byant Lake, Carver (Lowry Nature Center), Cleary Lake (Scott County), Clifton E. French, Crow-Hassan, Eagle Lake, Elm Creek (Eastman Nature Center), Fish Lake, Gale Woods, Hyland-Bush-Anderson Lakes (Richardson Nature Center), Lake Minnetonka, Mississippi River Coon Rapids Dam - West Nature Center, Murphy-Hanrahan (Scott County), North Mississippi, Noerenberg Memorial, Lake Rebecca, Silverwood (Ramsey County), Dakota Rail Trail; North Hennepin Trail, Scott County Trail, Southwest LRT Trails (North and South).   www.regionalparksfoundationtc.org

 

June FISH (Families and Individuals Sharing Hope) - is a collaborative effort of the faith community, non-profits, service groups, local government and the business community.  Their shared mission is to partner together to meet human needs so that individuals will be able to live healthy, transformed lives. Partnering together to match available and future services with individuals in need during singular times of crisis or through longer times of need assisted by a mentor to achieve the goal of living a transformed healthy life.

 

July Life College – Minnesota Life College (MLC), located in Richfield, Minnesota, is a not-for-profit, vocational and life skills training program for young adults with learning differences and autism spectrum disorders. Since 1996, MLC has been dedicated to helping our students make a successful transition to independent living and financial self-sufficiency. Our students are involved in a challenging vocational and independent living curriculum with an emphasis on “Real Skills for Real Life™.” Students have the opportunity to learn beyond the classroom. We give students the opportunity to learn the skills they need to know in the real world. www.minnesotaLifeCollege.org

 

August Fruits of the City - Fruits of the City aims to capture fresh fruit that would otherwise go to waste and redistribute it to those in need. In 2010, we partnered with Second Harvest Heartland to glean over 23,000 pounds of fruit. Our goal for this year is to harvest 36,000 pounds of fruit.  www.mnproject.org/food-FruitsOfTheCity.html

 

September Sobriety High Charter School - Our Mission: to provide adolescents recovering from alcohol and drug dependency a comprehensive, four-year high school diploma program in a safe, sober and chemical-free environment.  Sobriety High Charter School is welcoming and supportive academic environment that is committed to sobriety, academic success, and personal growth. Our goal is to provide a safe, sober, and challenging school experience for students who share a commitment to educational achievement and personal growth. www.sobrietyhighschool.com

 

October The Wildcat Sanctuary - Our Mission - Provide a natural sanctuary to wildcats in need and inspire change to end the captive wildlife crisis. Our Vision - Help create a world where animal sanctuaries are no longer needed. Who we are - The Wildcat Sanctuary (TWS) is a 501c3 non-profit, no-kill big cat rescue located in Sandstone, MN.  TWS provides a natural sanctuary to wild cats in need and inspires change to end the captive wildlife crisis.  TWS is funded solely on private donations.  The Sanctuary is a home for animals, not a zoo for people and is not open to the public.  Combining natural and spacious habitats with a life free of exhibition and exploitation, TWS allows all residents to live wild at heart. As a true sanctuary, we do not buy, breed, sell or exhibit animals. www.wildcatsanctuary.org

 

November Minnesota Adoption Resource Network is committed to the right of every child to a permanent, nurturing family. Since 1980, Minnesota Adoption Resource Network (MARN) has been dedicated to the recruitment of adoptive families for Minnesota waiting children, advocating on behalf of adoptive, kinship and foster families, and maximizing opportunities for successful adoptions. Since we are not a child-placing agency, we can fully advocate for the children needing adoptive families.

 

To many, zero means nothing. At MARN, when it comes to children waiting for families, zero means everything. www.zerokidswaiting.org 

 

December CAP Agency - CAP Agency - Organized in 1965, as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty” movement, the agency began as the Scott-Carver Economic Council providing co-op farming programs, Head Start and Senior Citizen Centers to residents of Scott and Carver Counties.  The CAP Agency expanded its service area in 1985, to include residents of Dakota County. The agency’s name has since been adopted to reflect this expansion.  Now numerous programs strong, three counties wide and over 40 years old, the CAP Agency offers a varied menu of services in each county, and continues to grow and evolve to reflect its commitment to address the unmet needs of the community. preview.capagency.org

 

Southwest Newspapers will promote Jeans Day and all the participating businesses in each of its seven community newspapers every month.  We’ll provide you with Jeans Day stickers for your participating employees to wear.  We also will give you “table tents” to explain to customers why employees are dressed casually.  Southwest Newspapers retains less than 10% of the donations to cover the cost of stickers, mailings and other promotional material.  Southwest Newspapers also donates all the ads placed in the paper promoting Jeans Day.

 

In short, this program will cost you nothing.  It will boost employee morale.  It will pleasantly unite all the of the Greater Southwest Metro area for a worthwhile cause, and hopefully will raise lots of money for local non-profits.

 

 

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact Jennifer Sorenson at jsorenson@swpub.com or 952-345-6477.