Due to financial constraints, our clients are unable to provide the type of holiday every family deserves.  You can make this year special for the individuals and families in our programs by “adopting” them for the holidays!  Each family has a wish list - contact Megan Segriff to request a Sponsor Registration Form so you can let us know how many individuals you’d like to adopt!

Looking for a new and memorable way to serve this holiday season?  Grab a few friends, co-workers or family members and sign up to sponsor one of our client holiday parties!  We’re looking for sponsors to provide a hearty meal for around 10-20 people; bring a craft, game, or activity; and be helper elves - help us pass out the Adopt-A-Family gifts!  Program parties are scheduled for various times (day and evening) during the week of December 15.  Email Megan Segriff for more details!

Please join us as we welcome our new Executive Director

Michelle Basham

Date:  Wednesday, October 22, 2008 

Time:  3:00-5:00pm

Location:  Genesis II for Families

Program

3:00-4:00

Refreshments & Agency Tours

4:00-4:30

Hennepin County Family Court Judge Bruce Peterson

Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin

Dan Ness, Genesis II Board Chair

Michelle Basham, Genesis II Executive Director

4:30-5:00

Networking, Refreshments & Agency Tours

Get involved!  Volunteer to host a “Party With A Purpose” to promote and raise funds for the mission of Genesis II!  You choose the party setting, theme and guest list; we will provide you a Party Host Kit with all the instructions you’ll need to host your party!  Contact Sa Jin Kwok to request a Party Host Kit and/or for more information.

A huge thanks to our fall volunteer groups from University of St. Thomas Law School, Target Corporation, 3M, and Campbell Midthun!  About 70 of you put in 345 hours of sweaty labor to make our facility and our clients sparkle!  Projects included indoor/outdoor clean up, playing with the kids, painting, installing new kitchen flooring, building a retaining wall, repairing a fence and concrete steps, landscaping, and much, much more!  We are SO thankful for all your efforts and enthusiasm!

Genesis II has had not one, but TWO youth groups from out-of-state volunteer at the agency so far this summer! The senior high students from Rainbow Mennonite Church in Kansas City, Missouri and the junior high youth from the Collegiate United Methodist Church & Wesley Foundation in Ames, Iowa both scheduled workdays at Genesis II for Families as part of their mission trips to the Twin Cities. The groups spent their days taking our kids to the wading pool and doing indoor and outdoor clean-up.

Other student groups that have volunteered with us in 2008 include U of M Law students, U of M Child Psychology students, Edina Middle School students, and the Minneapolis Squash Scholars. Thanks to all our student volunteers - we appreciate you!

Michelle will start at Genesis II on July 28. She comes to us from the MN Department of Human Services, where she has been the Manager of Strategic Planning and Special Projects. Her recent projects have focused on at-risk adults; cultural competency and diversity; reducing racial/ethnic disparities in health care; and emerging issues in human services and health care.

Michelle also was the founder of Avenues for Homeless Youth, the first shelter for homeless youth in Minneapolis. She has a Masters in Public Administration from Hamline University and her Juris Doctor from Hamline University School of Law. Michelle will bring an incredible blend of experience and skills that will serve Genesis II well in the future!

Genesis II’s Spring Gala & Silent Auction was held on Friday, April 18, 2008 at Midland Hills Country Club in Roseville, MN. This benefit was the agency’s first ever major fundraising event! Our Gala engaged 100 agency donors, volunteers, board members and staff. We celebrated our clients’ successes, officially launched our new website, and presented awards to our 2007 Volunteer of the Year and 2007 Community Partner of the Year. The event allowed attendees to discover more about our cause and to choose to join ”The Genesis II Family Tree” of donors who support our mission. THANK YOU DONORS, for ensuring that the opportunity for growth at Genesis II for Families will continue.