The Rice County Sheriff’s Office announced yesterday that they are joining with the Minnesota Sheriffs’ Association and sheriff’s
offices all over the state in donating bulletproof vests and helmets to help and support the people of Ukraine.
Statewide, more than 900 bulletproof vests, 75 helmets and four shields have been collected from Minnesota law enforcement agencies in just a few days.
The donated items have specific care instructions and expiration dates outlined and recommended by the manufacturer. Although these items are past their expiration dates for use with the sheriff’s department, they are still capable of providing protection and will help the people of Ukraine, who are currently fighting an invasion by Russia.
Rice County Sheriff Jesse Thomas said, normally, an expired vest is sent to the county landfill for proper disposal. He sees this as an opportunity to offer support to people who need help.
“If we have items that can protect war victims in Ukraine then we should do what we can to help out. When our ballistic body armor expires, we usually take it to the landfill and witness it get buried in the pile of garbage. The donation of our items didn’t cost us anything and it kept them out of the landfill.”
The Sheriff’s Department donated four standard ballistic vests and one tactical ballistic vest.
The Minnesota Sheriff’s Association has developed a personal contact connected to Ukraine that will ensure the donated items go immediately to those in need.
National Volunteer Week brings opportunities to serve
National Volunteer week began on Sunday. Over the next few days people are encouraged to find a volunteering opportunity for a
day, or for one project, or for an ongoing commitment to an organization or a cause.
Nonprofits rely on volunteers to help accomplish the day-to-day work that must be done, and to meet their overarching goals. According to Volunteer Solutions, an international organization that offers volunteer opportunities worldwide, volunteering can benefit the volunteer as much as the cause or organization they work with. It’s a chance to make a difference with something meaningful to that person. It builds self-esteem and helps to give a better understanding of social responsibility. Volunteering can be an opportunity to gain first-hand work experience and can enhance and supplement an education.
Those who are new to Northfield, or who would like to enhance their relationships within the area are encouraged to find the right volunteer opportunity, because volunteering helps to build community by inserting the volunteer right in the middle of things.
Carrie Carroll, the Executive Director of the local community foundation Northfield Shares, said that her organization encourages volunteering as a fundamental piece of their mission, and to that end, they operate the Volunteer Hub on their website, which posts opportunities from all over the city.
“I call it electronic matchmaking. It’s volunteer matchmaking. It’s organizations that have opportunities, and individuals, families and groups who can go find opportunities and see what matches their schedule or their interests. And the more the merrier, because that’s what generates the energy, and people can find some fun stuff to do.”
Caroll said right now there are opportunities to work with the Chamber of Commerce for the Home, Garden and Consumer Show on Saturday, or with the Earth Day Celebration that will also happen this weekend. Later in May, people can volunteer for the Love Our City program. There are opportunities with the Northfield Public Library, Clean River Partners, Health Finders Collaborative, and Ruth’s House of Hope, just to name a few.
Dr. Martin Luther King said of volunteering, “Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make a subject and a verb agree in order to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?”
For more information on local volunteering opportunities, visit the Volunteer Hub at northfieldshares.org.
Hospital Auxiliary overwhelmed by Book Fair donations
As the Northfield Hospital Auxiliary was preparing to take donations for the annual Hospital Auxiliary Book Fair, the chair of the event, Rita Olson, predicted, because the event has been on hiatus for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, that there would be more donations than usual this year.
Her prediction became reality last week, to the point where they have now closed donations one week early, after receiving thousands and thousands of books in just a few days.
The Hospital Auxiliary has been running the book fair for about sixty years. The proceeds of the event go toward the funding of scholarships in healthcare careers, and this year will also go to completing the education room in the Emergency Medical Services headquarters, and to the HealthFinders Medication fund.
The donations had to be closed because of the meticulous grouping and management of the books that are hallmarks of event. Northfield Hospital + Clinics President and CEO Steve Underdahl said that level of organization is both astonishing and typical of the community.
“It is amazing just to watch. I mean it is a volunteer led entity with a very Northfieldian touch. There are people with Library Science backgrounds who organize this thing in a way that is numbingly complex but makes it really easy for shoppers.”
The Hospital and the Auxiliary have offered suggestions for those who still have books they would like to donate. Goodwill in both Faribault and Burnsville will accept book donations, as will Half Price Books in Apple Valley. Savers Thrift Store in Apple Valley and Unique Thrift Store in Burnsville will accept book donations as well. And the Northfield Community Resource Center has a donation bin solely for gently used children’s books (Please no torn, worn or religious books.)
The Northfield Hospital Auxiliary Book Fair will run at the Northfield Ice Arena from April 26th to April 30th. For hours of operation, please visit the event Facebook page.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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