Engaging older Minnesotans in community service with $700,000 in community grants

ST. PAUL, MN - At a rally with volunteers from across Minnesota in the Capitol Rotunda this morning, Lieutenant Governor Yvonne Prettner Solon will announce that six local service organizations are receiving over $700,000 in new grants to support volunteer opportunities for nearly 4,000 older Minnesotans. The grants, funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), support Lt. Governor Prettner Solon's ongoing efforts to empower and connect senior citizens with opportunities to improve their communities through service.

"Giving back is deeply engrained in who we are as Minnesotans; it is part of our culture and central to our calling as individuals and members of our communities," said Prettner Solon. "That is why I have made a commitment as Lt. Governor to connecting Minnesota's senior citizens to volunteering opportunities in their communities. These grants will help make that possible. I congratulate these organizations, and thank them for their work in engaging older Minnesotans in acts of community service."

The following Minnesota communities will receive grant funding to engage older Minnesotans in community volunteer activities.

Project Sponsor: West Central MN Community Action Inc.
Service Area: Douglas, Grant, Stevens, Traverse, and Pope counties
Estimated volunteers: 564
Award Amount: Up to $55,066

Project Sponsor: Volunteers of America Minnesota
Service Area: Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Pine, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington counties
Estimated volunteers: 703
Award Amount: Up to $287,827

Project Sponsor: Volunteer Services of Carlton County, Inc.
Service Area: Aitkin and Carlton counties
Estimated volunteers: 441
Award Amount: Up to $21,228

Project Sponsor: Senior Resources of Freeborn County
Service Area: Faribault, Freeborn, and Martin counties
Estimated volunteers: 492
Award Amount: Up to $24,207

Project Sponsor: Mahube-Otwa Community Action Partnership, Inc.
Service Area: Mahnomen, Becker, Hubbard, Clearwater, Otter Tail, Wadena, Todd and Wilkin counties
Estimated volunteers: 600
Award Amount: Up to $121,496

Project Sponsor: Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Winona
Service Area: Brown, Blue Earth, Goodhue, Le Sueur, Nicollet, Olmsted, Rice, Wabasha, Waseca, Watonwan, and Winona counties
Estimated volunteers: 1,025
Award Amount: Up to $193,680

CNCS awarded the funds as part of a competitive grant process for RSVP, one of three Senior Corps programs administered by CNCS. Established in 1971, RSVP engages Americans age 55 and over in volunteer opportunities across the country. These volunteers are a critical resource to the volunteer response to everything from hunger to natural disasters. Senior Corps is a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that engages more than four million American of all ages and backgrounds in service each year.

Volunteering in Minnesota
According to CNCS, Minnesota has one of the highest rates of volunteerism in the United States, with nearly 40 percent of Minnesotans - nearly 1.6 million people - contributing 172 million hours of volunteer service in our communities each and every year. The average volunteer in Minnesota gives over 41 hours of their time to service during the course of the year, and over 70 percent of Minnesotans do favors for their neighbors.

Minnesota senior citizens who want to give back to their communities through volunteerism and community service can visit the Minnesota One Stop Shop for seniors or call 1-800-333-2433 to talk with an expert who can help you find the best way to volunteer in your community.