A New Generation of Civic Responsibility:
_resize.JPG)
KKC is proud to announce that we are recipients of a generous donation made by Karsten & Tryg (pictured above, last names withheld) of $460.00 towards purchasing equipment for an upcoming Artist-In-Residence project with photographer Peter Haakon Thompson.
We first met Karsten and Tryg during the 2005 Moxie Salon & Gallery Cut-A-Thon and Sleepout last November. They raised sponsorship monies and participated with one of their fathers in the sleepout fundraiser on a very cold november night in Minnesota.
From there these two amazing individuals, both middle school students, took it upon themselves to do an independent fundraising project for KKC. They took what they learned from the Moxie sleep-out and applied it to the "Box City Vigil" held on April 16-17th on the grounds of the MN State Capitol. They also canvassed neighborhoods and local businesses for cash or in-kind donations.
I had a chance to sit down with the teens and discuss their project last week. We took turns interviewing each other with a video camera they supplied. They talked about how this project was really important to them and how they plan on participating in next years Moxie Sleepout. They spoke honestly about how "sleeping out for one night in a event environment might not give them a full understanding of homelessness", it provided them a context for other peoples "real life struggles." I left our conversation with a handful of donation checks and feeling very hopeful for our generations of young leaders to come. They will produce a small video presentation for a class at Southwest Middle school to show their classmates their tireless efforts and impressive results.
THANK YOU KARSTEN and TRYG!
More about the Box City Vigil:
The vigil is a statewide all-night Service Day project to inform young people about the problem of youth homelessness. A city of cardboard boxes will be created to symbolize the more than 600 unaccompanied youth who typically spend their nights on Minnesota’s streets. Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota pledged to end long-term homelessness and the event is an effort to remind him and lawmakers in their final weeks of the legislative session. The Box City Vigil is led by four high school students from Jefferson High School and Kennedy High School in Bloomington, Minnesota.
