Contact: Glen Tautges, CMCF Development Officer 253-4380 Amy Johnson, Stearns Bank Marketing Director, 253-6607
Charity Challenge Responds to Record Need
Partnerships Stretch Food Shelf Donations Farther
St. Cloud, Minn. – The Norman C. Skalicky Foundation and the Central Minnesota Community Foundation partnered today to issue a community matching challenge to raise critical dollars for area food shelves as local agencies face record need.
Catholic Charities experienced its busiest day on record on Nov. 2. The food shelf provided more than 25,000 pounds of food to 348 families on that day alone, said Kathryn Stolpman, emergency services program manager. The St. Cloud-area agency expects to serve 2,400 local families in November.
Typically, the holidays put additional financial strain on many households, but economic conditions coupled with the onset of cold weather in Central Minnesota has heightened the need, Stolpman said “Many nonprofits and the people they serve are still struggling,” CMCF President Steve Joul said. “At the Central Minnesota Community Foundation, we’re fortunate to partner with donors like Norm Skalicky to meet challenges facing our community today."
The need led Skalicky to double the initial Charity Challenge this year. The Norman C. Skalicky Foundation will match every dollar donated up to $50,000. The community donations and the matching funds will go to the Catholic Charities, Salvation Army and St. Joseph food shelves. Area food shelves further multiply monetary donations made during the Charity Challenge up to nine times through their partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank.
“I looked at the generosity of our community from the past ten years of the Charity Challenge, and how quickly these dollars roll in each year. I just felt compelled to really put a challenge out to our community. The need is great, and I know that this year’s challenge can once again be met.”
Last year, the local community Charity Challenge raised nearly $110,000. Since Skalicky started the Charity Challenge in 2001, more than $800,000 has been donated to area food shelves.
Donations need to be received by Dec. 31, 2011. They can be made online at CommunityGiving.org. Checks made payable to the Central Minnesota Community Foundation (Charity Challenge) may be mailed to or dropped off at the Central Minnesota Community Foundation, 101 Seventh Ave. S, Suite 100, St. Cloud, MN, 56301.
The Central Minnesota Community Foundation (CMCF), based in St. Cloud, is a public charity that administers over 500 charitable funds totaling more than $65 million for the benefit of local residents. CMCF has been engaging people and connecting resources to build a better community since 1985. CMCF deepens its community impact through its affiliates, Alexandria Area Community Foundation, Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation, and Willmar Area Community Foundation, as well as its supporting organization the Minnesota Real Estate Foundation. Learn more at CommunityGiving.org.
