Cedar Commons, a partnership between Augsburg College and Trinity Lutheran, was one of seven neighborhood organizations to receive a grant from The Minneapolis Foundation’s West Bank Fund.
Cedar Commons was designed to support collaborative projects through which Augsburg students and community partners work in partnership to respond to community needs and opportunities. The $3,500 grant from the West Bank Fund will support a youth leadership program titled Connected Voices for Education and Engagement. The program will expand access for Cedar Riverside youth to the Cedar Commons’ collaborative programming space and facilitate connections with Augsburg’s student body.
Part of Augsburg’s strategic vision for 2019, its sesquicentennial year, is to shape education to address the world’s needs by joining our neighbors and institutional partners at the table. The college looks to partnerships with organizations like Trinity Lutheran and the Minneapolis Foundation to help students discover their gifts, discern their vocations, and open doors to careers.
Other recipients of the West Bank Fund include several organizations which Augsburg has existing relationships with:
African Development Center – to support African immigrant and refugee community conversations
African Immigrants Community Services – for the East African Youth Employment Program
Brian Coyle Center – for Changing Lives with Soccer, a partnership between the Center and the Somali American Police Association
Islamic Civic Society of America – to help build a system of community understanding and support for youth to enter career pathways
Korean Services Center – to support work with homebound elders
Shanta Link – to mentor youth in preparation for college
To learn more or get involved, please visit augsburg.edu/commontable.