BATC Foundation: Making a Difference…One Home at a Time

Volunteer
Hennepin County Human Services and Public
News
Health Department
2011 Published quarterly for volunteers, donors, staff and the community. www.hennepin.us
What’s New
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BATC Foundation...Making a
Difference One Home at a Time,
pages 1, 5 Builders Association
of the Twin Cities
(BATC) representatives
added two bedrooms and
a full bath plus winterized
the Vang home.
The Spotlight is on Step-up
Student, Zekia, page 3
Sixteen-year-old
Minneapolis high school
student Zekia’s summer
employment experience is
a shining example of the
great benefits to students
and employers offered by
the Step-Up Achieve
program.
2011 Backpack Challenge
served 1897 children, page 4
The Backpack Challenge
continues to be a
successful program which
provides essential learning
materials to support
children’s education.
Altruistic Volunteering May
Lead to Better Health,page 5
New research has
emerged that shows that
motives for volunteering
significantly affect
mortality rate.
Low-cost, free or online
Resources, page 6
BATC Foundation: Making a Difference…One Home at a Time
by Staff Writer, Mark Riley
Great acts of generosity often have
humble beginnings. This act started
last fall during a conversation over
breakfast between Hennepin County
social worker, Kristine Heckler, and
her friend Jerry Peterson, who sits on
the advisory board of the Builders
Association of the Twin Cities (BATC)
Foundation. The BATC is a group of
Minnesota-licensed Twin City
builders, remodelers, sub-contractors
and other professionals who work in
the building industry. The BATC
Foundation is the charitable arm of the
BATC.
The BATC Foundation taps the collected
talents and resources of association
members and collaborates with social
service agencies to rehabilitate existing
homes or to build new homes for families
in need. The foundation also provides
scholarships to young people entering the
building industry. Since the early 1990s the
BATC Foundation and BATC members
have built, remodeled or repaired dozens
of homes for families in need throughout the
local community.
Knowing that Jerry worked with the
foundation, Kristine hoped that he might
convince the foundation to help winterize the
home of one of her clients, the Vang family.
The Vangs had been dealing with a host of
hardships and financial setbacks—physical
injury, illness, long-term unemployment and
homelessness—for months before Kia and
Kou Vang and their five children settled into
a two-bedroom house in North Minneapolis
last fall. The house was formerly a rental
The Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC)
representatives (in red) added two bedrooms and a full
bath plus winterized the Vang home.
property that was given to the family by
Kia’s sister. At the time, the Vangs were just
thankful to again have a place to call their
own. They were completely unaware that
more good fortune would soon arrive.
Upon inspecting the house, BATC members
determined that in addition to needing
winterization, it needed more space to
accommodate the Vangs’ large family.
Eventually the BATC Foundation approved
plans to winterize the home and to add two
bedrooms and a full bathroom at a budgeted
cost of $33,000. A BATC member,
Showcase Renovations, was chosen as the
contractor to do the work. The project
began in June 2011 and was completed on
August 3.
Kia Vang and her family are extremely
grateful for the help they have received from
the people and organizations involved in the
remodeling project. In a tearful statement
Vang Celebration, Continued on page 5

Volunteer News
Volunteer News is published quarterly for volunteers, donors, staff and the community.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed
citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing
that ever has. ~ Margaret Mead
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Human Service and Public Health Department
Community Services Area
Volunteer and Community Partnership Program
(VCPP)
Mission and Vision Statements
Mission Statement
To develop and match volunteers, donors,
and community resources to the
unmet needs of HSPHD clients.
We envision...
• A community in which volunteers, donors, and
community partners are engaged in improving
the lives of HSPHD clients by investing their time,
talents, and/or resources.
Connecting community resources to HSPHD staff to
enhance the services provided to our clients.
Partnerships that identify and create opportunities
for regional involvement to enhance or support
county services.
Volunteer & Community
Partnership Program Staff
ROWE and Volunteer Services Manager
Debra Truesdell
612-348-5897
Supervisor of Volunteer Program
Kara Terry
612-543-8652
Office Support Specialist III
Dianne Szach
612-348-7601
Transportation Programs and
Omniciye, Little Earth
Linda Bloomgren
612-348-8048
Befrienders, and
Staff Assistants
Rosemary Carpenter
612-348-4749
Parent Aide and
Mental Health Programs
Jackie Connolly
612-348-2875
Special Friends and
Physical Disabilities
Judy Corrao
612-348-7481
READY Mentors and
Everyday Management of Money
Nigel Denis
612-348-9062
Marketing and Recruitment
Kristine Poelzer
612-348-5835
Newsletter Staff
Writers
Tequia Brown
Jessica Sigfrid
Mark Riley
Photographer
Lili Korbuly
Editors
Jackie Connolly
Susan and Phil Gulstad
Design & Layout
Linda Bloomgren
A Service of the Hennepin County
Board of Commissioners
District 1 Mike Opat
District 2 Mark Stenglein
District 3 Gail Dorfman
District 4 Peter McLaughlin
District 5 Randy Johnson
District 6 Jan Callison
District 7 Jeff Johnson
HENNEPIN COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
Richard Johnson

The Spotlight is on... Step-Up student, Zekia
by Phil Gulstad
Sixteen-year-old Minneapolis high
school student Zekia’s summer
employment experience is a shining
example of the great benefits to
students and employers offered by the
Step-Up Achieve program, the
strategic nonprofit partner of the
Minneapolis School System. For
more information on Achieve
Minneapolis, please visit their website:
www.achievempls.org
Zekia is one of 900 of this year’s
3,500 applicants who were selected
for available summer employment
opportunities. Over 700 of those
students were matched up with jobs.
A total of 170 employers, of which
Hennepin County was one, hired one
or more students. It is interesting to
note that 96 percent of Step-Up
Achieve supervisors report that the
program is a great success at their
organizations.
Kristine Poelzer, a Sr. Coordinator of
Volunteers with the Volunteer and
Community Partnership Program
(VCPP), was ebullient in describing
her experience supervising Zekia,
exclaiming, “It was a wonderful
experience and far exceeded my
expectations! It is hard for me to
believe that Zekia is just 16, as she
could easily be taken for 20something
because of her technology
skills and her ability to make
independent decisions regarding the
completion of her work tasks.”
This summer’s program ran from June
20 to August 19 and offered positions
with 20 to 25-hour work
weeks. Zekia’s position
started at 25 hours and was
increased to 30 hours
because of her excellent
work ethic and the skills she
brought to the job. Her job
was also extended to Sept.
2 for the same reasons.
According to Kristine, Zekia
adjusted rapidly to a “results
only” work environment,
which was not the typical
office job but rather a
flexible multi-site position that
required Zekia to learn to estimate the
time needed for various tasks and to
set priorities and manage her time
productively—all real-life skills that
will help her in her future.
Among Zekia’s many activities during
the summer were:
learning how to construct
spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel and
setting up Excel databases and
summary reports with graphs for
decision-making use by a community
partner’s board of directors
working at Century Plaza with
the Northwest Regional Center’s
Customer Service Assistant volunteer
program
assisting Rosemary Carpenter
and Linda Bloomgren with organizing
and distributing supplies for the
Hennepin County Backpack
Challenge
Photographer, Lili Korbuly
attending a meeting of the
Hennepin County Gerontology
Alliance, made up of county
employees, and providing it with an
Excel database file complete with
current information.
According to Kristine, Zekia has
already applied to work for her again
next year, and she is looking forward
to supervising Zekia again. Adds
Kristine, “I would encourage other
department employees to submit
applications for Step-Up students
through their own supervisors when
applications open in March.”
Thanks, Zekia,
for all your help!
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2011 Backpack Challenge
Serves 1897 Children
2011 Backpack
Challenge Final
Report
Key Results:
• Hennepin County staff
and community
partners donated 1,084
filled backpacks which
were distributed
directly to Hennepin
County clients
• $8,200.00 was received
in cash donations
which will provide a
fund which can be used
to accommodate
educational needs
throughout the year.
• $24,000.00 in school
supplies were
distributed to 5 schools
and benefitted an
additional 813
students.
• 52 volunteers from
corporate partners
coordinated the
program in their
organizations and
donated 468 hours.
• 14 volunteers donated
164 hours of their time
picking up, sorting and
stuffing backpacks,
using our new
streamlined procedures.
Thanks to the efforts and generosity
of Hennepin County staff representing
all county departments, Human
Service and Public Health
Department (HSPHD) volunteers,
and our many community and
corporate partners, 1897 county
children started school with their
heads held high.
The Hennepin County Backpack
Challenge is an annual project of the
Administrative Office and is
coordinated by HSPHD Volunteer
and Community Partnership Program
(VCPP) staff and volunteers. The
purpose of the program is to provide
backpacks and school supplies for
children who are Hennepin County
clients and who have a significant
financial need. It stands out as a
shining example of improving lives
through community involvement and
shared resources.
HSPHD staff refer children to the
program who have the greatest need
for assistance, such as those living in
shelters, in foster care or whose
families have very limited resources.
Hennepin staff and employees of
corporate partners purchase the
backpacks and supplies and make
cash donations to provide the required
supplies. VCPP also partners with
Hennepin County schools to distribute
remaining supplies to the schools
which have insufficient resources for
their students. This year 5 schools
received additional supplies to be
distributed to the students living in
poverty. Recruited, trained and
supervised by VCPP staff, volunteers
Zekia and Anastasia Morgan worked
to gather all the packs and supplies,
inventory them, fill empty packs, sort
them, and distribute them to the
HSPHD staff, who deliver them
directly to Hennepin clients.
Case managers report that having
adequate school supplies gives
children a sense of confidence and
community support as they begin their
school years. Parents express sincere
gratitude for the help the county
provides, and workers report the gifts
help establish better working
relationships with their clients. Case
managers pick up packs for their
families and deliver them directly to
clients; they report that they wish
every donor could see the beaming
faces of the children who receive
packs and hear the grateful
expressions of the parents.
VCPP staff would like to express
our sincere gratitude to all the staff
and volunteers who helped coordinate
the project and generously donated
gifts and to Hennepin County
Administration for their continued
support.

Vang Celebration,
Continued from page 1
during a BATC ceremony held in her
home to celebrate the project’s
completion, Kia declared, “I never
thought that there were so many good
people in the world.”
Jan Berg, Executive Director of the
BATC Foundation, calls the
foundation “the best kept secret in the
Twin Cities.” That might be true
except to fortunate families like the
Vangs who have benefited from its
generous services over the years. This
year the foundation is especially busy.
Currently it has two other remodeling
projects in the works—one for a
family with Habitat for Humanity and
Thank
you!
Altruistic Volunteering May Lead to Better Health
Reprinted from MAVA Monthly, October 2011
the other for a wounded veteran.
So, in keeping with its motto, the
BATC Foundation is still “making a
difference … one home at a time.”
New research has emerged that shows that motives for volunteering significantly affect mortality rate.While previous
research has indicated that volunteering is good for psychological and physical health by decreasing rates of depression
and mortality, it had not yet been examined how volunteers’ motivations for helping affected their health. The study
found that those who volunteered with the intention of helping others or desire for social connections had a reduced
mortality risk four years later. On the other hand, if volunteers gave of their time for personal satisfaction, such as
learning a skill or boosting their self-esteem, they had the same mortality rate as those who did not volunteer at
all.Mortality rates also decreased with an increase in the number of hours volunteered and the regularity of volunteerism.
Andrea Fuhrel-Forbis, one of the paper’s co-authors, said, “It is reasonable for people to volunteer in part because of
benefits to the self; however, our research implies that, ironically, should these benefits to the self become the main
motive for volunteering, they may not see those benefits.” For more information, read the summary:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110906144038.htm or the full article: http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/
releases/hea-2011-17888-001.pdf.
Volunteering to Help Others Could Lead to Better Health; Reduced Mortality
Risk Not Seen in People Motivated by Self-Centered Reasons
ScienceDaily (Sep. 6, 2011) — People who volunteer may live longer than those who don’t, as long as their
reasons for volunteering are to help others rather than themselves, suggests new research published by the
American Psychological Association.
This was the first time research has shown volunteers’ motives can have a significant impact on life span.
Volunteers lived longer than people who didn’t volunteer if they reported altruistic values or a desire for social
connections as the main reasons for wanting to volunteer, according to the study, published online in the APA
journal Health Psychology. People who said they volunteered for their own personal satisfaction had the same
mortality rate four years later as people who did not volunteer at all, according to the study.
“This could mean that people who volunteer with other people as their main motivation may be buffered from
potential stressors associated with volunteering, such as time constraints and lack of pay,” said the study’s lead
author, Sara Konrath, PhD, of the University of Michigan. For more information read the article http://
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110906144038.htm
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Online Resources
Upcoming Events by Jessy Sigfrid
Resources & Activities
Diapers 4 Less:
This service delivers discounted disposable diapers right to your door. No
muss, no fuss diapers, at a low cost per diaper, are ready to purchase
immediately. Brands such as Huggies and Pampers are available. Baby wipes
and other items are also available. Additionally, all orders include free
shipping and handling. http://diapers-4-less.com
Northeast Community Lutheran Church (NEC) “Little Kitchen” Pet Food Shelf:
Access to pet food for people with pets in need. Please visit during food shelf walk-in hours: Monday, Wednesday and
Friday 10 a.m. to noon. 1500 6th St NE, Minneapolis 55413. Hours may vary, depending on the month/season. NEC
also partners with Kindest Cut, a program of the Animal Humane Society, to offer low-cost spay/neuter services to
qualifying pet owners. Kindest Cut visits their site in Northeast Minneapolis twice each month, on Fridays. To sign up
for services (and find out if you qualify) please visit kindestcutmn.com or call 763-489-7729.
http://necommunity.net/outreach.aspx
MN SNAP Spay Neuter Assistance Program: Provides 100% of
the funding and support for the first fully-equipped veterinary clinic on
wheels to deliver high-quality spay and neuter services for animals
belonging to shelters, rescue organizations and low-income pet owners in
Minnesota. MN SNAP can reach neighborhoods where cost,
transportation, or the absence of veterinary services is an obstacle to
obtaining animal health care and spay-neuter services. http://www.mnsnap.org
Events, Expos, Fairs and Festivals
Midtown Global Market: Open year round, the Midtown Global Market is an international public market featuring
fresh and prepared food, restaurants, a selection of arts and crafts from around the world, and a monthly calendar
featuring free educational programs, dance lessons, live music and much more (see events calendar for specific details).
www.midtownglobalmarket.org
The 2012 U.S. Pond Hockey Championships: The date has been
finalized and anticipation is building . . . the puck drops for the seventh-annual
U.S. Pond Hockey Championships! Set for Jan. 20-22, the 2012 U.S. Pond
Hockey Championships will take place once again on beautiful Lake Nokomis in
Minneapolis. Free. http://www.uspondhockey.com
The 2012 Saint Paul Winter Carnival: For eleven bone-chilling days in late January, the Minnesota capitol city
of St. Paul explodes with winter merriment. Fun-loving peeps deck themselves in their best gloves, scarves and poofy
hats and head out for a day of frigid festivities. It’s all free, and it’s all a lot of fun. Activities include: ice carving, hot air
ballooning, fireworks, ice skating, scavenger hunts, ice fishing contests and much more! Dates: Jan. 26 _ Feb. 5.
http://www.winter-carnival.com
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