A freewill offering is taken at each community breakfast to support community programs in the Duluth area.
Request for Organizations to be Considered
The Martin Luther King Breakfast Committee is looking for organizations that work with young people in our community to be the beneficiary of a freewill offering at the 2008 breakfast.
The breakfast will be held on January 19, 2009. Organizations interested in being selected need to submit a letter of interest by 4 pm Friday, December 19, 2008. In this letter, organizations should explain their mission and the ways that their work with youth contributes to the fulfillment of Dr. King’s vision. In lieu of a letter, organizations may arrange with the committee to make an oral presentation. Request to make a presentation must be made by December 26th and will present on January 8, 2008 between 5:30 pm and 6:30 pm, I will confirm your time to present.
Freewill offerings have amounted to between $400-800. The committee may choose to divide the offering between more than one organization.
Interested organizations should submit their letter or request for presentation to:
Women's Community Development Org.
Attn: Tara Golden
MLK Breakfast Committee
1401 E. 2nd St., Apt A
Duluth, MN 55805
728-6437, ext. 208
tara@wthc.org
The 2008 Recipient
Grant Language and Arts Elementary Fourth Graders
This year's freewill offering will go to the fourth graders at Grant Language and Arts Elementary School. They are raising funds so that all of the fourth graders will be able to attend Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center, regardless of a family's ability to pay. The fourth graders are working on the concept of "Living Lightly," and will be doing community service projects upon their return to share the message. Come to the breakfast and hear some of the fourth graders share a little more of what they are working to do.
The 2006 Recipients
Duluth Youth Poetry Slam Group
At the urging of Cruz Mendoza, a I.S.D. 709 staff member the Race, Culture and Achievement Gap Summit Planning Committee elected to bring Teens Rock the Mic (TRTM) to Duluth on October 28-29, 2005. Teens Rock the Mic bring literacy, leadership and community-building skills to every event they grace ... because they are working in the Spoken Word tradition. Our local results, since their initial visit, have been staggering: all of Duluth's high school principals brought TRTM to their schools for performances and workshops, and Neighborhood Youth Services in Washington Center has hosted the new Duluth Youth Poetry Slam Group. One of the poets living within Washington Center agreed to host a weekly gathering of the youth poets seeking a forum for their art. Support is also being given by Cruz Mendoza and Bill Howes of ISD 709, and Diane Tran of College of St. Scholastica. Spoken Word is nothing short of a complete reclamation of oral tradition, a sacred form of communication practiced by many minority communities, one that gives dignity and validity to experiences and realities that we all need to hear. Duluth Youth Poetry Slam Group will continue to support our local youth - through weekly writing and performing workshops as well as hosting Youth Poetry Slams.
Duluth Red Lake Urban Liaison Youth Programs
Michael Sayers, the Duluth Red Lake Urban Liaison Officer for the Red Lake Band, is developing a new program to encourage Native American youth to experience and learn about other cultures and be able to participate in activities that provide learning experiences that would teach them about respect for others. The proceeds of the freewill offering will bring together not only the children, but their families as well to hopefully provide a chance for them to get engaged within the community at large and become part of helping shape and change the negative stereotypes that have affected youth of color.
For those of you planning on attending the breakfast, please give generously to support these important initiatives for young people in our community.
