Local Impact

What does the Local Impact team do?

CHAIN OF LAKES LOCAL IMPACT TEAM

Local Impact organizes volunteer and service opportunities serving the community in and around Chain of Lakes Church. Join the Local Impact Facebook group page to learn more about ways to get involved in the community through volunteering and supporting local partners such as Hope for Youth, Stepping Stone Emergency Housing, River Trail Learning Center, Feed My Starving Children, and other organizations and service projects. There are 2-4 events every week that you can get involved with and help impact the world. Whether it’s packing groceries, organizing supplies, serving a meal, or just talking with people, we are called to serve.

The featured events will be kept updated in this space. The ongoing opportunities are shown in the space below the featured events.

FEATURED
Serving is foundational to our faith life. Many of the service opportunities can be done as a family. Children are welcome to participate.

Help out at HOPE 4 Youth
The Local Impact Team is looking for volunteers to help at HOPE 4 Youth in Anoka on the second Saturday of every month between 9am and noon. People will help move donated items to the appropriate spaces. This is an excellent opportunity for families or people who want to connect with friends. Sign up in the following ways:

Help out on September 14
Organize a group of people to join you on an upcoming Saturday on an upcoming month..

Pick a month to help on the sign-up sheets in the Commons Area at church, or contact info@colpres.org.

Adopt-A-Highway Clean Up
Saturday, September 28, 2024
9am meet at Perkins, 12545 Ulysses St. NE, Blaine for breakfast & fellowship, then meet at 10am at Chain of Lakes Church 2650 125th Ave NE, Blaine, or just meet at 10am at the church.

Every spring and fall Chain of Lakes is responsible for picking up and bagging trash on a two mile stretch of 125t.h Ave in Blaine. Be part of the crew! Last spring 20 people took part;

Clean up will take about two hours or less. Safety vests and garbage bags are provided by Anoka County. Bring gloves and a grabber tool or pick up pole if you have one. Please contact info@colpres.org to say if you are coming to the breakfast or straight to the church.

Darkest Night HOPE 4 Youth Fundraiser October 4
The Local Impact Team is organizing a group of walkers from Chain of Lakes for the 4K fundraising walk for HOPE 4 Youth. The walk is Friday, October 4 at Bunker Hills. The walk starts at 6:30 with a welcome program at 6:15pm. The team name for Chain of Lakes is Chain of Lakes Church Fireflies. Register for the walk under that name at hope4youthmn.org. The early bird special lasts through September 7, $30 for adults, $15 for children. Invite a friend to join you. How many people can we get on our team this year?

Feed My Starving Children Wednesday October 9
Check back for more details.

Summer Kick-Off Challenge Fundraiser

Yay, God! Congratulations to the congregation for raising over two thousand pounds of food for HOPE 4 Youth during their summer food drive. This is an amazing response – the congregation brought in a ton of food for hungry kids! Thank you!

Ongoing Local opportunities

HOPE 4 Youth supports young people, ages 16 to 24, who are experiencing homelessness. They provide assistance with basic-needs case management, stable housing, education and employment. You are welcome to serve by cooking meals, sorting supplies, mentoring and more at the Drop-in Center

HOPE Place is a 12-unit Coon Rapids transitional housing facility that offers supportive services to young people who are experiencing homelessness. You can serve by becoming a Volunteer Greeter. They are stationed at the front desk to create a welcoming environment for residents and guests.

For more information about all HOPE 4 Youth programs, go to https://www.hope4youthmn.org

Hope for the Community is a humanitarian organization in Blaine that feeds hundreds of families each week. To accomplish this, individuals are needed to serve Wednesday 12-2:30 p.m. or Thursday from 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.

You will receive a warm welcome whenever you are able to serve. For more information go to hopeforthecommunity.com

IF YOU NEED FOOD –

Hope Church, Hope for the Community
1264 109^th Ave NE
Blaine, MN 55434

Food Pick up Times:
Thursday ~ 10am – 5pm

If you are in line before the end time, you will receive food, while supplies last

Stepping Stone Emergency Housing
3300 4TH AVENUE NORTH, ANOKA, MN 55303
PHONE: 763-323-7006
https://steppingstoneeh.org

A shelter for adults for a few nights or a few months. Stepping Stone residents are treated with dignity and respect while having their basic needs met – a bed and linens, three meals per day, showers, laundry facilities, clothing, toiletries when needed. Personalized plans are developed with each resident to move toward self-sufficiency. Stepping Stone provides residents a “home,” while helping them establish a home of their own.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Front Desk 3-hour shifts, Monday-Friday, 10am-1pm or 2pm-5pm

Answering phones, answering the door, assisting Shelter Advocates with resident intakes, retrieving mail, checking off chores for residents, and assisting Shelter Advocates with daily tasks.

Kitchen

2-hour shifts, Monday-Friday, 10:30am-12:30pm or 5pm-7pm

Help kitchen manager with meal prep, serve meals to residents, assist clean-up

Food Pick Up – Donations

Pick up food donations from a local business and drop off at the shelter.

2-hour shift, FRIDAYS ONLY, 1:30pm-3pm

Must be able to lift up to 30 pounds, pick up food donations from two separate locations within the Anoka area, bring donations back to Stepping Stone, and assist Cafeteria Manager with unloading.

30-minute shift, TUESDAYS, AND FRIDAYS 10:15am-10:45am

DONATIONS NEEDED

Lunch or dinner, Sunday-Saturday

Drop off a cooked meal (must be prepared in a licensed commercial kitchen) or retail-purchased meals .You can stay and serve the donated meal if you are interested.

Hygiene Products/Toiletries for Men and Women (full size only)

Shelter needs vary, so contact Stepping Stone

Gift Cards

Gift cards of any amount are always appreciated, especially to Walmart, Target, Costco, and Cub Foods

LINENS & BEDDING

Twin ex-long twin blankets (no tied around the perimeter) new pillows, bath towels, wash cloth

FOOD ITEMS

Instant grit packets, individual fruit snack packets, individual packaged snacks: granola bars, bottled water (16.9 oz preferred), fresh fruit: apples, cuties/mandarins, navel oranges, bananas, peaches, pears, bulk canisters of lemonade/pink lemonade and other powdered drink mix, individual packets of instant hot cocoa (made with hot water), tea bags, 10-oz disposable bowls

CLOTHING FOR MEN & WOMEN

Coats, Jackets, Hoodies, Slippers, Hats, Gloves, Mittens, Scarves (new or gently used)

Threshold to New Life Ministry
Serving Breakfast Downtown Minneapolis

They are looking for 2-3 individuals to serve with regular volunteers setting up and serving breakfast daily to individuals experiencing homelessness. The location is the Salvation Army-Harbor Lights building at 1010 Currie Ave Minneapolis. Arrival time is 5am. You will be done by 7am.

For more information go to www.richardbahr.com

https://threshold2newlife.org/

Ending Homelessness Through Partnerships

The Local Impact team wants to be part of a movement that ends homelessness among youth and adults in Anoka County. The team does this through partnerships with groups who directly help serve homeless youth and homeless adults.

Since its existence Chain of Lakes has established partnerships with the following schools:

Blaine High School
Anoka Regional High School
Anoka Technical High School
Spring Lake Park School District
River Trail Learning Center at L.O. Jacob

The Local Impact Team has organized many events to help serve at: