A couple of months ago, one of the community members at Peace House Community crawled under the table where we set out pastries so he could take a nap. A newer volunteer asked if this was okay, and I replied that as long as he was breathing and no one was going to trip over […]
Someone Thought This Was a Good Idea Read More »
Ask Willie Johnson about himself, and you may not get a lot of details. But ask him about his passions, and you will discover an articulate, thoughtful individual. Willie thinks about big things. He’s an artist, a poet, and a subversive, using his creative skills to make his points to those around him. He’s also
Meet Willie Johnson, aka Captain Recycling Read More »
I recently got to chat with the Associate Director of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits about the state of nonprofit organizations in Minnesota. Kari is a self-professed data geek, and we discussed the fact that over 75% of nonprofits in Minnesota are currently reporting some level of financial distress, with many actively planning to close
I’ve had a hard time settling on a topic for this month’s column. I’m writing this about a week after the election, which is obviously a significant event, and the implications of the election results are big enough that I should probably say something. But you won’t read this until at least a couple of
Timing is Everything Read More »
I recently attended a meeting put on by the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness (MICH). As is common these days, the meeting began with a land acknowledgement, which is a statement recognizing that what is now Minnesota was and is the homeland for various Native American tribes. The wording of a land acknowledgement is up
Meaning What You Say Read More »
I recently travelled to Breezy Point, in northern Minnesota, to speak at a conference. Since the trip involved five hours of driving, I made sure I had some audiobooks to pass the time. I started listening to Taking the Work Out of Networking: An Introvert’s Guide to Making Connections That Count, and within an hour
Networking The Mother of All Mixed Blessings Read More »
In a recent conversation with Dave and Dennie Scott about their experience as Peace House volunteers, the dominant theme was hospitality. It’s not that they framed their reflections explicitly around that word. In fact, they might not have even used it. But their comments about what they do and why they do it bear the
Making Hospitality Real: Dave and Dennie Scott Read More »
I have recently been reminded of the complexities of communicating with others, and the value of improving our abilities to communicate. A few days ago, a conversation about foreign languages started at Peace House Community. Well, it was supposed to be about foreign languages; we spent the first 15 minutes talking about our own language
For the Love of Language Read More »
This will be the least enjoyable Director’s Corner I’ve written since I joined PHC. As always, I want to thank all our supporters for making everything at PHC possible, but I also need to let you know about our current financial struggles. Coming out of covid, PHC was financially comfortable. We had a balanced budget
Ahmed’s road to Peace House Community was longer than most, but now that he has arrived, he is making the most of his time with us. Ahmed was born in Somalia in the 1980s, but as war enveloped his country, his family came to the U.S. as refugees when he was 14. The trip involved