Educational Advocacy with Karen Casanova

Today we have Karen Casanova, the Chief Development Officer of the Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ), with us.

NAZ exists to permanently close the achievement gap and end generational poverty in North Minneapolis. What have been the recent effects of the pandemic, distance learning, racial reckoning, on scholars and their families.

How can the community continue to support?

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
Hello, friends, Welcome to reada Finding Volunteerism, a podcast by hands
On Twin Cities. I'm Tracy Nielsen, the executive director of hands On Twin
Cities, and I'm your host.What if we could end generational poverty and

(00:36):
build a culture of achievement. We'reall children of color from low income communities,
graduate from high school, college,and career ready. Our partners at
the North Side Achievement Zone or NAZare working to achieve just that. To
share more about this exciting work,I'm joined by a fantastic friend and colleague,
Karen Casanova. Karen serves as theChief Development Officer at the North Side

(00:59):
Achievements. She is a lifelong residenceof Minneapolis is committed to serving the city.
She loves dismantling racial disparities and ensuringthat all our cities children have opportunities
to succeed. She is a truejoy, a wonderful collaborative partner, and
so inspiring. Let's chat with Karen. Hi, Karen, thank you so

(01:23):
so much for being with us todayand chatting with me. Thanks for the
invitation. I'm happy to be herewith you. Yeah. Well, just
to kick things off, why don'tyou tell us a little bit about who
you are and give us a sortof high level overview of the North Side
Achievement Zone. Sure thing, Well, my name is Karen Casanova. I

(01:46):
am the chief Development Officer at theNorth Side Achievement Zone in Minneapolis. I've
been with the organization for about ayear and a half. I am also
a proud board member of hands OnTwin Cities, which has been like six
years, I don't know, fiveor six years a while UM, but
have been I actually have been afan of both the North Side Achievement Zone,

(02:08):
which I'll call it NAZ a lotas we're talking UM. That's that's
the acronym we're known by UM NASand hands On UM. I spent a
decade working for Target Corporation and theircommunity on their community relations team and had
the opportunity to build relationships with bothhands On and NASUM while I was in

(02:29):
that role, and so it's beenvery fun for me to as I left
Target, to continue my work withboth organizations, just in different ways.
I'm a lifelong resident of Minneapolis andmom of two college children who both are
products of Minneapolis public schools. Sopublic education is really important to me and

(02:53):
really ensuring that all of our citieschildren have access to equality education. While
I was at TARGET, I reallybecame aware of the disparities in our community
between white kids and kids of color, and for a city that professes to
be as progressive as Minneapolis does,it was pretty shocking to me. Really

(03:15):
some of the worst disparities in thecountry. So it's that work that kind
of gets me up and going everyday and inspires me to do my best
work at the North Side Achievement Zone. So in my role, I'm responsible
for fundraising and communications and marketing,so really bringing the resources to bear on

(03:36):
the organization and engaging the community inthe work of NAS. And you're just
an energizer bunny who's always going kindof light and it's incredible. Yes,
so many things, and so gratefulfor your partnership with hands on some cities.
For those that's my pleasure, Ohyes, we love it. For

(03:59):
those who don't know, can youtell us a little bit about the North
out of Teaming Zone. Yeah.So NAS has been around for about twelve
thirteen years and with the mission ofending generational poverty in North Minneapolis by building
a culture of achievement where all lowincome children of color can graduate from high

(04:20):
school ready for college or career.And we really envision a prosperous North Minneapolis
where all children of color are healthy, secure, and academically successful and able
to realize their unlimited potential. Ilove that so much. I know,
I know so good. And twomaybe aren't familiari you know you said that

(04:44):
how much you learned at Target?Can you share a little bit more about
you know, you serve North Minneapolis, the conditions of that part of our
community. Yeah, So, UM, there are if you look at just
near North which we serve a littlebit beyond that. But um, they're
about forty thousand residents, seventy seventyseven percent are people of color. UM

(05:08):
and UH fifty percent are black.So UM high African American population. UM.
And and also UM, the communityis is UM. You know,
there's there's lots of different UM,people of different economic backgrounds. But UM,
forty four percent of people in NorthMinneapolis make less than thirty five thousand

(05:31):
a year. So UM, there'sa fair concentration of high poverty in the
community as well. UM. AndI think you know, when when we
speak about the disparities, UM,you know, I think that's where a
lot of people don't realize where Minnesotaranks in terms of some of those those
issues. But UM, Minnesota isactually last in the nation for graduating black

(05:55):
students on time for high school UMfiftieth out of fifty, which is pretty
pretty shocking. UM. And onlyseventeen percent of African American third graders read
at grade level compared to seventy percentof white children in Minnesota. UM.
So, I mean, seventeen percentversus seventy percent. I mean, that's

(06:16):
just it's staggering in terms of theeducation of thosparities. And then you know
there there are lots of economic UMand and other realities as well. But
you know, we look at familystability and how how it contributes to UM,
how it contributes to educational success,and you know, which is part
of why you know, NAZ doesn'tjust work with students or just focus on

(06:40):
education. We really work with thewhole family. UM. But also you
know, issues around around housing UMand UM and jobs and unemployment. You
know that all of those disparities existat a really high level UM in in
in Minnesota as well. So UM, it's that's where you know, that's

(07:00):
where NAZ comes in to really servethe whole family, to really move the
needle for young people. Just alittle bit about the families that NAZ works
with. So of our families,ninety percent are people of color, seventy
percent are seventy eight percent are AfricanAmerican, and then seventy four percent of

(07:21):
the families that we work with haveannual incomes of less than thirty thousand dollars
a year. Wow. And justyou know, like we talk about disparities
a lot, but just something thatI continue to remind myself as all of
these you know, systemic inequities thatled to all of these disparities. So,

(07:42):
yeah, things to do with redlining, and yep, it's not just
that a group of people are inthis space and this just all happened to
happen to them. No, No, I mean we actually we did a
program in January that talked about theconcentration of blacks and actually around the turn
of the century until like the fifties, UM, North Minneapolis was home to

(08:03):
the largest Jewish population in Minneapolis aswell. So you know you mentioned redlining,
you know at the time in thein the early nineteen hundreds, Um,
you know, North Minneapolis was aplace where Jews and Blacks could could
you know, could live where otherparts of Minneapolis were not open to those
populations. UM. And and actuallyafter after World War Two, in the

(08:26):
GI Bill, UM, many manyservice men were offered um you know,
low interest loans and things like that, so it allowed um lots of the
majority of the Jewish population to actuallymove out of North Minneapolis. But those
those same opportunities weren't offered to toblack service servicemen. So I mean just

(08:46):
really really fascinating to see if youlook back at um at the history of
our community, you can see justyou know, all of these policies,
UM, these institutional policies that sortof led to isolation of North Minneapolis,
and you know, and also thingslike you know, the building of the
ninety four freeway and you know cutreally cutting off North Minneapolis from from downtown

(09:11):
where you know that was that wasreally um in you know, before that
freeway was built, just sort ofa main um uh roadways of commerce between
downtown and North Minneapolis. And alot of those things, UM, you
know, we're we're policies that wewere created, UM that were you know,
beyond the influence of of residents ofNorth Minneapolis sort of kept that community

(09:33):
isolated. So yeah, there's justso many historical connections to you know what
has sort of kept kept North Minneapolisisolated and and um and you know,
the other economic programs and realities availableto others just weren't available to to folks

(09:54):
who who called min North Minneapolis home. So that's you know, there's there's
something that are our CEO of SandraSamuels, whom our CEO and president is,
She's an amazing inspiration and founder,one of the founders of NAZ.
You know, she'll say often that, you know, we we aren't a
We can't program our way out ofthese issues. That has to we have
to have programs and be addressing thesystemic issues that got us here. So

(10:20):
it isn't it isn't one or theother. We have to be doing both
simultaneously. So UM and I thinkUM, with what's happened in our community
over this year, I think manypeople for the first time have you know,
saw unfull display some of the systemicissues that have plagued our city um
for for decades. Absolutely, So, you know, serving this community that's

(10:43):
highly diverse and has had this historicaltrauma. Um, how do you approach
the way that youse of community atNAZ well, you know, I think,
um, you know, to thepoint of, you know, we
can't program our way out of this. We also can't do this work alone.
So naz um as is really servesas a backbone to a collaborative and

(11:05):
a collective of more than twenty fivecommunity organizations, so really pulling together that
system of support for families and scholars. So those twenty five plus organizations range
from early childhood centers to K twelveschools to out of school time and in
school time partners. They also includepartners in housing and employment, so that

(11:30):
if families need those types of supports, they're there. And also just in
the last couple of years, we'veadded what we call community Wellness Partners,
so really focused on addressing some ofthe historical trauma and um and emotional needs
of families through a partnership with WashburnCenter for Children. So so that work

(11:54):
is kind of um in fuse throughoutall of our partnerships, but but really
really knowing that we can't do thiswork on our own and and it really
is through partners that we can thatwe can achieve the type of outcomes that
we're looking for. And I thinkthe other piece, Tracy is that coordination
of resources as well. So youknow, NAS has we call them family

(12:18):
achievement coaches who work with each family. That's that's part of our our collaborative,
and those family achievement coaches really listento families and and talk to them
about what their needs are and thenand then connect them to the resources that
they that they need to be successfulin achieving their goals. So that listening

(12:39):
and putting families at the center ofthe work, I think is really key
to NASS success and that coordination ofresources. So it isn't families trying to
find their own help in all thesedifferent areas, but but really having that
that person who's who's their partner inachieving success their family and can help connect

(13:01):
and coordinate all those resources, andnot having these these disparate partners trying to
to lean in in ways that aren'tthat coordinated. So I think that's the
sort of then the uniqueness of NAZis that is that that coordination absolutely,
and I've just been impressed about byhow many families and participants really engage in

(13:24):
helping you know, continue to developyour programs too. You know, not
just that they're SOIL participants, butthat you know a lot of NAZ graduates
or you know people families who havegone through it have really continued to inform
your work as well. Yeah,we have our Family Achievement Coaches, many
of our Family Achievement coaches well,I think about a third of our staff

(13:46):
is from North Minneapolis, and manyof our Family Achievement coaches were families themselves
and then um, you know,as they moved through working with NAZ,
got hired by NAZ and now areproviding that support to other families. Also,
many of our we also have wecall it Family Academy, which is
a series of parenting classes that NASoffers to families and really starting at birth

(14:11):
and going through having scholars of allages and supporting how families are parenting their
their children throughout their development. Butmany of our Family Academy facilitators to our
folks who have come through our programsand now are are working with other families,
which which I just love. Butin a big part of that the

(14:33):
Family Achievement work. Now we're alsocalling parent powers so engaging parents more in
their own agency and giving them trainingon you know, how did they get
involved in you know, working withthe school district and advocating for their own
children and for their communities children.You know, we've got oftentimes we have

(14:54):
many families joining us at the statelegislature to talk about NAS programming and state
funding and you know ways in whichdifferent programs have impacted their families. So
really helping families to become agents intheir own success and helping give them voice
to to be part of this process, and in that way, I think,

(15:16):
you know, really listening to themabout about what it is they they
need and how best we can supportthem, and evolving our programs to do
that. One example I'll give justreally quickly is, you know, this
year our Family Academy obviously it's anin person program um, so we weren't
able to do that this year.So we, you know, with with
support and input from families, wemove those classes to an online forum and

(15:41):
you know a lot of those youknow, their their classes, so a
lot of it is is information sharingwith parents. But they said to us,
you know, right now, wecould really use a support group like
something that's less formal, and sowe started offering UM support groups for families
just so they could get together andtalk to each other virtually right now and

(16:02):
share share successes and challenges and howthey were working through these times. So,
you know, we, I thinkbecause of the because of our close
connection with with families through Family Academyand with our Family Achievement coaches, were
able to have that dialogue and hopefullybe nimble and respond to their needs and

(16:23):
request pretty quickly. Oh my gosh, I love it. I think you
know, any all of us coulduse a support group after this last year.
Oh my gosh, I can imagine, you know, for families having
you know, the ability to connectwith one another and just share common threads
of what everyone has been going through. Oh, I mean, just you
know, think about all this,you know, overnight, being charged with

(16:45):
distance learning. I mean, thankgoodness my kids were in college and I
didn't have to deal with that becauseI just and you know, and you
know, balancing that with work andUM and then you know, the isolation
because you're you're not with other people, you know, and how do you
connect with with other parents who arewho are having similar challenges and just support

(17:08):
each other through this challenging time.So I think it has been really meaningful
to have that, to have thatopportunity, So yeah, crazy, and
I love just how nimble you areto adapt to that kind of need.
So for I mean, Karen,You've mentioned so many different aspects of your
programming, but I love that reallyNAZ takes into account that entire continuum basically

(17:32):
from birth all the way through youknow, high school, graduation, college.
Can you tell us about that?And also I just have to like
just nudge on the like little onesieor the T shirts that you oh,
you're just yeah, so when whenwhen families start with NAZ um, when
they have a baby, um,they're given a little teeny T shirt that

(17:53):
has there the year that that babywill graduate from college. And so it's
really that's that's what we We hopethat every family has their goals set on,
their their eyes set on on collegefor for that baby as they're starting
out with NAZ. And you know, people often ask, well, you
know, does college is it collegefor everybody? Does it have to be

(18:17):
college? Like what about trade schoolsor what about you know, you know,
careers after after high school? Andum, you know what naz's philosophy
is you know, we know thatcollege isn't for everybody, but we want
all of our scholars to have thechoice if they want to go to college,
that it's a choice for them todo that, not by default,

(18:37):
you know, I'm I'm just goingto get a job after high school or
whatever, um, But but thatthey have that they have choices, like
every child has available to them whenthey when they graduate from from high school.
And and I think that you know, as with as with any family,
that intentionality starts when that baby isborn, right And so you know,

(18:57):
as any parent, you the bestfor your children, and our NAZ
families do as well. So makingsure that starting with preschool they have the
best preschool experience available to set theirtheir child up um for success in in
kindergarten and you know, and thenin elementary school and beyond. So all

(19:19):
of those phases in a child's lifeare just are critical to their to their
future success. And then as Imentioned, um, you know that those
wraparound supports are also a stable homelife is we know as critical to to
young people's success as well. Soum. And you know, as we
know through the last few years inthe Twin Cities. Homelessness is a huge

(19:45):
issue in our community. So UMwe have two fantastic partners, Project for
Pride and Living and Urban Homeworks UMwho we refer families to UM who need
some support to stabilize their housing andso UM that's really a key aspect of
the NAS collaborative is is it ensuringthat that families have some stability in their

(20:07):
housing UM. And then the otherpiece of that is is career. So
UM again we have Twin Cities Riseand Hired and also PPL who work with
us on that career piece of afamily's stability. So whether that's job training
or you know, support in inapplying for jobs or whatever that is UM,

(20:29):
but just helping families move to UMa more stable and meaningful UM employment
that's going to support their their family'sstability as well. So UM those pieces
are really are really key to thatsort of wraparound piece that that we talk
about. Absolutely, I just thinkit's worth calling out again that like NAZ,

(20:49):
you know, people think of NAZis just a singular organization, but
then it really is a true collaboration. UM. Can you just like talk
a little bit more so you mendthat you you know, do referrals and
things like that, but the relationshipsbetween your collaboration and your outcomes. Yeah,
So UM outcomes are really you know, I mean it's interesting because you

(21:12):
know a lot of our outcomes arevery education focus, because that's ultimately you
know, what our goal, whatour goals are are. UM. You
know, as I said earlier,preparing preparing all our scholars so they have
choices once they're once they're through highschool. UM. So UM, you
know, we really focus on inearly childhood. There's UM, there's a

(21:34):
measurement tool called Teaching Strategies GOLD andit actually measures kindergarten readiness. So so
that's a big outcome for us isis how ready are our scholars for kindergarten?
UM. And then you know,with with KGE twelve students, you
know, like with everything, it'sreading and math. UM, So how

(21:55):
are how are scholars doing in termsof UM grade level reading, reading and
math skills? UM. Obviously that'staken a little bit of a pause this
year, UM since you know,last year, UM, the Minnesota state
tests were not administered because of thepandemic. UM. And so you know
we're we're going to have a littleblip in those outcomes UM for a couple

(22:17):
of years, UM, but hopefullywe'll recover from that. So so those
are key outcomes that we that welook at. And then a lot of
it is UM is engagement in ourin our strategies. So we know that
families whom who have who are partof Family Academy and UM, who are
working with a coach, and whosewhose students maybe UM participating in an out

(22:42):
out of school time program and areworking with PPL or you know, one
of our We know that the morelayers of support they're getting from from NAVS
and our partners, the better theirscholars are doing academically. UM. We
work with Wilder Research UM to doa lot of our programmatic evaluations and and

(23:03):
so they are a key partner inhelping us UM you know, really connect
the dots to the outcomes that we'reseeing. And that's one I think that's
that's really key is just the morelayers of support families are getting from NAZ,
the higher the academic outcomes for scholarsUM kind of at every grade level.
And so UM, So UM,those are those are some of the

(23:26):
things. And then you know we'rejust now because you know, we've just
been around a little more than tenyears. I mean, we're we're really
building out now that high school likemore of the high school um piece of
our of our programming. So that'ssomething that you'll see in the next year
two year and a half is isa more robust programming around high school and

(23:48):
and support of scholars moving from highschool to college. Excellent, excellent.
And I just have to ask,because I know that things have changed so
much, can you talk about,um, you know, what has changed
during the pandemic for your families andyou know, what are some ways that
you've responded to these evolving needs.Yeah, um, yeah, it's been

(24:10):
quite a year, um, Iwill say. And and you know,
I mean we knew immediately when thepandemic hit that that our families were going
to be likely hit the fastest,the deepest, and the longest, um
you know, both from um,you know, an economic standpoint, from
a health standpoint. You know,North Minneapolis was identified early on as a

(24:33):
as a COVID hot spot by theby the CDC because of all of the
um the you know, the thehealth issues that are in our community already.
They just knew that that um,it was going to be it was
going to be a hot spot andum and so you know, they're just
all those layers again of um ofimpact that we were we were preparing for.

(24:56):
And what was really interesting Tracy asright a way, like our community
of supporters just started raising their handslike what can we do to help?
And many of our individual donors,you know, we're offering to support an
emergency fund, and so we establisheda Family Emergency Fund right away that that
just started generating donations from from oursupporters. And then you know, as

(25:21):
funds were made available from the philanthropiccommunity in the Twin Cities, we you
know, we started applying for someof that support and and you know,
really focused on getting some immediate reliefto families right away. So in a
very short amount of time, Ithink we've raised in a couple of months,
we've raised like half a million dollarsand we're turning that back into like

(25:41):
cash relief and rent relief to families, you know, just responding to some
really immediate needs. You know,NAS was modeled after the Harlem Children's Zone
in New York, and they actuallyHarlem Children's Zone was invited to submit a
large proposal to a national funder calledthe Audacious Project and was awarded twenty six

(26:03):
million dollars for COVID relief for blackcommunities. And so they they just said,
we need to invite some of ourour our colleagues and other cities to
be a part of this. Sothey selected five other cities and Minneapolis was
one of them. So NAZ umand UM you know Oakland, California,
Detroit, Chicago, um UM,Atlanta, UM Newark, New Jersey.

(26:29):
I think we're the others so UM. So through that partnership, we were
awarded two point seven million dollars tofocus on relief efforts to North Minneapolis.
And so you know, with that, we've been able to expand that that
cash relief UM and UM and rentrelief. We actually a big focus has

(26:49):
been on bridging the digital divide soUM for NAS families and partner families,
like purchasing chromebooks and iPads and noisecanceling headphones and getting those out of families.
Can you imagine like being in asmall home or apartment and having you
know, three or four kids ondoing zoom and without some sort of headphone.

(27:10):
So that like that just became likea really crucial and immediate need.
So technology has been a big,big focus, also internet access tech support,
also a big focus on safety anddistribution of masks. So part of
that funding was earmarked for a publicawareness campaign on North Minneapolis about the state,

(27:33):
the importance of social distancing and wearingmasks. And now we're infiltrating a
you know, a supportive vaccination message. So public awareness as well as distribution
of masks and face masks and bothdisposable and reusable, which included even we
hired a great partner in North Minneapolis, a Mother's Love, and they actually

(27:55):
went door to door distributing masks inNorth Minneapolis, so very grassroots efforts there
as well. Um, you know, we launched some virtual literacy tutoring,
UM, we upped our referrals tomental health support UM. And then I
think one thing we were hearing fromour families, which which surprised us,
was that they were struggling with accessto enough food. And with all the

(28:18):
resources coming into North Minneapolis, thefood resources coming, we we just didn't
anticipate that. And what we whatwe found out was that although there were
lots of new food distributions, inNorth Minneapolis. Our families weren't able to
get to them either they either lackeda car or you know, didn't have
childcare, so they couldn't you know, they couldn't leave their kids in order

(28:41):
to get to these distributions. SoM we started talking to partners about,
you know what, what could wedo? Is there something we could do
to get food to families. Andso with Second Harvest, Heartland north Point,
north Point Community Food Shelf, MinnesotaCentral Kitchen, and an organization and
called the Humanity Alliance which focused onfood on delivery, we were able to

(29:04):
launch a weekly food delivery program UMthis summer and we piloted it with some
support from Wells Fargo UM and kindof worked out the kinks UM with about
one hundred and fifty NAZ families andso the delivery would alternates between groceries and
UM lots of fresh produce and meatand dairy in in that grocery delivery and

(29:29):
then the restaurant UM quality prepared mealsM from Minnesota Central Kitchen and they actually
are prepared by Appetite for Change,which is a new a North Minneapolis based
nonprofit. So UM we launched thatand and it actually has gone extremely well
and are continuing that program UM andwe got funding, UM secured funding from

(29:52):
United Health Group UM to expand theprogram to three hundred families and continue it
for the whole UM twenty twenty oneyear. So UM, UM just very
excited about that program and UM youknow the very basic need that that fills
for our families. And again thatwasn't something we were doing a year ago

(30:12):
at all, and so UM butI you know what I love is that
we didn't we didn't have to figureout how to do it ourselves like Naz
in true NAZ fashion, we foundthe partners who are able to do it
and leverage their expertise to make ithappen. And so um, you know,
I think it's a great example ofyou know, in in times that

(30:34):
require innovation, we were able tocome up with a solution that is really
serving serving North Minneapolis families. Well, oh my gosh, kudos to you,
your team, your partners being ableto amp that up and you know,
get you know, three hundred familiesregularly you know, access to food.

(30:55):
I think that's so incredible and speaksto the reputation and just a collaborative
partner in NAZA is so oh mygosh, so many things within a year.
So we've ye so much, Karen. I just of course know that
our listeners are asking, how doI get involved? How do I support
this really important work that NASA isdoing. Yeah, yeah, I think

(31:17):
that you know, that's that's alwaysthe question too. And I think,
UM, I think what I whatI suggest to people is, UM,
you know, they're they're the biggestthing that people can do is listen and
and and do research, but don'tassume what people need. I think,
UM, you know, that's onething that NASA has gotten is good at

(31:40):
and has gotten even better at thisyear, is um is listening and not
just thinking that we know what familiesneed, but but asking them and listening.
And so I would say for forpeople who want to help, that
that that doing research and and andand listening and investigating is really important.
UM. I would say too thatUM, right now, I think that

(32:04):
the organizations that I think are doingsome of the best work are those who
are really in and of community.So, you know, I think about
churches, schools, um, youknow, the community centers, you know,
those organizations that are on the ground. UM, supporting families are are
really where I think that the needsare the clearest and the response mechanisms UM

(32:30):
have have come into come into play. So UM. You know, I
wish I could say like go tothis website and um and you know you'll
be plugged into opportunities. But it'sit's a little bit it requires a little
bit more work than that right now, because um, these are these are
just uncertain times and different times andneeds are changing really quickly and UM,

(32:52):
and so I think being um respectfulof the people of people in community and
and and listening to what the needsare and and responding appropriately I think is
more more important than ever. SoUM. It's not a it's not a
sort of cookie cutter or one sizefits all response, but um, but

(33:15):
really being there in a way thatis most meaningful um for the community,
I think is what I would recommendfor people who want to who want to
get involved. Absolutely, I thinkthat has been a common bread in so
many episodes. But we are doingis that idea of listening and learning and
being open and understanding that community knowswhat they need and we have to continue

(33:38):
to be them there for them.Yeah, of course we will have you
know, an opportunity for you toget connected to NAZ if you want to
make a contribution and such, andI'll just make a plug. You know,
NAS has so many partners and manyof them also post their opportunities on
hands cities, so lots of waysto find ways to plug into these organism

(34:00):
zations and meet connections and you know, do your part to make an impact
in the way that you can showup. Absolutely So, Karen, to
wrap things up, I always askpeople, is there anything else that you
feel like we haven't talked about thatyou think listeners should really know before we
let you go. One of thethings that's been really incredible for me working

(34:21):
with NAZ this year in you know, a year like no other has been.
I will say it's been on onehand, it's been the hardest year
and the most challenging year, butI think it's also been just the most
um, profound and beautiful year twoin just seeing UM, just seeing the
outpouring of support and how people wantto help. And I think, you

(34:45):
know, we've had for for umfor many months, we've had and and
right now, you know, wehave actually the eyes of the world are
on on Minneapolis right now and happen, you know, since the murder of
George Floyd, and UM, youknow, I think I've seen people respond

(35:05):
to to community need and in verybeautiful and meaningful ways and um in ways
that I think, um are reallytrue and and I hope long lasting.
And so I think I just Ireally hope that, uh, that that
the way people are choosing to showup in community continues, um like it

(35:27):
has this year and UM and andthat's been the most inspiring. I think
a thing about this year is ishow hard it's been, but also just
how how people have have really comeout and showed up for for communities that
are hurting the most. And soit's been it's been an inspiring year as
well. Oh well, we areso grateful for all that you and the

(35:52):
NAZ team and all of your partners, the work that you do every day
to make our community better. Andwe're just so thankful for you to sharing
more information about NAZ with our listeners. With us. I always learned so
much every time I talk to youmyself, and just can't thank you enough
for joining us Karen to share more. Thank you for the opportunity, and

(36:14):
thank you for all hands on doestoo to connect people to community. I
know you've been looking at how todo that work more and more innovative ways.
So just appreciate your leadership, Tracyand hands On leadership for really looking
at how do how do we innovatein times that really call for doing things
differently. So appreciate you too.Yeah, well, we'll keep doing this

(36:37):
work together, all right. Thankyou so much, Karen, My pleasure.
Thank you huge thanks to Karen forjoining us for this episode. Can
you believe all that NAS is doinghere in our community and just how many
partners they have. I encourage youto go to Northside Achievement dot org to

(37:00):
check out the fullest of the NAZpartners and to learn more about how you
can get involved. NAS is justone example of our partners doing impactful work
in the area of education. Thereare so many ways that you can get
involved to positively impact the life ofa child here in our community. If
you're looking for how to get started, head over to hands On Twin Cities

(37:20):
dot org. Imagine the benefits toall of us if every student in the
Twin Cities had the opportunity to achievetheir dreams. Together, we can make
this possible. Thank you so muchfor listening. For more information about Hands
on Twin Cities and to follow uson social media, head to our website.

(37:42):
Redefining Volunteerism is the production of MatriarchDigital Media executive producer twil A Day
and producer and editor Beth Gidds,and special thanks to Sarah Edwards, Grace
McAvoy and Ella Cochrane. From somegreat people, let's get out there and
be the change. Together we canbuild a more equitable and thriving community.