Cook County Extension
Community Orchard

Cook County Extension has been active in the Cook County community for many years with a mission to bring education or knowledge equally to all people in the county using University of Minnesota resources to accomplish that task. In 2016, the Foundation awarded the organization a grant in the amount of $15,909 to assist with establishing a community fruit orchard to be located on law enforcement property in Grand Marais, Minnesota. With the assistance of many community volunteers, 100 apple trees were planted along with plum and cherry trees. The community orchard will serve as a teaching tool for a variety of groups and benefit the entire community for years to come.

Duluth Area Family YMCA
Duluth Outdoor Collaborative

Duluth Area Family YMCA began facilitating a city-wide initiative in 2016 called the “Outdoor Collaborative” to increase community capacity to engage youth in outdoor pursuits through education, programming, training, and community organizing. Through discussions with local youth serving agencies and the “Adventure Gap Group” comprised of key community stakeholders, the need for training, equipment and clothing to engage youth in outdoor activities became evident. A grant of $20,000 was awarded to establish a “gear library” and conduct trainings for youth serving agencies on outdoor education methods and risk management. The gear library is a partnership with the Equipment Rental Center at the University of Minnesota Recreational Sports Outdoor Program.

Care Partners of Cook County

Care Partners has been providing care for seniors in Cook County since 2010 as a program of the North Shore Health Care Foundation. As the program grew and additional services were developed to address community needs, Care Partners spun off and established itself as its own nonprofit organization. With a mission to provide supportive care on the journey of aging and serious illness, Care Partners offers senior care coordination, palliative care, caregiver support, Senior Rides and volunteer companionship. Funding in 2016 was awarded in the amount of $10,000 to support their efforts as a new nonprofit as they looked to increase their staffing capacity, further develop their funding sources and launched their new Chore Service program for seniors.

Two Harbors Community Radio – KTWH

Two Harbors Community Radio, KTWH 99.5, went on the air in September 2015 as a low-powered, listener supported radio station to build community in the greater Two Harbors area through inter-generational grassroots participation. The station features local news, community announcements, and coverage of area and school events, opportunities for forums to share ideas and as a venue to showcasing the talents of local artists. The Foundation had provided initial start-up support for the station followed by a grant of $18,000 in 2016 to assist with stabilizing their efforts as the station developed programing schedules, remote broadcast capacities and their staffing and volunteers structure.

Kako Foundation – Kako’s Choir

The Kako Foundation is dedicated to bringing art education to children and youth in Haiti and in the United States in Duluth, Minnesota. Named after a young man killed in Haiti, nicknamed “Kako”, the founders seek to provide as their reply to violence an outlet for creativity through music. Kako’s Choir is a partnership with Myers-Wilkins Community School Collaborative with choir members comprised of low-income student’s ages 6-12 years old. The choir works with professional musicians learning to grow their vocal and performance skills along with vocabulary proficiency. Kako’s Choir helps students to build the needed confidence and self-discipline required to perform to audiences through various community venues. In 2016 the Foundation provided a small grant in the amount of $1,950 to support this work.

College of St. Scholastica
“Shoot for the Stars” Initiative

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) subjects, teach students how to think logically, work methodically and address complex problems. As math and science instructors at the College of St. Scholastica became concerned about the number of students that struggle with these subjects they determined to take action and developed a project for middle school students to have hands-on learning activities to encourage an interest in these topics through a STEM Club at Lincoln Park School in Duluth and a five-day Summer Institute for students at the College. “Shoot for the Stars: Launching Math and Science Initiative” was funded by the Foundation in 2016 with a grant of $14,978 to create pride and excitement in learning about STEM.

Cook County Middle School Writers' Club

The Cook County Middle School Writers’ Club in Grand Marais, Minnesota began as a pilot project in 2016 with a grant of $2,000 from the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation. The goal of the Club was to provide focused writing and review experiences that would excite 7th graders, while building their confidence and skill levels. All of the 7th grade students at Cook County Middle School took part in the Club which included large and small group sessions and individual feedback to students on their writing. The student participation culminated in the publishing of their book entitled “Meanderings”.