Catalyst Community Partners

Inspiring Results

Kim Keller — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 18:01:01 +0000

Wow! We are overwhelmed to be part of such an amazing, giving community. Thank you for your generosity as we work to close our $400,000 year-end funding gap. With your support, we chipped over $8000 off of the gap! Your contribution both enables and inspires us to do our work. It also reminds Tito, and all our Catalyst business owners, that they have allies in all of you.

There are lots of ways to catalyze the change throughout the year:

Encourage others to join our mailing list. This keeps you up-to-date on our work and the ways to be involved. Contact info@catalystcommunitypartners.org to subscribe.
Give during our fall campaign. If you weren’t able to contribute during Give to the Max Day, there are other opportunities to voice your support. Keep an eye out for our annual appeal letter after Thanksgiving.
Stay connected. Visit our website, blog, or like Catalyst on Facebook to learn more about how your support helps North Minneapolis thrive.

Thank you for standing should-to-shoulder with us as we make this important change reality.

Give to the Max Day Mid-Day Check-In

Kim Keller — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:37:06 +0000

Dignity comes in many forms. Sometimes, it’s as simple as a job. With 12 hours left to go in Give to the Max Day, $5475 has already been generously contributed to help us close our $400,000 funding gap. We at Catalyst Community Partners are on our way to revitalizing Broadway Avenue by offering business and real estate advice to Tito and other entrepreneurs just like him.

Broadway Avenue is changing through all of our hard work. Tito dreamed of relocating his barber shop but didn’t know how to make it happen. With Catalyst’s know-how, he was able to relocate to a location that supports triple his original staff. Looking back, Tito now says, “The perception I had of West Broadway was just that, perception. There’s more opportunity here, at the end of the day.”

With your support, we are revitalizing Broadway Avenue one person, one storefront, one block at a time. You are inspiring to us all!

Contribute today to read how Tito is changing lives on Broadway Avenue.

Give to the Max Day Supports Catalyst

Kim Keller — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 18:29:43 +0000

"The perception I had of North Minneapolis was just that, perception." - Tito Wilson, business owner

This Wednesday, November 16, is Give To The Max Day, the annual online giving event for all Minnesota-based charities. It’s a friendly 24-hour competition to see which charity can raise the most funds. Every gift counts, earning recognition, and even cash bonuses, for the causes that inspire you to click, and give.

Closing our $400,000 funding gap will help business owners like Tito, one of the many who has needed our assistance when struggling with starting or expanding a business. Catalyst Community Partners exists to support business owners and their dreams as they revitalize North Minneapolis.

With unemployment double the state average, many North Minneapolis residents live in poverty, without educational opportunities, and with little hope for the future. North Minneapolis desperately needs these jobs – and Catalyst invites your partnership this Wednesday to make sure every dream counts.

You can catalyze the change:

1. Join our mailing list. This keeps you up-to-date on our work and the ways to be involved. Contact info(at)catalystcommunitypartners(dot)org to subscribe.

2. Give online. Making an online gift on Give to the Max Day (November 16) enters Catalyst into special drawings for grant funding to continue our important work. All contributions of $50 or more will also receive a special shout-out on our Facebook and Twitter pages!

3. Stay connected. Visit our website, blog, or like Catalyst on Facebook to learn more about how your support helps North Minneapolis thrive.

Thank you!

Catalyst Hosts MPR and City of Minneapolis!

Kim Keller — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:28:36 +0000

This morning, Catalyst is hosting MPR and the City of Minneapolis at a press conference to announce Sound Point, an innovative MPR project dedicated to letting people discover the sounds and stories of the world around them on location. In interesting corners around the Twin Cities, people will encounter signs inviting them to listen on their phones to members of their communities talk about the very place they’re standing. Subjects can be related to art, history, architecture, nature or community building.

Everyone who listens to a Sound Point story will have the chance to “talk back” to MPR, offering new questions or insights about the landscape or sharing their favorite story about their community.

Thank you, MPR and Minneapolis, for including us in this exciting day!

Come One, Come All – Celebrate the Harvest!

Kim Keller — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:29:10 +0000

Our pie challenge is over and now we’re ready to celebrate! Join us in the festivities next Tuesday from 5-7:30 pm here at Catalyst (1200 W Broadway) and prepare to be serenaded by the musical renderings of the Roe Family Singers, eat scrumptious food from Kindred Kitchen chefs, and drink Liftbridge beer and Crispin cider. Don’t forget to also warm yourself by a bonfire on our patio and have a portrait taken of your gorgeous self by acclaimed photographer Rolf Hagberg.

RSVP online at http://www.razoo.com/story/Harvestfestival2011

We can’t wait to see you there!

Needed: Homes for Delicious Pies!

Kim Keller — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:10:25 +0000

Have you been following our weekend pie adventure? Kindred Kitchen chefs, Catalyst Community Partners staff and board members, and volunteers all banded together to bake 150 delicious apple pies! We were challenged to do this by Melanie Christensen, a Minneapolis resident, who wanted to find a unique way of contributing to Catalyst. With Melanie’s additional 150 pies, we have a total of 300 baked and frozen apple pies that need to find good homes.

The calculus of pie is all about programmatic impact. At a suggested donation of $20/pie, each equates to approximately an hour of kitchen rental time in Kindred Kitchen. For every 25 pies, Catalyst can put a contractor to work for a day. If all 300 pies find loving, yet hungry, homes we can provide Kindred Kitchen scholarships to six recipients. This is just a piece of the work we do with your support!

How many pies can you take home? Reserve them at: http://renevith.com/charitychallenge/

Pies can be picked up at 1200 West Broadway Ave during business hours. Email info@catalystcommunitypartners.org with any questions!

Catalyst Pie Challenge Makes It To Channel 5 News!

Kim Keller — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 19:44:11 +0000

If last night was about the bake-off, today is all about community. Today’s worker bees were greeted by Mitch Pittman from Channel 5 News, who understands that this challenge is about a lot more than pies.

Six additional surprise guests put their hands in the pie tin today – neighborhood youth who looked in the window and thought to ask for an apple. We gave them that and more, as they rolled dough, peeled apples, and assembled pies. Together, we made 30 beautiful pies.

These youth donated an hour of their day for Catalyst and our community. We couldn’t imagine better partners in action.

You too can support Catalyst and help revitalize this corridor – one pie at a time. http://renevith.com/charitychallenge/contribute/buy

P. S. – Here’s the link to the story about our pie extravaganza! http://kstc45.com/article/stories/S2330671.shtml?cat=11512

Round One of Bake Off Ends with Catalyst in the Lead!

Kim Keller — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 05:50:32 +0000

Round one of the weekend-long bake-off challenge ended with Catalyst making 65 homemade apple pies and Melanie and crew clocking in an impressive 56. Both teams surpassed their goals of 50 pies!

Melanie leads Catalyst in sales of pies, however. At a suggested donation of $20/pie, each is worth approximately one hour of kitchen rental time in Kindred Kitchen. How many hours do you want to support?

Show your support at: http://renevith.com/charitychallenge/

Plus – can you imagine anything looking more delicious?

Catalyst enters bake off challenge!

Kim Keller — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:37:25 +0000

Catalyst has been challenged to bake 150 apple pies this weekend! Together with our challenger (Melanie Christensen), we aim to have 300 delicious pies ready to eat by Monday morning. With a suggested donation of $20/pie, the impact of this bake-off is huge – $7000. For $7000, we can support six Kindred Kitchen Northside participants with program scholarships. As of now, over 100 pies have been reserved!

Time is ticking – reserve yours now! http://renevith.com/charitychallenge/

You can support us by:

Joining us this Friday, October 14 for our team-on-team bake-off, from 6pm-2am to kick off the charity challenge. Come with your spirit and motivation – and rolling pin if you have one!
Keep the pies baking with us Saturday and Sunday from 10am-3pm. We have committed to match the number of pies Melanie bakes at home, which could be up to 100 additional. We will be working hard all weekend and would love to have more hands in the pie tin!
Reserve pies! With a suggested donation of $20/pie this is a great way to support Catalyst Community Partners and fill your belly. Pies are offered both baked and frozen and can be picked up at Kindred Kitchen during our baking hours this weekend or from 9am-5pm next week.

Do you want the back-story on Melanie and Kindred Kitchen?

If you were to talk to her, Melanie would tell you that, though she loves baking, making pies is not her life ambition. She does it to challenge herself and support a local non-profit. Through our Kindred Kitchen program, Catalyst Community Partners sees many people who are interested in running their own food business – feeding people is their life’s work. Kindred Kitchen runs 15-week sessions, in which participants learn about running a food business, gain contacts in the field, and obtain access to our community kitchen. Melanie’s support and your contribution make this work possible.

Please come roll up your sleeves, bring your friends, and go home with a pie!

Catalyst Community Partners in the Spokesman-Recorder

Joelle Andreas — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 17:06:33 +0000

The Spokesman-Recorder has been the voice of the community for 75 years. And in this issue, they have chosen to highlight Catalyst and the work we are doing in North Minneapolis. Copies are available throughout the twin cities, but here is a link to the story online. Enjoy!

http://www.spokesman-recorder.com/news/Article/Article.asp?NewsID=105612&sID=4&ItemSource=L