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REBUILDING LIVES, RESTORING HOPE

Cornerstone's continuum of service helps to create communities where individuals and families are safe and children thrive. We advocate, educate and lead the way to social change. Learn more

Cornerstone's 40th Anniversary Luncheon Fundraiser:

A Day of Honoring Our Past and Supporting Our Future

40 years ago, Cornerstone was founded by a group of volunteers to connect women in crisis due to domestic violence with support and safety. In the four decades that followed, we have grown and become a multifaceted organization with accessible, innovative, and comprehensive services for adults and youth of all genders.

Last week, on October 27th, 2023, we were able to honor that history and support our future at the Cornerstone 40th Anniversary Luncheon Fundraiser at the Minnesota Valley Country Club. We were incredibly grateful to see all of the familiar faces of 40 years of Cornerstone in one room: original founders, previous leaders, and employees, longstanding supporters and volunteers, as well as new friends and leaders who we look forward to joining this community.

(Left to right): Retiring Executive Director Meg Schnabel, Board Chair Loren Thacker, and New Executive Director Artika Roller.

Senior Director of Advancement Courtney Poja speaks to a crowd of over 230 attendees.

After some time to catch up with friends, the luncheon included an overview of Cornerstone's history, a moment to honor our retiring Executive Director Meg Schnabel and a warm welcome to our new Executive Director Artika Roller, comments from our Board Chair Loren Thacker, overviews and stories from our Day One and Community & Economic Empowerment Services (CEES) Programs, a sample presentation from our School-Based Services team, and a powerful final message from our Board of Directors Member, Kelsey Brison.

To everyone who attended, helped spread the word, brought a friend, and donated, thank you! To our sponsors, speakers, and volunteers, this event would not have been possible without you. We are so thankful for every member of this community!

If you were unable to attend and would like to make a donation, you can still do so here!

This event was made possible by our generous sponsors!

Current Needs, Volunteer Opportunities, and How You Can Help?

Gift Cards - Cornerstone's families are often in need of basic—but important—items on a short timeline. $25 to $50 Gift card donations to stores like Target and Walmart allow the families we work with to meet those needs quickly.

One example comes from Mia and her six-year-old son. Mia's son was growing quickly and last year, as winter was approaching, she asked her son to try on his winter boots to see if he could still fit in them.

His feet had clearly gotten too big and he needed a new pair of boots so he could safely wait for the school bus. But money was very tight for their family. Mia connected with her Cornerstone advocate and was able to get a gift card to buy a new pair of much-needed boots in her son's size right away—before the snow fell.

Gift Wrapping - Do you love gift wrapping? We need lots of help this year wrapping gifts for Cornerstone's families. We are happy to have individuals and groups come in; the timing is flexible, but we would like the wrapping done between 11/30 and 12/8.

Help with Mailing Project - It's time for Cornerstone's year-end mailing to go out and we need help stuffing and sealing envelopes. If you are available on 11/15, 11/16 or 11/17 and would like to help out, we can be flexible on scheduling during the day.

Amazon Wishlist - Other items needed this month include anything currently listed on our Amazon Wishlist which we update regularly to reflect our programs' and participants' needs.

Movie Night Baskets - Now with the winter season, we are looking for individuals or a volunteer group interested in purchasing and assembling fun movie night baskets/kits for our participants. These could include anything like candy, snacks, popcorn, blankets, as well as Amazon Gift Cards to allow participants to rent or purchase a movie.

Marketing Experience - We are also looking for volunteers with marketing experience to help get the word out about Cornerstone's services for sexually exploited youth.

Research Volunteer - Are you looking for a way to contribute to Cornerstone on your own schedule and from home? We are looking for volunteers to help with research projects to support our Development team.

Interested in Donating or Volunteering?

If you are interested in any of these opportunities or would like any more information, please contact Courtney P, Director of Advancement, at courtneyp@cornerstonemn.org.

Donations may be dropped off at our Bloomington location Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm. Please email Courtney once you’ve dropped off a donation so that we may record your gift and properly thank you.

Thank You To Our Supporters!

Thank you to the Bloomington Federated Women's Club for your generous donation of school supplies this fall—we are so grateful for your ongoing partnership in Cornerstone's work!

We are so grateful to the United Methodist Women of the Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church for our 2023 Balch Memorial Fund grant, allowing us to support families accessing emergency shelter in local hotels. We also received generous support for our critical Emergency Services programming from Ameriprise, a long-time partner in this work.

Thank you so much to Kelsey Brison, owner of K Mackenzie Design and Cornerstone Board of Directors member, for providing the beautiful floral table arrangements at the luncheon.

Finally, thank you to 40th Event sponsors for making our luncheon possible:

Our platinum sponsor the Charlson Foundation
Our gold sponsor Western National Insurance
Our silver sponsors including WIPFLI, MarshMcLennan Agency, Carmen and Jim Campbell, and Karin Van Dyke
Our bronze sponsors including Birchwood Financial Partners, Bloomington Convention & Visitors Bureau, and City of Lakes Wealth Management Group Wells Fargo Advisors.