Cornerstone Current News

Make a secure online contribution today. Together, we can create a society where violence in relationships no longer exists.

DONATE

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

A Time of Transition For Cornerstone

In October of 2014, I joined Cornerstone and began one of the richest experiences of my life. I have felt so fortunate to be a part of this incredible organization and have witnessed firsthand the enormous and positive impact we have been having on individuals and children across our community. But now, nine years later, I have made the decision to step down and retire by the end of this year.

Read Meg Schnabel's full statement on her time at Cornerstone and what's next for our organization here.

APRIL IS SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH

April 2023 marks the 22nd anniversary of Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) - a month dedicated to raising awareness and calling for the prevention of sexual assault, harassment, and abuse. You can learn more about the history of SAAM here.

The theme for this year's SAAM is Drawing Connections: Prevention Demands Equity, calling on all individuals, communities, organizations, and institutions to change ourselves and the systems surrounding us to build racial equity and respect. We can trace a line from sexual violence to systems of oppression, and we can’t end sexual violence without also ending racism. Drawing connections recognizes that it will take ending all forms of oppression to end sexual harassment, assault, and abuse. You can access resources for this year’s theme here.

Cornerstone provides support to victims/survivors of sexual violence as part of our full continuum of services. Learn more on our website.

THANK YOU TO THE CHURCH OF ST. EDWARD

We are so grateful to the Church of St. Edward community for their generous donation of cleaning supplies this spring. As part of their services during the Lenten season, the members of St. Edward collected everything from laundry detergent to Clorox wipes for Cornerstone's families. As the cost of basic needs and housing continue to increase, being able to provide these items to Cornerstone's participants makes a difference in each families' budget and is truly appreciated!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Cornerstone is hosting a Mother's Day celebration on Tuesday, May 16th from 5pm - 7:30 pm for our families. We would like to offer free massages and/or makeovers to the mothers, so if you have those skillsets and would like to share them with Cornerstone's participants, please contact

courtneyp@cornerstonemn.org.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Our greatest needs right now are $25 - $50 gift cards that allow us to quickly address the immediate needs of victims/survivors. Gift cards to Target and Walmart allow us to help families as needs arise for things like food, clothing and shoes, while Visa gift cards provide us even more flexibility to assist with things that can’t be found at big box stores, like gas and bus tokens.

Other items needed this month include:

Diapers--all sizes
Items from our Amazon wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1J6SHUWZY0NFV

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

ADDITIONAL VOLUNTEER NEEDS

We are looking for volunteer groups to host Tuesday night community meals for Cornerstone participants on May 23rd and June 27th. If you and/or your faith group, business, civic organization, or neighborhood group is interested in helping out or have questions, please contact courtneyp@cornerstonemn.org.

Volunteer groups will shop and prepare a meal for 20-50 people, serve the meal to Cornerstone families and then clean up. Groups are here from 4:30pm to 7:00pm including set up and cleaning. Group size is usually 6-10 volunteers.

In addition, we are looking for volunteers with marketing experience to help get the word out about Cornerstone's services for sexually exploited youth. If you would like more information, please contact courtneyp@cornerstonemn.org.

THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS

Thank you to a dedicated group of volunteers from Wilmington Trust for their hard work staining Cornerstone's fence and doing outdoor clean-up. They helped the agency get ready for spring!

We are also grateful to the Jefferson High School DECA Club for their donations of basic needs items and financial support.