Starting back in 1991, CEAP’s Back to School program has been distributing school supplies to the parents of children in grades K-8 for over 15 years. In 2009, their offices in Brooklyn Park and Blaine registered over 3,150 children in northwestern Hennepin and Anoka County; and they’re anticipating an even greater turnout this year.

Luckily Ceap can count dozens of community organizations and individuals across the area among their donor base, including the Brooklyn Park Crime Prevention Unit, the North Hennepin Area Chamber of Commerce, OptumHealth, and the Spring Lake Park Fire Department. But there is still a great need to be filled.

CEAP welcomes anyone who’d like to host a school supply drive or give monetary donations. They’d be happy to provide barrels and signs for events and spread the word where possible. All donations need to be dropped off at either CEAP office by August 20th, 2010. If you have questions or world like help starting a drive please call 763-450-3664 for more details.

In addition, volunteers are needed to help with collection and distribution of Back to School donations. Both individuals and groups are needed. If you’re interested please call CEAP’s Volunteer Coordinator at 763-450-3679.

If you or someone you know is in need of school supplies for their children this fall, or if you have additional questions about the Back to School program please call Annetta at 763-566-9600.

The Ronald McDonald House Charities-Upper Midwest (RMHC-UM) expanded its vision in October 2009 to include providing dental services to children in the Twin Cities area who lack access to critically needed care. Their Care Mobile was developed to bring these services directly to their neighborhoods. It features two dental stations equipped to provide routine cleanings, fluoride treatments, sealants, x-rays, and other dental treatments. The Care Mobile makes stops in 13 counties, reaching schools, community centers, and facilities like CEAP.

CEAP will be hosting the Care Mobile again on August 2nd. If you or someone you know, living in Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, or East Champlin, has children under the age of 21, and has no dental insurance please call CEAP at 763-566-9600 to get scheduled for the next Care Mobile visit.

For more information on the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile please call 612-767-2790.

Last year’s drive brought in nearly 120 pounds of food for CEAP’s Anoka County office, and Potbelly’s manager Tim Woodworth is hoping to reach that goal and beyond this year.

This drive comes at a critical time, as families are in need of additional food support now that their children are no longer receiving breakfast, lunch, and snacks at school. On average, 450 families visit CEAP’s Anoka County food shelf each month. To relieve this need, CEAP has provided over 120,000 pounds of food to these families so far this year!

Thankfully, businesses like Potbelly Sandwich Works understand that hunger and poverty don’t disappear once the temperatures rise. If you have any questions about the Potbelly Sandwich Works annual drive, please call 763-422-4813.

Patrons can come to Perfect 10 on Sunday, February 14th, get their cars washed and drive away knowing they’ve just helped a local family in need. Half of Perfect 10’s proceeds from the day will be donated to CEAP and its programs, which help families in Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, East Champlin, and all of Anoka County advert crisis.

Perfect 10 Car Wash will be open from 8:00am to 5:00pm on Sunday, February 14th. It is located at 999 Highway 10, three blocks east of Northtown Mall. This Valentine’s Day give your sweetheart a clean car and the comfort that comes with helping others. If you have any questions or concerns, please call perfect 10 at 651-227-9274 or CEAP at 763-450-3664.

Last year CEAP gave over 635 local families, including 1,870 children, a holiday they deserve. Children received two gifts and a stocking stuffer, while the entire family received a holiday food basket including potatoes, stuffing, gravy, dessert mix, and a gift card for holiday meat.

Over the past year CEAP has seen its food shelf usage skyrocket. Through September of 2009, CEAP has given out more food than in all of 2008. Sixteen percent more, to be exact. “We’ve given over 405,000 pounds of food to our families,” says CEAP President, Byron Laher. Families, indeed! CEAP’s staff is seeing an average of 100 additional families each month when compared to 2008.

“We’ve been able to meet this demand with the help of generous donors, who’ve continued to give during these trying times,” says Laher. This year’s Holiday Distribuion will be no exception. CEAP is predicting an increase in families registering for the event. And in order to accommodate these additional families they’re asking donors to remember those in need this holiday season.

Start a food or gift drive, or make a monetary donation. For ideas, please visit CEAP at www.ceap.org or call 763-450-3664. All donations need to be brought to CEAP’s Brooklyn Park office by December 11th if you’d like them to be used for this year’s distribution.

CEAP’s Brooklyn Park office boasts a “Clothing Closet,” where donors can donate their gently used clothing to the community. The Clothing Closet is a free service, available January through November, to all Minnesota residents. Families need only present a Minnesota Photo ID to browse through the non-profit’s collection of clothing. Each household can take up to 50 articles of clothing per visit. Visits are limited to 2 per month, so that clothing is available to all who need it.

As winter inches nearer and the economy limps along, more families are visiting CEAP’s Clothing Closet to supplement their winter wardrobes. In the past two months, CEAP has seen nearly 1,000 family visits to its Clothing Closet, that’s a 200-visit increase from this time last year. Many families are looking for long sleeve shirts, sweaters, jeans, boots, mittens and other vital items for those snow days.

“Our clothing selection is very limited due to decreased donations and increased need,” says CEAP Family Service Manager, Annetta, “we’re desperately in need of donations.” So if you or someone you know is doing a little fall cleaning, and raiding their wardrobe, CEAP is ready to take any clothing you can give. Annetta says, “Even one article of clothing helps, it all makes a difference.”

Bring donations to CEAP’s Brooklyn Park office at 6840 78th Ave N, Brooklyn Park, MN. For more information call 763-566-9600.

Olson is a Training Administrator with Topline Federal Credit Union, and as part of her involvement with the Minnesota-based non-profit that assists people in need, she teaches classes on understanding credit to the organization’s Car Loan Program clients. The classes are structured to help families in financial crisis learn the basics of credit so that they can manage it successfully in the future. All CEAP clients who benefit from the organization’s family loan program participate in the course, which also includes budgeting how-to.

“These days, when so many families are in financial duress, CEAP does a wonderful job helping those in need in our community. We’re proud that Sue has been so actively involved, and now in a leadership position with such an outstanding organization,” says Harry Carter, CEO and president of TopLine Federal Credit Union.

CEAP, serving Hennepin and Anoka Counties, is a community-based, non-profit agency that partners with other resources to assist people in need. The mission of CEAP is to stabilize individuals and families in financial distress and to maximize their ability to live independently and with dignity.

TopLine Federal Credit Union, a Twin Cities-based credit union, is Minnesota’s 13th largest, with asssts of more than $260 million. Established in 1935, TopLine offers a complete line of financial services from its headquarters in Maple Grove, and five branch offices located in Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Edina, Maple Grove and Plymouth, as well as by phone and online at www.TopLinecu.com. Membership is available to anyone who lives, works, worships, attends school or volunteers in Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott or Washington Counties and their immediate family members.

AASP-member technicians and automotive technical students will conduct a free inspection and replacement of most exterior vehicle light bulbs and headlamps. Troopers will also be on hand to answer traffic safety-related questions. Vehicle owners are encouraged to bring a cash or non-perishable food donation to support their local food shelves.

The event is scheduled to take place at eight sites around Minnesota:

Brooklyn Park - Hennepin Technical College
Burnsville - AAA
Duluth - MN DOT/State Patrol Headquarters
Mankato - South Central College
Minneapolis - Dunwoody College of Technology
Moorhead - Minnesota State Community & Technical College
St. Cloud - St. Cloud Technical College
White Bear Lake - Century College, East Campus

CEAP is one of the local food shelves supported by this event. They’ve participated for over seven years, and will once again be at the Hennepin Technical College site in Brooklyn Park accepting donations.

CEAP’s food shelves in Brooklyn Park and Blaine have given over 574,850 pounds of food to families so far this year. An increase of 45% when compared to this time last year. On average CEAP’s two pantries see over 1,000 families a month.

CEAP’s not the only organization who’s participated in Lights On For Safety for years. The Minnesota State Patrol has participated in the event for the past 11 years. Col. Mark Dunaski, chief of the Minnesota State Patrol, says the program provides a valuable service to keep motorists safe. “The simple action of using your headlights drastically improves visibility for both the driver and other motorists,” says Dunaski. “It’s very important for motorists to have properly working headlights to better stand out in traffic, and as a result, keep themselves safer.”

Lights On For Safety, held in conjunction with the Car Care Council’s Fall Car Care Month, was developed by AASP-MN to improve vehicle safety. The event serves double duty by helping to alleviate hunger in our communities. Since its inception, Lights On For Safety volunteers have installed free bulbs in over 5,650 vehicles and collected $18,520 and nearly 21,000 pounds of food for pantries like CEAP. The sponsoring organizations have also awarded $45,000 in scholarship funds to technical college automotive students who participate in the event.

If you would like more information about Lights On For Safety or about AASP-MN please visit www.aaspmn.org.

NAIFA has long been a supporter of CEAP’s Back to School program, which collects donations for school supplies and backpacks for needy children in grades K-8. This year, CEAP registered over 3,150 children for the program. With program donations down significantly, CEAP had to dip into its own funds to supply families with needed school supplies this year. NAIFA’s generous donation, which was $500 greater than last years, will greatly reduce this cost and provide supplies for next year’s children.

The NAIFA North Metro Chapter currently boasts 87 members, and won its second BOBO award this year. Part of the award’s requirements is community service. The North Metro Chapter will hold its 14th annual golf tournament on June 23rd, 2010 at the Refuge.

NAIFA comprises nearly 800 state and local associations representing the business interests of 60,000 members nationwide. NAIFA’s mission is to advocate for a positive legislative and regulatory environment, enhance business and professional skills, and promote the ethical conduct of their members. To learn more about NAIFA visit www.naifa.org.

In exchange for non-perishable food items, Potbelly customers were given a free cookie for their good deed. This drive comes at a critical time, as CEAP is seeing an unprecedented number of families utilizing it’s services. An average of 1,000 families enter the charity’s doors a month. CEAP’s offices in Blaine and Brooklyn Park have given over 400,000 pounds of food to these struggling families. That’s nearly 115,000 pounds more than this time last year. And the need just keeps growing.

Thankfully, businesses like Potbelly understand that hunger and poverty don’t disappear once the temperatures rise. In fact many families need more help during the summer months now that their children are no longer provided breadfast, lunch and snacks at school.

Luckily, Tim Woodworth, manager of Potbelly, said, “We hope to make this an annual event.” We’re sure the families coming to CEAP are thankful for that.