GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — The TEGNA Foundation, the charitable foundation sponsored by TEGNA Inc. (NYSE: TGNA), and KARE 11, TEGNA’s NBC affiliate in the Twin Cities, awarded 7 area nonprofit organizations community grants totaling $32,000.
KARE 11 is working to effect positive change in our community, including through charitable contributions, employee volunteerism, and reporting and raising awareness of urgent issues.
The grant recipients and programs funded include the following subject areas: education, hunger, pandemic relief, racial injustice, and underrepresented communities.
The grant recipients are East Side Learning Center, Freshwater Society, The Food Group MN, Hamm Memorial Psychiatric Clinic, Little Free Library, Our Saviour’s Community Services, and ThreeSixty Journalism.
- East Side Learning Center: The grant will support a preschool that builds upon the community values and practices of the Hmong and Karen community. This program is a school readiness program designed to prepare 4 and 5-year-old students for success.
- Freshwater Society: This grant allows Freshwater to officially launch the Adopt a River program that engages volunteers statewide in shoreline clean-ups for lakes, rivers, wetlands, and watersheds for healthy waters and communities.
- The Food Group Minnesota Inc: Money will be used to fund the Farm to Foodbank project. The Food Group seeks to reduce food insecurity while creating opportunities for BIPOC farmers. Produce is purchased at fair market rate from farmers at Big River Farms (operated by The Food Group) and other BIPOC farmers in the Twin Cities.
- Hamm Memorial Psychiatric Clinic: Funding will be used to provide trauma-informed, culturally responsive, anti-oppressive services to older teens and young adults who have serious mental health concerns and economic hardships. Mental health care will help these youth to function well during a pivotal time in their lives as they are learning to live independently, finishing school, and joining the workforce.
- Little Free Library: This grant will support the Read in Color initiative which provides diverse books to distribute to amplify the community's many voices- Black, Indigenous, Asian, Latinx, LGBTQ+, and more.
- Our Saviour’s Community Services: Funds will be used towards a distance learning project to help eliminate the education gap experienced by adults who want to learn English. Because so many of these students lack the English skills to rely on reliable sources of current info about COVID, this project also encompasses health support.
- ThreeSixty Journalism: Money will be used to pay for students in a nonprofit program of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of St. Thomas, to attend summer journalism camps such as College Essay Boot Camp, a print News Reporter Academy, TV Broadcast Camp and an on-campus residential Radio Broadcast Camp ThreeSixty uses the principles of strong writing and reporting to help diverse Minnesota youth tell the stories of their lives and communities.
“KARE 11 is pleased and proud to support efforts to improve our community," said Bill Dallman, general manager at KARE 11. "We are inspired by the work of these seven non-profit organizations, and are confident the TEGNA Foundation Grants will be put to vital use."
