Welcome to Ramp Coordinator Elise Sjogren

Please join us in welcoming Elise Sjogren to the Rebuilding Together Team!  Elise works with our Program Manager to plan and oversee ramp projects, including previewing projects, developing the scopes of work, determining volunteer and contracted labor needs, supervising volunteers, and working to ensure that ramp projects are completed within budget and time constraints.

Elise attended Augsburg College and the University of New Hampshire. She has more than five years of experience working in the mental health and public education spaces.  She also volunteered for our organization for many years prior to joining our team.

Elise enjoys spending time outside, especially fishing. She also loves spending time with her family.

We are excited to have Elise join our team!

Check Out our 2022 Annual Report

Our 2022 Annual Report has been published and you can access it here.

This report is an opportunity to share what we accomplished last year and to recognize our supporters. We also share stories of homeowners and nonprofit organizations that we were able to assist in 2022.

One of the stories we included is about Diondra, who shares her manufactured home with her partner and their three children. The family came to Rebuilding Together Minnesota in danger of eviction because they could not afford to fix the siding. During our intake process we discovered that their furnace and air conditioning also needed to be repaired. The family had been relying on costly space heaters and portable air conditioning units as one of their daughters has a medical condition that causes her to faint if she gets overheated.

With the support of our volunteers we installed new siding and replaced the furnace and air conditioning. This ensured stable housing for Diondra’s family, reduced their energy bills, and directly improved the health and well-being of their daughter.

Please be sure to check out our report and THANK YOU to everyone who supported our work last year!

Rebuilding Day in Worthington Was a Huge Success!

On September 9th, 35 volunteers came together to help three low-income homeowners in Worthington with much-needed repairs. The volunteers included seven members of the Worthington High School football team.

One of the homeowners we helped is an 82-year-old Air Force veteran, Dave, who lost his wife in June. Volunteers installed new doors and also placed a handrail in his bathroom to prevent falls.

We also helped Father Jim Callahan, who moved to town 14 years ago to serve as Pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Our amazing volunteers replaced his deck.

Check out the news coverage about our Worthington Rebuilding Day:

Dakota News Now

The Globe

Thank you to everyone who volunteered and supported our Worthington Rebuilding Day!

Special thanks to our sponsors, including Wells Fargo and the Southwest Initiative Foundation. Additional support came from local businesses including Mike Woll Investments, Veterinary Medical Center, Johnson Builders & Realty, Hedeen Hughes & Wetering Law Firm, HyVee and First State Bank SW.

Wells Fargo Volunteers Give Back

We recently hosted 18 volunteers from Wells Fargo who put together 25 Safe at Home Kits. The kits include a smoke detector, carbon monoxide detector, no-slip bath treads, dawn to dusk lightbulbs and nightlights, grabbers, mini-flash light, batteries, kitchen fire extinguisher, reusable masks, sanitizing wipes, and an application for Safe at Home services. These kits provide an entry level of service for older adults who may be more difficult to serve either because of reluctance to ask for help, language or cultural barriers, concerns about COVID-19, etc. Our Safe at Home kits have a direct and immediate positive impact on the low-income older adults we serve. They also foster trust and raise awareness which lead many of the homeowners to ask for additional help needed to remain safely and independently in their own homes. We are very grateful to Wells Fargo for providing funding and volunteers to support this initiative!