Venture North Bike Walk & Coffee has opened its doors and we want to hear from our neighbors. Have a favorite accessory? Want to learn how to ride a bike? Do you just want to know who we are and why we’re here? Join us and let’s get to know each other!

Who: All of our neighbors, families, and friends

What: Community focus group. Come tell us what products you adore, which you despise and what you’d like to see in our shop.

When: Thursday Feb 2, 6:00-7:00 pm

Where: Venture North Bike Walk & Coffee 1830 Glenwood Ave N

Why: Because we are here to serve you, but to do so, we have to know what you like

Food will be served

There will be a raffle at t he end of the night for our participants

Need more info? Call Alicia at 612-377-3029

RSVP not required, but definitely appreciated.

This Saturday, January 14, RCFL is holding a very special Martin Luther King, Jr. Day event to kick off its “Dream Because You Can” campaign! From Saturday through the end of March, we want to inspire our neighbors in North Minneapolis to turn their dreams into actions. We’ll be having lots of community events focusing empowerment and health for ALL of who are– mind, body, and spirit.
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The kickoff event, “Dream Because You Can… We Did!” is this Saturday, January 14,  from 10:00 am-4:00 pm. Venture North Bike Walk & Coffee is giving away 20 tickets to the 20th annual “African Americans in Science” event at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-serve basis– so reserve yours now by sending  an email at live-it@venturenorthbwc.org!

A light brunch will be served in The Living Room at RCFL from 10:00 AM-12:00 PM, where we’ll hear a brief “We Dream So We Are” presentation. Then we’ll hop on a Venture North bus from the Redeemer campus to the Science museum!

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Martin Luther King, Jr. Day festivities will continue on Sunday, January 15, at Redeemer Lutheran Church. The community will come together to lift up the legacy of Dr. King through worship at 10:00 AM, followed by the Annual Soul Food Dinner at 1:00 pm. At 2 pm, the diverse group of singers and musicians of the “I Have A Dream Choir” will present spirited musical selections alongside other Northside choirs and powerful spoken word performers in this program of inspiration and unity.

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Events in February will concentrate on African American history, while March will highlight women who changed history, coinciding with Women’s History Month. We hope you join us for all of these fabulous events– let’s turn our dreams into reality in 2012!

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SHARE YOUR DREAMS WITH US! GO TO OUR “POLL EVERYWHERE” PAGE AND POST YOUR DREAMS! YOU CAN SUBMIT THEM ONLINE, BY TEXT, OR ON TWITTER BY FOLLOWING @POLL.

That is to say, We all do better when we all do better!
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Join us tonight, Monday, January 9, 6:30pm, in the Living Room.
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This is an incredible opportunity to embark on life-altering positive change! At the end of 2011 we embarked on 12 weeks of challenge, purpose, and change. Drawing focus and inspiration from The Power of People: Four Kinds of People Who Can Change Your Life, and Dr. Verna’s newest book, Change Your Life in 30 Days, women participants from the Redeemer community and Harrison Neighborhood stretched, grew, and yes, changed. This Women’s Empowerment group will challenge who you are, how you think, why you think the way you do, and what you want out of life.

Mark your calendars! December 10th is Redeemer’s annual Christmas Store!

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In just 8 days over one hundred neighborhood children will walk through the upper level of Redeemer Lutheran Church, guided by volunteers, to pick out four presents for their family members. There are gifts for all ages: for baby sisters and older brothers and mothers and grandfathers. And the kids only pay $1.

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The doors will open at 8:30 am for registration; 9:15 am for the store. At 11 am the store will close and everyone will gather for a community lunch in Fellowship Hall. There will also be carol singing, arts and crafts, and photo opportunities with Santa Claus throughout the day!

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If you have questions about helping out, either by volunteering or by donating new toys and gifts for adults, please call Babette Chatman at 612-374-4139. We’d like to get all donations by Thursday, December 8th, so we can set up the store on Friday. We hope to see you there!

As Venture North Bike Walk & Coffee nears completion, our service and education manager, Casey Pavek, shared this story with us:

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On the last sunny Saturday (that would be November 12), saw Casey and some of the mechanic interns were cleaning out one of the PODS full of donated bikes. Venture North’s first cohort of mechanic interns are 6 young adults, ages 16 – 22, taught comprehensive bicycle repair and maintenance skills by Casey, a former bike mechanic at the Hub Bike Co-op. Right now they meet twice a week for 4 hours, and when the store opens they will have “office hours” shadowing Casey and the other mechanic staff.

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On this particular day, the Venture North crew emptied out two truck-loads of bikes and parts to scrap (check out the donation policy on the VNBWC website, so you know what won’t be scrapped) and found six kid-sized bicycles that could be repaired. Since they needed practice, the interns started fixing them up. Soon, a group of children formed to watch and learn. The interns did a great job teaching the kids how bicycles are repaired, and even fixed one little girl’s tire. The girl rushed home and brought back her parents—who had lunch for the interns in tow!

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Small moments of grace like these remind us that the goal of living well together that we’re seeking is well worth the while. We look forward to teaching and learning with the community, so keep your eyes peeled for announcements about winter classes!

Have you gotten your flu shot yet?

This upcoming Tuesday, November 8, there will be free flu shots in the Living Room, from 4pm to 7pm.

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Influenza can be a serious disease, especially for children and older adults. Some people may claim that the shots gives you the flu, but this is not true. For more facts about influenza and flu shots, check out this question and answer resource from the Centers for Disease Control.

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Thank you to the Fairview Foundation and the Minnesota Visiting Nurses Association for providing the shots!

Two great events are coming up in North Minneapolis! Please check them out and support the work that these organizations do.

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Sunday, October 23rd, Market to Mississippi Ride & Lunch

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Join our neighbors in the West Broadway Community from 11:30 am to 3:00 pm for a free, family-friendly bike ride from the West Broadway Farmer’s Market to the Mississippi River. The ride will be led by Major Taylor Bicycling Club, with stops along the river to learn from a National Park Ranger! A tasty lunch of local foods will concluded the excursion.

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Please RSVP for the event by going to http://westbroadway.org/farmersmarket/

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Nice Ride bicycles will be available for those 16 years and older with advance registration. Helmets are required and available with advance registration.

Monday, October  24th, Showing of the Movie “FRESH”

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The Northside Healthy Eating Project will be screening the movie “FRESH” at the Capri Theater, at 2027 West Broadway, as well as rolling out their new name: Northside Fresh! Light food will be servied at 5:30 pm and the screening will be at 6:00 pm. A discussion of where our food comes from and how we eat in North Minneapolis will follow.

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Northside Fresh is a coalition of people and organizations dedicated to making healthy foods more available across North Minneapolis.



Thank you, Babette Chatman, for TEN years of outstanding dedication and inspiration! Happy Anniversary. With much love and appreciation from your Redeemer family.

On Tuesday night a group of folks from Harrison Neighborhood gathered in the park building to hear Jerry Moe talk about working with children impacted by the addiction of their family members. I admit that I was a little nervous: we were a small crowd, not the impressive audience that the Vice President and National Director of Children’s Programs at the Betty Ford Foundation surely deserved. But the vulnerability and the candor with which he told his story– and the stories of the kids who he had seen struggle for hope over three decades– made the intimate circle very fitting.

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Two pieces from his presentation really stood out to me. First, was his passionate belief that the most important quality that human beings share is the need to love and be loved. This connection of love is the energy that flows in healthy relationships and safe communities; it can muster up life in those on the brink of death. Addiction, Jerry told us, makes parents unable to show love to their children. The impact of this lack of love is profound: children blame themselves for their parents’ disease, lose their sense of trust in themselves and in others, and learn not to name and share their feelings.

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The second element of his presentation that I carry with me is the hope that he radiated, especially when he spoke about how we can encourage healing for children. We can offer a safe space for children to share their feelings without fear of judgment, and we can help kids find multiple adults who they can trust. Hope flows from knowing that we are not alone. Individuals can form a coalition of people who know the facts of addiction and have a commitment to caring for the children in their communities. Children can learn to trust a network of adults and learn to trust their own emotions. We can all be farmers, as Jerry put it: using knowledge and tools for sowing seeds of hope.

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Jerry Moe was able to come to Harrison Neighborhood through a partnership between RCFL and The Retreat, an organization in Wayzata that provides educational services based on the principles of 12 Step recovery programs.

Time: 6 PM—Registration at the door
Free Admission
Location: Harrison Neighborhood Association
Multi-Purpose Room
503 Irving Avenue N., Minneapolis, MN 55405
Sponsor: The Retreat and Redeemer Center for Life
Childcare: Provided—kindly call Malik or Larry at 612.374.4849 to reserve your child’s space

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For more information, please contact either Ben Masters at Redeemer Center for Life at 612.377.4476 or Sherry Gaugler-Stewart at The Retreat at 952.767.0334