A Joyous Holiday Week At Avenues

AveNEWS | December 2019

You Can Give Youth a Home

6,000 youth in Minnesota don't have a stable home tonight. You can change that. A gift of $84 provides one youth with a week of intensive support.

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Gratitude This Month

Thank you to all the companies and indivual donors who made our holiday gift program a success this year.

We're grateful for your partnership: Graybar, TopLine Federal Credit Union, East Ridge Raptor Football, Synchrony, Alerus, Wells Fargo, Edina Realty, Cushman & Wakefield, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Carlson for Change, Margaret A Cargill Foundation, Xcel Energy Minnesota, The Assurance Group, St. Vincent De Paul (Twin Cities), and University Lutheran Church of Hope.

Thank you to our monthly donors who keep our in-kind donations organized, our houses clean and help with administration work. We appreciate you Kim Dudgeon, Jane Windmeier, Tom and Nicole Hayes and Rose Ahmann.

This month Carlson for Community raised money for Avenues by hosting a pie eating contest during their Thanksgiving celebration. Thank you for your continued support, Carlson!

A Joyous Holiday Week

On Christmas day, youth at Minneapolis and Brooklyn Avenues woke up to trees surrounded by gifts. Every youth had filled out a gift wish list, and caring community members joyfully fulfilled their wishes. Youth were so excited on Christmas morning, that they woke each other up to open gifts.

Staff agree that this year's holiday festivities were the best yet. Youth had a fun filled week of activities, including gingerbread house making, sugar cookie decorating and stocking decorating.

The holidays can be a hard time for people, especially for youth experiencing homelessness. We're grateful for our staff and community who made the holidays joyous this year.

A Thousand Gifts Wrapped This Year

Avenues' volunteers and donors made the holidays bright for youth at Avenues this month. In November, all Avenues youth wrote holiday gift wish lists that were "adopted" by donors who shopped for them. More than a thousand gifts were donated, including over $3,000 in gift cards. Even the most unique wish list requests were shopped for, including a giant T-Rex stuffed animal, virtual reality glasses and jars of Nutella.

More than 40 volunteers wrapped gifts and placed them in a large box, which was also wrapped. We have so many people to thank for making this happen. Thank you Brookdale Covenant Church for once again allowing us to use your space. Thank you OUT at Comcast for purchasing the wrapping materials and treats for the holiday wrapping party. Thank you The Church of Saint Gerard Majella for your once again volunteering your time to help organize gifts..

Finally, thank you to all of the companies listed in our Gratitude section for donating gifts. By far this was our most amazing year. Youth at Avenues appreciate you!

Abule, Avenues' Newest Program, Officially Launches

Murad, the Abule Program Manager, shares about the program's launch below:

On December 5th, Avenues team and community members celebrated the launching of Abule, a community-based program. Abule is a collective housing program for those who identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) where youth experiencing homelessness are paired with community members who are willing to share their home and resources.

As the first public event of Abule, the focus was to raise awareness about the program, to share the progress and results of the programs' creation with the people who were already involved, and to recruit other community members and activists on the journey of community healing and re-rooting. During the event, community members shared their appreciation and excitement about the concept of Abule and the values that it will promote within the community.

One of the concepts the program hopes to grow “The peoplehood network.” The peoplehood network is a space/action orient where BIPOC community members can come together to help establish a collective effort, wisdom, and resource pool to aid in the reduction of youth experiencing homelessness.

Abule’s core practice is centered around Ubuntu, which is an African philosophy that translates to "I am because we are”. Therefore, it is our collective obligation to alleviate the suffering that our youth are experiencing through homelessness. The spirit and practice of Ubuntu embody the peoplehood network as a collective group and as active individuals working with our communities.

As a result of this gathering, community members decided to hold a monthly gathering for the peoplehood network to support each other, take actionable steps and expand the Ubuntu spirit in our communities.

If you are interested in learning more and becoming Ubuntu, please contact Murad Owda at mowda@avenuesforyouth.org or 612-750-9503.

Impact Opportunity

Support A Youth Like Messiah

“Violence has been a struggle in my life, but I stay strong. I have ten little siblings to look after. I got to show them that there’s a brighter meaning and another side to how we’re living. I never would have thought I’d be in this place (Avenues) but I wake up every day and realize, ok, the next day is closer to what I want." -Messiah, a youth at Avenues.

Make a year end gift today to support youth like Messiah. Today, Messiah is living in his own apartment and helping support his family. A gift of $84 provides one youth with a week of intensive support. Make an impact now.

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Avenues for Youth | www.avenuesforyouth.org