OUTREACH
LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS
Gifts of Grace
Join us in spreading some holiday cheer to local youth and families! We’re collecting $25 gift cards through December 15th for Easter’s partners. Drop off your donations at Easter on the Hill and help make this season brighter!
The most helpful gift cards are Walmart, Amazon, Target, grocery stores, gas stations, fast food restaurants, and visa gift cards.
ON-SITE PARTNERS
TREEHOUSE
Tuesdays and Thursdays, Easter by the Lake
TreeHouse is a program that creates a safe spaces for teens to open up, feel safe, and feel like they belong. Their mission is to end hopelessness among teens. TreeHouse wants every teen to believe:
I am lovable, capable, and worthwhile.
I am loved without strings and never alone.
I have a future.
We need volunteers to pray for teens, provide food, serve as a mentor, and serve on the Community Development Team.
HELP FEED HUNGRY TEENS
Many of the TreeHouse teens haven’t had dinner when they arrive at the Lake in the evening. You can help feed hungry people! Prepare a meal or snack for 30 people, and drop it off at Easter for the teens, volunteers, and staff to share together. The teens love food and really appreciate it. This is a great service opportunity for families, friends, Life Groups, Confirmation groups, Bible studies, or small groups. Interested in helping? Contact Rhonda Doran rdoran@easter.org and scan QR code.
HOMEWORK HELP
Mondays - Thursdays, Easter by the Lake
Reaching Up Homework Help is an after-school academic enrichment program for elementary, middle, and high school students. Four days a week, students in grade 2 through 12 receive individual and small-group tutoring, literacy and math intervention, mentoring, service opportunities, and physical activity.
Volunteers help students with school work, provide encouragement, and participate in games. Homework Help also needs van volunteers to drive students from schools to Easter by the Lake, and from the Lake to their homes.
FARE FOR ALL
Monthly at Easter by the Lake
3:30-5:30 p.m.
Save on food and support our community. Fare For All is a cooperative purchasing opportunity that offers fresh produce and frozen meat. It’s open to everyone and your purchase helps keep the food affordable. Food is packaged in meat and produce packs ranging in cost from $10 to $30.
Looking for a way to save on groceries? Fare for All is a non-profit, discount grocery program that sells frozen meat and fresh produce. Open to ALL - no questions asked. Save 30-40% off retail prices. Credit, debit, EBT, or cash accepted.
Also, consider helping at Fare For All. Easter needs people to work alongside Fare For All staff to make this event possible. Click the link below to sign up.
October 8, 2024
November 5, 2024
December 3, 2024
January 7, 2025
February 11, 2025
March 11, 2025
April 8, 2025
May 6, 2025
June 10, 2025
July 15, 2025
August 12, 2025
September 9, 2025
October 7, 2025
November 4, 2025
December 2, 2025
FREE COMMUNITY MEALS
by Loaves & Fishes
Mondays - Thursdays, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Easter by the Lake
Loaves and Fishes provides free, chef-prepared meals four nights a week. Meals are prepared and packaged in to-go containers for you to take home, eat in the community room, or deliver to others. Everyone is welcome. Volunteer to help us cook and serve meals.
RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE
First Friday of the Month, 11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Easter by the Lake
Every two seconds someone in the United States needs blood. Sign up to donate blood, or help with the welcome desk or canteen. Questions? Contact Rhonda Doran at rdoran@easter.org or 651-452-3680.
HUNGER PARTNERS
THE OPEN DOOR
Easter partners with The Open Door pantry to end local hunger through access to healthy food. People are able to access healthy food choices through a fixed-site food pantry in Eagan, multiple Mobile Pantry sites, the Mobile Lunch Box, and the Garden To Table program. Through these programs, they provide food support to over 15,000 people every month.
360 COMMUNITIES
Easter supports 360 Communities mission to deliver safety and stability that improves lives.
With effective and holistic programming, 360 leverages community partnerships, builds trusting relationships, and breaks cycles of violence and poverty. They strengthen communities with measurable success.
Hope for tomorrow starts with a solid foundation of safety and stability today.
HOUSING PARTNERS
CATCH
CATCH is the Coalition for Affordable/Transitional Community Housing. It provides safe, affordable housing for families with very limited resources. Easter sponsors one of seven CATCH houses in our community.
DAKOTA WOODLANDS
Dakota Woodlands is a family shelter empowering homeless people to create a stable future for their families. They provide shelter, nutritious meals, and education and activities to teach life-skills.
THE LINK
The Link works with youth and young families to overcome the impacts of poverty and social injustice. They provide supportive housing and skills development to youth from ages 10-24 who may experience homelessness, sex trafficking, and/or involvement in the juvenile justice system.
MICAH
MICAH is the Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing. They envisions a metropolitan area where everyone without exception has a safe, decent, accessible, and affordable home.
BE A WELCOMING PRESENCE
Mentor an individual or couple who are new to Minnesota
As Christians our hearts go out to those who have been forced to leave their homes with little more than the clothes on their backs due to war, threat of violence, natural disasters, or famine. Are you interested in welcoming our new neighbors and creating a more loving community? Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota’s Refugee Services are looking for adults willing to serve as mentors for an individual or couple who have been in Minnesota for ninety days or more.
In the resettlement process, refugees have been learning English, Minnesotan culture, receiving job training, and more. Many refugees also experience loneliness or isolation. YOU can help. Mentors meet with their new friend once or twice a month for dinner or other forms of social connection. Together they can explore community events, practice the English language, and other areas of shared interest. Training is provided by LSS. This is a great way to live out the welcome and love we receive in Jesus Christ. Please email rdoran@easter.org if you are interested.
Donate to Refugee families
Our faith calls on us to welcome the stranger. Our history reflects American Lutherans’ deep immigrant roots and passionate commitment to welcoming newcomers. In this moment, there is a critical need for congregations to prayerfully discern and take action to support the successful integration of refugees into the United States. Lutheran Social Service of MN has asked for help as they re-home the very high volume of Afghan refugees arriving in St. Paul right now.
Donations must be coordinated with LSS Refugee Services
Email refugee.services@lssmn.org to coordinate drop-offs of your Donation Kits at our Minneapolis office at 2400 Park Avenue
Gift cards to Target, Walmart, Cub, or ALDI (these are huge for new arrivals. Gift cards are dignity building. They give our new neighbors a sense of control at a time when they have no control in their lives.)
Refugee Services provides support to refugees and immigrants in Minnesota. These donations will help families as they start anew after losing nearly everything to violence and persecution.