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Live United by Erin Haag

 

Three years ago, I was in MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers). Each year, we’re led in guided discussions of what we can do for ourselves to make an improvement in our lives. At the time, I was home with a little girl full of energy and a little boy who required extra care. During that time in our lives, we were in the ER so often we had a “go bag” always with us. As much as I love being their mama, I also knew I’d be interested in either going back to work or leading volunteer projects — someday. My goal was that when my youngest went to kindergarten, I would go and earn my mini MBA in nonprofit management. I felt that it would be a good way to dip my toe back into the water.

Fast forward to last year. I didn’t dip my toe in the water. I got thrown in the deep end of the pool. Then when the pandemic started, I realized it was actually the ocean. Maybe there’s a riptide — we’ll see if we can avoid that.

I’ve learned a lot this past year. There’s still so much more to learn. Working in nonprofits for the past 20-plus years, the mission was usually a single population focus or a cause. While the pillars of United Way are health, education and financial stability, that can look like a lot of different things.

These past few weeks, the United Way of Freeborn County team has been learning about food access. What food resources we have available in our county and what the needs are. We hosted a pop-up pantry and handed out boxes of food, serving over 752 individuals. Anecdotally, we found that those that came to the pop-up are not also going to our local food shelves. Either they had some misunderstandings of how it worked, or they felt like they “weren’t that bad off to sign up for food pantries” but needed a little help that month. Hosting a “pop-up pantry” felt a little easier for them, but it allowed us to open up a conversation with them and to reassure them that our local food shelves are for everyone. As part of Veterans United, we also utilized the American Legion Riders to deliver food to a home bound veteran. If you are a veteran and would like a box of food, please don’t hesitate to call our office at 507-373-8670. There’s plenty of food to go around, and our American Legion Riders would be honored to drop it safely at your doorstep.

The pop-up pantry went well enough that we’re doing it again. This time, we are partnering up with Hayward Lutheran Church. On Friday, June 26, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., come on out to Hayward to receive a box of food. Just like last time, these boxes of food are provided by Channel One Food Bank. There are some simple questions asked, such as how many people are in your house — however, there is no verification or documents that you need to bring. We simply use the information to make sure we can plan for enough food in the future.

It’s a time for learning. Learning about new skills, new ways of doing things and learning about the barriers in our community. It’s also a time to keep learning the skills we needed all along, like budgeting, how to fix a car and the art of virtual book groups. Albert Lea Community Education and the Albert Lea Public Library have done a great job of offering some options for people to keep learning. For me, I needed to learn more about nonprofit management. It was important before, and with the uncertainty of the future, it’s more important than ever. I’m proud to say that despite swimming in the ocean these days, this week I completed my mini-MBA in nonprofit management through St. Thomas University. I’m excited to take these new skills that I’ve learned and put them to good, practical use with United Way of Freeborn County. I’m not the only one trying to swim in the ocean. There are plenty of families swimming a little too close to the riptide. It’s our job to stand united and throw them a life preserver.

Erin Haag is the executive director of the United Way of Freeborn County.