Union of Youth

The Northfield Union of Youth (The Key) and the Northfield Skateboard Coalition both received grants from Women in Northfield Giving Support (WINGS), a local philanthropic organization. WINGS is committed to educating and expanding the numbers of women in philanthropy, to building and strengthening community through pooled investments, and to improving the lives of women and children in the Northfield area through focused giving. Representatives Ruth Amerman and Kellen Kirchberg represented The Key while Jim Juarez and Trevor Smith represented the Coalition at the annual awards ceremony luncheon. The Key received $1700 for their mentoring program, Main Street Mentors, and the Coalition received $2000 for summer skating activities and the construction of the future skatepark. Thanks to Zach for the many photos (and use of his camera).

Book club has been reading James Baldwin’s Go Tell it on the Mountain since late May and will be finishing up the book Monday the 24th of June. Go Tell it on the Mountain is a wonderful coming of age story about a young African American male, John Grimes, struggling against racism, sexual identity, and oppressive forces in the hopes that his life isn’t already mapped out for him. This work is James Baldwin’s first (of many) major work and is considered by many to be his masterpiece.

Art Project made Dreamcatchers Tuesday June 19th. In Ojibwa culture, a dreamcatcher (the Ojibwe word means spider) is a handmade object based on a willow hoop, on which is woven a loose net or web. The dreamcatcher is then decorated with personal items.

The Carleton College Lighten Up Garage Sale ended after a week and a half of preparation and 3 days of sales on Saturday the 16th of June. The sale benefited The Key, Northfield Special Olympics, and Project Friendship and was co-organized by the three organizations and Carleton College’s Acting in the Community Together (ACT). This was a wonderful experience to get to know other nonprofit organizations in town and work together toward of a common goal. The exact amount raised in the sale is not yet known, but it is expected to exceed over $10,000. Along with the hard workers of The Key, a big thanks goes out to the workers of above mentioned organizations. This sale would also not have happened without the generosity of fine people of ACT and the workers they recruited. Volunteers of the event helped with collecting the leftovers of Carleton College students, organizing and pricing sales items, staffing the event, serving as cashiers, straightening, and cleanup. Check out more photos of the event taken after the sale was over.

Summer is here and that means one thing for Art Project: trying to bring out the lazy hippie in all of us. What better way to do that than tie dye? Many groovy people participated and the designs were boss. More pictures here.

Cooking Class, so focused on the culinary delights that deliver sustenance and satisfaction, realized they lost sight of the one thing that truly matters: cake. Carrot cake that is. This was remedied the past Friday the 8th when Ani Lovoll stole the master recipe to a well-known establishment in town and then taught a class with said recipe. The results were salivating smiles all around. Here are some pics from the event.

Youth Board members were elected today, Wednesday June 6th. The picture isn’t the greatest, but hey, I’m no professional. The new Youth Board is (from left to right): Ruth Amerman (Vice Presidente), Jena Fredrick (alt), Max Jennings, Addy Payne (alt), Madelyn Hartke, Andi Sison, Lizzie French (alt), Gerritt Duys, Mackenzie O’ Connell, Abe Henson, James Wilson, Kellen Kirchberg, Marie Fischer (Presidente), Gus DeMann, Phoebe Currier, Sam Dunnewold. Not present: Tom Launer. This board is going to be fantastic!!

The Key accepted their check from the Sundaes on Mondays event that occurred Monday the 21st of May. Kellen Kirchberg was the Key representative. Northfield Chiropractic donated an extra $201 with the check.

The Northfield Union of Youth presented to Northfield City Council today, Monday the 4th of June. The Northfield Union of Youth went to the Council with the agenda of asking the city for their currently rented building (which is city-owned). The NUY brought a new 2007 annual report and one heck of presentation to the meeting. Marie Fischer, Andrea Lovoll, and Ruth Amerman (with the help of many speech-writers) gave a general overview of what the NUY is all about and then transitioned into asking for the city-owned building. The speech went very well and was followed by three testimonials. Riahl O’ Malley, Jena Fredrick, and Addy Payne all spoke on how The Key has changed their lives and made them better people. After the presentation, three Adult Board members (Alex Beeby, Sara Kaul, and Kiffi Suma) spoke on behalf of the Key about a wide-range of reasons why The Key is beneficial to the community.

The rain came down, sometimes hard, but usually with a drizzle. But that didn’t stop more than a dozen hardcore skateboarders from enjoying the opportunity to legally skate in downtown Northfield. Friday June 1st was a perfect outlet for a creativity showcase for these skateboarders. Numbers of skaters brought down her their art - most skateboard-related, some not - to Grezzo Gallery for a gallery showcase. Dozens of curious downtown shoppers and art fanatics stopped by the Gallery to take a look at the eclectic art. The curious got to see more than just visual arts - they got to see an all-day display of skateboarding as well. Some of the skateboarders skated for the entire six hour event. Even though the rain caused the cancellation of a skate demo from Renegade Skateboards, the locals remained unphased, putting on their own demonstration. Skateboarders raised a little money in the process from donations and sales of the new t-shirt made by Nick Sinclair. Check out the many great photos of the event here.