Double the Impact: Project Community Connect

When The Salvation Army, United Way and other organizers of Project Community Connect started planning for the Aug. 27 event in Alexandria, Minn., they guessed about 500 people would come. To their surprise, the number turned out to be 1,000.

“There’s a lot more people in need out there than anybody realizes,” said Robbie Stier of Elbow Lake, Minn., a Salvation Army volunteer of seven years.  

At this event, however, Stier was representing her employer – West Central Communities Action Inc., one of about 50 non-profit organizations, businesses and government agencies on hand to offer their services to the area’s poor and working poor.

Project Community Connect was held at Alexandria United Methodist Church, where residents of Douglas County received a bevy of services: hot meals, food shelf items, back-to-school backpacks and supplies, agency referrals and much more. The goal of the event was simple: connect people in need to the services they require to become financially stable. View photos of this event.

Inside the church, attendees met with dozens of service providers, from housing organizations to medical professionals to employment specialists. In addition, families enjoyed a hot meal of scalloped potatoes and ham provided by The Salvation Army, and children picked from nearly 500 brand new backpacks filled with pencils, paper and crayons, all donated by The Salvation Army, United Way, local residents, businesses and others.

“The kids are really excited to get their backpacks,” said Alexandria resident and volunteer April Schmidt, who spent the day handing out backpacks. “People are happy and loving this.”

Outside the church, attendees were given boxes filled with cereal, ready-to-eat meals and snacks, all provided via a “food drop” from Second Harvest North Central Food Bank. They also received sacks filled with fresh produce, including potatoes, carrots, onions and celery.
The Salvation Army has helped secure six more area food drops that will take place once a month through fall and winter.    

“This is nice,” said Alexandria resident Randy Holthaus, who showed up to the event with his three kids. “I worked for the same company almost 30 years, and I’ve been out of work now for two and a half months. This is a big help.”

Project Community Connect is held once a year to support residents of Douglas County.  

“The economy is very hard on people,” said volunteer Zjana Gunderson, 25, who spent the afternoon helping people carry food to their car. “One way we can help is to have the community donate, and have a place where people can learn about where the support services are for them.”