Give to the Max Day: Statewide donations drive to highlight local nonprofits
BEMIDJI – Two local nonprofits will receive statewide exposure Thursday as they are featured with in-person interviews at the Mall of America. Their interviews will be broadcasted live online.
Leech Lake Tribal College and Peacemaker Resources both were selected to be highlighted on Give to the Max Day, an annual 24-hour drive to raise money for Minnesota nonprofits. They are among more than 50 nonprofits to be spotlighted live in an online video stream profiling nonprofits throughout the state.
“We get to reach a larger audience,” said Brooke Wichmann, program director for Peacemaker Resources. “We’re all very excited.”
Peacemaker Resources is a Bemidji nonprofit committed to building a safe and healthy community with respectful communication, empathy and effective conflict resolution. It works with local schools to provide students with conflict-resolution skills and to build social and emotional health.
Peacemaker will be featured at 12:45 p.m. and Leech Lake Tribal College at 5:50 p.m. All interviews will be viewable online at theuptake.org.
“It’s a really good way to introduce the college to those who otherwise wouldn’t hear about us,” said Kyle Erickson, LLTC’s director of advancement.
Leech Lake Tribal College in Cass Lake has nearly 350 students enrolled this year, of which 92 percent are American Indian.
Give to the Max Day, held through GiveMN.org, encourages donations to Minnesota nonprofits through its website by listing all of the state’s nonprofits. More than 125 were listed for the 56601 zip code alone.
“Their goal is to give nonprofits who are doing good work, who have good stories to share, to reach a wider audience,” Erickson said.
Many nonprofits on Give to the Max Day have the added incentive of matching funds.
Leech Lake Tribal College, for instance, has two matching opportunities, both going toward the construction of a new campus library. One is a 50 percent match through a $500,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the other is a $25,000 challenge grant from an individual donor.
“A $100 donation essentially brings in $250 for us,” Erickson said.
The board of directors for Peacemaker Resources is matching donations up to $600 through Thursday, Wichmann said.
“Our dream is that all kids will get to receive social and emotional education and conflict-education resolution,” Wichmann said.
Peacemaker currently has programs in place in elementary schools such as Central and Solway, Bemidji Middle School and at Schoolcraft Learning Community.
More funding would allow its programming to expand into other schools, Wichmann said.
Sue Liedl, an employee who has been with the program since its inception, will be the spokesperson for Peacemaker on Thursday, Wichmann said. The rest of the staff likely will gather together at the office to watch the event in real time.
“This will help us reach thousands of people across Minnesota,” Wichmann said.
For more info: GiveMN.org
To watch live: theuptake.org
