Community Relations Update

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Community Relations Update

Submitted by Mary Kay Boell RN

I want to give a big thank you and a shout out to our chapter members! Thank you for your financial donations and time given to the organizations our chapter supports. Here is the latest contributions update for community relations:

September – We collected
$291.00 for Second Harvest Heartland. Our donation was matched by Excel Energy creating a $582.00 donation that will feed many families in our communities.

October – We collected for Feed My Starving Children. We collected $125.00. As many of you are aware, it is an organization that turns hunger into hope for malnourished children throughout the world. Thank you for your financial support and volunteer hours spent at FMSC packing sites. Groups attended two locations: Coon Rapids and Eagan.

November – Our donation’s supported the Marine Toys for Tots program. We collected 35 toys. Thank you for helping less fortunate children enjoy a little Christmas Joy.

December – We collected monetary and food donations for The Ronald McDonald house.The monetary donation of $201.00 is much appreciated. The cash donation will help to stock the pantry. We will be serving lunch at RMH, cook for kids program after the February 10th meeting.

February – At the February meeting our monetary collection will support The American Heart Association.

March – Our donations will go to Dakota Woodlands, a transitional housing for woman and children in Dakota County.

May – Our last chapter meeting of the year, donations will be collected for Mobile Lunch Box. The Mobile Lunch Box program is operated by Open Door Pantry in Eagan. It serves summer lunch boxes and provides some activities to school age children in need in Dakota County.

It is never too late to become involved with Community Relations. Ideas and suggestions are always welcomed![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_wp_custommenu nav_menu=”11″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Community Relations

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Community Relations

[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]As chairman of Community Relations, I would like to thank our chapter for their outstanding efforts and generosity. The financial contributions collected during our chapter meetings is greatly appreciated. The time spent volunteering at Feed my Starving Children and the Ronald McDonald house is also making a difference in people’s lives.

Financial donations were collected for: Second Harvest Food Bank (September, $260.00), Augsburg College of Nursing Free Clinic (October, $78.00), Feed My Starving Children (January, $100.00), Mobile Lunchbox/ Eagan Open Door Pantry (June, $125.00). Thirty-five toys were collected for the Toys for Tots drive at the Fall Workshop. Some members donated pillowcases for the organization “Ryan’s Case for Smiles” at Expo in Boston. If you can sew, please google the organization for instructions on how to make them. We will help get them there. They continue to collect them every year at Expo!

Service events were well attended. On December 12, 2016 we served pizza, salad, fruit, and cookies at the Ronald McDonald House located within Minneapolis Children’s Hospital. Participating in the Cook for Kids program is an enjoyable and a fun evening! Please join us in the future if you have not been a part of this service event. After the January Jam, several chapter members and their families were busy packing meals at the Feed My Starving Children, Eagan and Coon Rapids locations. This was also a fun event to help starving children in other countries.

The chairman of Community Relations is a great way to be involved with our amazing chapter. I have had the role for the last 3 years. I am always looking for new ideas or suggestions on ways to benefit our community. If a member of our chapter is interested in finding a way to be more involved, please consider taking over community relations as the chairman. Thank you in advance. Any questions regarding this role, please do not hesitate to email me at mkboell@yahoo.com. Remember, we all do have the power to make a difference in someone’s life!

Mary Kay[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”main-sidebar”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Community Relations Update

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Community Relations Update

By Mary Kay Boell

Last December, twelve pizzas, salads, fruit, cookies and brownies were served at the Ronald McDonald House. Our Chapter continues our involvement with the Cook for Kids Program at Mpls Children’s Hospital. As many of you know, it is designed to help families that are being served at the Ronald McDonald house while their children are receiving treatment and care for major illnesses.

A big shout out and thank you to the following members of our chapter: Marilyn W., Jane O., Anne J., Mary Kay B., Leah V., Cheryl L., Barb W., Sheri D., Rorie C., Eileen S., Denise E., and Mary M. Our involvement at RMH would not be possible without the giving of your time and donation of the food. Thank you!

Our chapter played a role in brightening a child’s life on Christmas morning. We collected 30 toys for the US Marine Corps Toys for Tots. Again, thank you for the donations.
After the January Jam, several AORN members were busy packing meals at Feed My Starving Children. We participated at the Eagan and the Coon Rapids locations.
Marilyn W., her son and his girlfriend, Anne J., Carmel G., Jenny W, her granddaughter and a friend were busy at the Eagan location. At Coon Rapids, Barb W., Kris D., her daughter and granddaughter, Alyce B. her daughter and granddaughter helped pack 145 boxes, which is 31,320 meals! 86 kids will be fed for a year.

Thank you all for giving of your time to make a difference in a child’s life!

Our involvement with our chapter service projects would not happen without our volunteers. Thank you to those who give of their time to make a difference.

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AORN #2401 Social Media

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AORN #2401 Social Media

by Leah VanGorp

AORN of Twin Cities is going strong with 282 members from multiple surgical settings, but how can we all stay connected and use each other as a resource? Since our previous method of communication, OR Nurse Link has provided challenges at the local and national level, we have found new ways to stay connected! If you haven’t heard yet, AORN of Twin Cities has a closed group page on Facebook. If you already have a Facebook account (it’s free to have one), then search for our group: Twin Cities AORN #2401, and you can request to join! We have grown to 71 members on Facebook! People use Facebook to stay connected to family, friends and see what’s going on in the world and express what matters to them.

The other two forms of social media that we are on are Instagram and Twitter. Instagram is an online mobile photo-sharing site that enables its users to take pictures and share them either publicly or privately on the app, as well as through a variety of other social networking platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Flickr. You might ask yourself: “How do I start using Instagram?,” well I’m glad you asked! Go to your mobile device and download the Instagram app. Click the “sign up” button and enter your email, username, password, phone number (optional), and upload a photo (optional) to create your account. You can choose to add a bit of personal information in the “about” section. Next, you can follow friends- you can optionally choose to import your contacts and find friends from your contact list, Facebook account, Twitter account, or simply search for names and user names. Our Instagram name is: AORN TC. Follow us and see chapter happenings and announcements via photos!

So then you might be asking: “What is Twitter?” Twitter is an online social network, which allows you to send instant messages (called Tweets) up to 140 characters in length. Tweets can include photos, videos, and links to other websites. Those posts can become available to all users around the world in a matter of seconds. Tweets can be posted by using a mobile app or website. Other users can “Favorite,” and “Retweet” the post, if they like it. With Twitter, you can follow just about anything and see what’s happening in the world by staying informed, get news as it breaks and keep up with everything you care about from sports to politics to TV. Signing up for a Twitter account is very similar to Facebook or Instagram, you can do it from your mobile device or your computer and it’s free. Our Twitter name is: @aorn tc. This is another place you can see chapter events and announcements and see what news our chapter is following! And if all of this social media stuff is a bit crazy sounding and overwhelming, you can always ask one of your kids or grandkids and I bet they can show you how to navigate it all.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”main-sidebar”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

2017 Feed My Starving Children

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Following the education on Saturday, January 7th, 2017, we will grab lunch together and then work at Feed My Starving Children in the afternoon at two locations in the Twin Cities from 2-4 pm.

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]North / West Suburbs
401 93rd Ave NW
Coon Rapids, MN 55433
(Phone: 763-504-2919)

South / East Suburbs
990 Lone Oak Road
Suite 136
Eagan, MN   55121
(Phone:  763-746-2952)

Please contact MaryKay Boell at mkboell@yahoo.com
if interested in attending.  We will need to confirm participants ahead of the scheduled day.

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Community Relations

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Community Relations

By Mary Kay Boell

“The Power of You”, as many AORN members are aware is the national theme from Martha Stratton for the 2016-2017 year. How applicable this theme is for community relations. We all have the power to make a difference in someone lives!

The September kick off chapter meeting we collected monetary donations for Second Harvest Heartland. Their mission is to end hunger through community partnerships. It is one of the nation’s largest and most efficient food banks. It delivers millions of meals to people who need it. Turning hunger into hope!

We collected $260 at our September meeting. United Health Care matched donations during the month of September. The $520 we donated equaled 3,120 meals that Second Harvest Heartland was able to provide for those in need. Thank you for your generosity.

We will be collecting for Toys for Tots in November, at our fall workshop on 11/12/16 and at the 3M meeting on 11/21/16

There are 3 service events planned for this chapter year. Monday, 12/12/16 we will be serving dinner at Ronald McDonald House (Children’s Mpls) the time commitment is 430-730 PM. We have participated in the Cook for Kids program in the past, it is a lot of fun and very rewarding. I hope that many of you can join us. Look for sign-up sheets at the monthly meetings and at the workshops.

The “January Jam” on Saturday 1/7/17 is scheduled from 7:30-11:30 am. After the meeting anyone interested is invited to volunteer at Feed My Starving Children. Spots have been reserved at both the Eagan and Coon Rapids location. The time commitment is 2-4pm.   I was thinking a morning of CEU ‘S, lunch with AORN friends and then a couple hours in the afternoon to pack meals for malnourished children around the world. We all have the power to make a difference!!

Please let me know if you have any suggestions or ideas for Community Relations. I would love to hear from you.

Thank you,

Mary Kay Boell
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Ronald McDonald House – Cook for Kids Program

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Community Relations
Ronald McDonald House(RMH) –  Cook for Kids Program

By MaryKay Boell

logo_rmh2A big shout out and thank you to Marilyn Westphal, Alyce Brekke, Kris Delfun-Peterson, her friend Nancy, Kathie Adams, and Kathie’s daughter-in-law Elizabeth, Cheryl Langford, Rorie Chinnock, MaryKay Boell, and MaryKay’s friend,Cordy. On Sunday, May 15th they served lunch to 65 people at the Ronald McDonald house located inside Children’s Hospital. The house serves families of children receiving treatment at Children’s in Minneapolis. The Cook for Kids program that we participate in serves over 4,500 families a year at the four Ronald McDonald House locations in the Twin Cities.

After a long day in the hospital and seeing your child ill, families can look forward to a “home away from home cooked meal.” We received many compliments on our Taco Bar. The families are very appreciative of the giving of our time, and are very grateful for the food
we served.

A few of the families shared their stories with us as we mingled. There was a family from north of Bemidji whose baby was airlifted to Children’s Minneapolis for respiratory distress. Another family shared that they were told by the medical staff to gather their family and prepare to say their goodbyes to a baby with cardiac issues. Volunteering a few hours of our time is minimal in comparison to what the families at RMH are facing on a daily basis.

At our May monthly chapter meeting, we also had collected $65.00 that allowed us to purchase items (breakfast cereal, granola bars, peanut butter, and jelly,etc) for the pantry at RMH in addition to the meal we served. Serving a meal at the Ronald McDonald House is a rewarding experience. I hope you can join us in the future as we continue our involvement with the Cook for Kids Program. KUDDOS and thank you again for volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]