McCormick Neighborhood Family Center
622 23rd Street South
Fargo, ND 58103
Business Office
2601 12th Ave. South, Suite A
Fargo, ND 58103
(701) 356-0260
CHARISM.org
McCormick Neighborhood Youth Center
612 23rd Street South
Fargo, ND 58103
Caring Neighbors
CHARISM’s Quarterly Newsletter
FALL 2015 ISSUE
$4,500 Raised for The FACES Project!
Check out Page 5 for information on our inaugural Tee Up for the Girls women’s golf scramble!
It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood!
Hello, Neighbor!
Wow! It feels like summer sped by, fall landed in our lap, and now we need to catch
our breath! This newsletter will reveal community support that kept 55 low-income
elementary youth engaged in academic and social learning during the summer, allowing these kids to start school on the same level as their peers. Additional community support enabled 35 families to grow their own vegetables in our neighborhood
garden, and 320 families accessed recovered food to feed their households when
money was tight! We also designed and planted a community orchard, which our
neighborhood has aptly named the “The Good Neighbor Grove.” Building strong
neighborhoods is very exciting! So…find a comfy chair, read through all the good
things happening in our neighborhood, and know that you are making it happen!
Julie Gunkelman
CHARISM Executive Director
Inside this Issue…
Community Outreach.…....………….…..…….…..……….…….4
Summer PaY Intern……...............................…..….………..2 New Staff Member…..….…..…………….…………..…………....4
Night to Unite………......……………...……….………….…..…....2 Orchard Dedication….….….…..…………..………….....………..4
After-School Programs…….………………………………...……..3 Tee Up for the Girls!…….….......………………………..………...5
Check and Connect………...…….....……………….….…….......3 Thank You, Sponsors!.......……………………………………...….5
BUILDING STRONG NEIGHBORHOODS FOR 21 YEARS!
FALL 2015
CARING NEIGHBORS
PAGE 2
Linnea Wagner, Summer PaY Intern
This summer CHARISM hosted Linnea Wagner, an intern through the Barry Foundation’s
Philanthropy and Youth (PaY) program. Linnea spent nine weeks at CHARISM. During
her time with us, Linnea was involved in all aspects of CHARISM.
Linnea’s main task during the summer was to build upon previous Night to Unite events
to increase the attendance and draw in more families from the surrounding neighborhood. Linnea researched ways to do this, and some of her additions to Night to Unite
included family-friendly activities like a neighborhood scavenger hunt, making litter
bags to address the neighborhood’s litter problem, face painting, a bean bag toss, ladder
golf and badminton. The event was successful based on the many neighbors who attended!
Linnea also spent time in CHARISM’s Playtown Summer Camp, Grocery Assistance Program and community garden. She attended various planning meetings and events to see what it is like to work in the nonprofit sector,
and she built meaningful relationships with CHARISM’s neighbors. When
asked about her internship at CHARISM, Linnea responded, “I have loved every second of my internship at CHARISM! I am very grateful for my time here. I
will always remember the smiling faces of our neighbors!”
Linnea is a 2015 graduate of Fargo Davies High School and is attending college at the University of Northwestern, St. Paul. She is pursuing a degree in
Teaching English as a Second Language and Spanish Education. Linnea’s
CHARISM supervisor, Jessica Ueland, said, “It was a joy to have Linnea on our
team this summer, we miss her already! Her future students will be so lucky
to have her as their teacher.”
Like us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram for even more CHARISM happenings!
NiGhT tO uNiTe
CHARISM’s annual Night to Unite was a highlight of the summer!
On August 4th we partnered with the Fargo Police Department
and the City of Fargo’s Human Relations Commission to sponsor an
evening of free family fun to bring the Jefferson Neighborhood
together. It was impossible not to have a good time on a beautiful
summer evening with old and new friends!
CHARISM provided lawn games, face painting, a neighborhood
scavenger hunt, badminton and a litter bag decorating station.
Free ice cream treats were given out by the Human Relations
Commission, and Fargo Police officers spent time chatting with
neighbors and handing out their ever-popular sheriff stickers!
Families from CHARISM’s surrounding neighborhood enjoyed an
evening of free fun. One of CHARISM’s favorite things is events
like this, which bring neighbors together and help friendships both
form and grow! Thanks to the Fargo Police Department and Human Relations Commission for their partnership in this special annual event!
FALL 2015
CARING NEIGHBORS
PAGE 3
Little Learners After-School Program
By Shannon Blomker
This fall is special for our McCormick Park/Jefferson Neighborhood site—we will have a greater focus on science, technology, engineering and math skills! A big thank you to the South East Education Cooperative for their support, making it possible for us enhance our Little Learners’ learning in the area of STEM learning.
Students will start their learning with a STEM curriculum about space! Students will learn about NASA, constellations,
black holes, famous astronomers and more. They will be “space explorers” and experience a trip to MSUM’s planetarium! Along with STEM and 21st Century skills, students will work in small groups with caring
mentors to increase reading and math scores through a variety of games and stations. Students
will continue to develop good character skills, including CHARISM’s core values of respect, trust,
creativity, courage, and concern for others.
Finally, thanks to the Philanthropy & Youth (PaY) school grants for funding a dream field trip to
Wahpeton’s Chahinkapa Zoo! These grants made it possible to take both our summer camp and
after-school students on a trip that most had never experienced before. We are thankful for
these opportunities to connect neighborhood kids with such meaningful childhood memories!
THANK YOU to the following organizations who make CHARISM’s programs possible!
The Elmer & Kaya
Berg Foundation
The Barry
Foundation
Eastwood STEM Club
By Brian Kemp
We are excited to begin a new STEM Club year at West Fargo’s Eastwood Elementary! This fall we will participate in the
2015 Lights On After School event, drawing attention to the
many ways afterschool programs support students by offering
opportunities to learn new things and and discover new skills.
The event will demonstrate that many kids in our community
need quality afterschool programs like STEM Club.
This year, each student will develop a project as an individual
or as part of a team, focusing on one of the core values of
STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. STEM Club
students will also work with mentors to increase their literacy
and math abilities. STEM Club will
work with 40 students four days a
week (20 boys in the fall, 20 girls in
the spring) so that students receive
consistent, nurturing attention
from our mentors. The students
will develop leadership and positive character skills!
Check & Connect
Check & Connect (C&C) students stayed connected
with CHARISM mentor Alaina Johnson over the summer through park and library visits and at CHARISM’s
summer camp. By keeping the relationship strong
over the summer, students are more likely to stay engaged and excited about their education and goals.
Returning C&C students at Jefferson Elementary have
impressed school staff by starting the school year off
with zero tardies to-date! It will be another year of
learning and growth as students continue to work on
their attendance and personal goals to succeed in
school.
C&C is now being offered at Carl Ben Eielson Middle
School, too! Brody Clarke is this school’s mentor,
stressing the importance of attendance and working
towards high school graduation. CBE is excited about
the future success of these students who are at risk of
“slipping through the cracks” without the support of a
program like Check & Connect.
FALL 2015
CARING NEIGHBORS
PAGE 4
NeW sTaFf MeMbEr!
Community Outreach
By Andrea Jang
We are thrilled to welcome college students
back to the FM area! Their volunteer presence
in our programs is missed during the summer
months—we value their time and concern for
their school-year community! We look forward to having them build skills and mentor
relationships with our youth after school,
and adults at our Grocery Assistance Program.
In October, neighbor families will clean up the
garden area and prepare it for winter. Then
we will celebrate the bountiful garden season
with a potluck at our Family Center! More
than 30 families have tended to the produce
from our community garden, made possible
by the knowledge and resources of Fargo’s
Growing Together gardening group.
Brian Kemp is CHARISM's
new After-School Site
Director! Brian will oversee the STEM Club at Eastwood Elementary. Brian
holds a degree in social
work from MSUM, and
brings years of experience
working with children and families in the fields
of child protection, domestic violence, homelessness and disabilities to this CHARISM role.
In his free time, Brian enjoys spending time
with his wife and daughter , going on new adventures whenever they can! Brian is also a 24
-year baseball umpire who works high school,
American Legion and college baseball games.
Last year, he started refereeing high school
football games as well.
Welcome, Brian!
August GAP Stats: 143 families served, 12,285 lbs of recovered food, 197 volunteer hours!
Orchard Dedication
CHARISM had the honor of hosting an orchard dedication ceremony with
the Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo Chamber of Commerce on July 23rd. As
you may recall from past newsletters, CHARISM received a grant from the
North Dakota Department of Agriculture to create an orchard to accompany our community garden. A celebration was a must!
The idea for CHARISM’s orchard proposal stemmed from the theme of our This camper displayed
our sponsors’ logos!
summer camp’s Rotary Week, sponsored by Fargo’s PM Rotary Club. This
annual week at camp has focused on activities related to the Rotary children’s book titled Andy and Elmer, which has apples as a story theme. The PM Rotary Club has promoted literacy and entrepreneurship throughout this week at camp, and
the idea of an orchard came last summer with the Rotary Club’s donation of two apple trees to CHARISM in the spirit of
the apple-themed book.
We hosted Chamber ambassadors, Rotary members and
CHARISM supporters for a delicious grill-out lunch made
possible by several sponsors. We ended the ribbon-cutting
ceremony with apple dumplings and ice cream “sold” by our
summer camp kids to give them experience as entrepreneurs. We can’t wait to show you photos of the orchard
when all the fruit trees and landscaping are complete!
CHARISM’s Andrea Jang with
a newly-planted tree!
Cutting the ribbon with the FMWF Chamber of Commerce!
After voting on many orchard name submissions, we’re
excited to share that the official name of our orchard is…
(drum roll, please!)
The Good Neighbor Grove!
Printing donated by Blueprint, Xerox Authorized Dealer
FALL 2015
CARING NEIGHBORS
PAGE 5
By Morgan Wall
CHARISM hosted our inaugural Tee Up for the Girls Charity Golf
Scramble on August 28th at beautiful Osgood Golf Course. With
the generosity of our golfers and sponsors, $4,500 (more than
we initially reported thought!) was raised for our middle school
girls’ program, The FACES Project! FACES is an incredible opportunity for at-risk middle school girls to learn the meaning of integrity, give back to the community and work towards making
their goals and dreams a reality.
This women’s golf scramble included 38 wonderful women
ready to Tee Up for a great cause. Following the scramble, our
players gathered for a lunch from the 9 Iron Grill. They received
an abundance of prizes and recognition, as well as learning from
CHARISM’s Executive Director, Julie Gunkelman, about the important purpose behind the event.
The funds raised from the event will help cover the costs of running The FACES Project, expanding into another school and making the program accessible to even more middle school girls
who can achieve their potential with the mentorship and opportunities that FACES provides.
Thank you to our generous sponsors and caring players for investing in our future leaders!
Experience a CHARISM neighbor family’s success story in the 2015 United Way of Cass-Clay campaign video!
Power Sponsors
Thank You, Tee Up Sponsors!
Platinum Sponsors
Gold Sponsors
CHARISM Board of Directors
Gerald Floden, President
Bruce Furness, Vice President/Treasurer
Tara Morris, Secretary
Arday Ardayfio
Mary Hall
Lisa Jackson
Brenda Kaspari
Kay Leonhart
Larry Ornberg
Terry Stroh
CHARISM Staff
Julie Gunkelman, Executive Director
Kay Exner, Resource Manager
Jessica Ueland, Director of Annual Giving & Marketing
Andrea Jang, Community Outreach Coordinator
Shannon Blomker, Director of Elementary Programs
Alaina Johnson, Check & Connect Mentor
Brody Clarke, Check & Connect Mentor, Strength Project
Brian Kemp, Eastwood Site Director
Lynnette Lein, FACES Project Facilitator
Morgan Wall, Marketing & Special Events Assistant