On Monday, more than 400 kids and their families rolled up their sleeves and packed, sorted and labeled food to help provide for those in need as part of Bring Your Child to Serve Day, in honor of MLK Day. By the time the last volunteer shift ended, 25,830 pounds of food was packed—the equivalent of 19,869 meals!

It was inspiring to see so many youth excited about giving back to their community and helping others. Thank you to all who volunteered, and we hope to see you again soon! We’d also like to thank our sponsor Bremer Bank for making the day possible.

And remember, the need for volunteers and donations is year-round at Second Harvest Heartland. Please check out our website or follow us on Twitter and Facebook to hear about opportunities to continue to help.

Each year, Americans across the country come together on Martin Luther King. Jr. Day to serve their neighbors and communities in honor of Dr. King. As part of this national movement, we’re once again hosting “Bring Your Child to Serve Day” on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Over the past several years, “Bring Your Child to Serve Day” has become an important day of community service throughout the nation, and we’re excited to join in and offer working parents and their children an opportunity to volunteer together and generate awareness around the issue of hunger!

The event will take place from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. on Monday, January 21, at Second Harvest Heartland West, located at 6325 Sandburg Road in Golden Valley. More than 400 youth ages eight and older and their parents will work in shifts sorting and packing food for the nearly 600,000 individuals in need of hunger relief in our community.

Bremer Bank, a longtime supporter of community service with a keen interest in hunger relief, is sponsoring the event and will have employees and their children on hand volunteering. Thank you Bremer Bank!

Please consider joining us on January 21 to honor the late Dr. King and serve those in need in our community!

And remember, you can continue to serve your community after MLK Day. To see volunteer opportunities at Second Harvest Heartland all year round, visit here.

‘Tis the season of giving, and Bremer Bank continues to show their generosity in big ways. Again this year, they are holding the Bremer Bank Holiday Nonprofit Giveaway, where they will donate $2,000 to the local non-profit in their tri-state area of Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin that receives the most votes from the public.

Voting is simple—visit Facebook.com/BremerBank and click on the Holiday Nonprofit Giveaway tab underneath the timeline image. Once you’ve voted, share with your friends, family, and colleagues, and encourage them to vote for their nonprofit of choice. Only one vote per individual will count toward the final results and the vote must be cast on the contest tab. The nonprofit that receives the most votes before December 20 will win the $2,000 donation!

This campaign is just one of the ways Bremer Bank gives back to the community throughout the year. As a supporter of Second Harvest Heartland, they send hundreds of volunteers through our doors each year; lead a hunger-fighting campaign each summer, raising thousands of dollars and collecting thousands of pounds of food; and provide sponsorship and support of various additional campaigns throughout the year.

Through action, leadership and partnership, Bremer Bank has truly enriched the lives of so many people in our community. We thank them for their generous support of Second Harvest Heartland.

Don’t forget to vote for your favorite non-profit before December 20!

We would like to sincerely thank Bremer Bank for Taking Action Against Hunger for the seventh consecutive year. Last month, donations from the Taking Action Against Hunger Campaign surpassed the matching donation goal of $50,000! These donations will be distributed to Second Harvest Heartland and other Feeding America food banks in the area. Bremer Bank also matched $1 for every view of the Taking Action Against Hunger video, raising an additional $8,000!

In addition, they had approximately 180 employees volunteer between the Second Harvest Heartland East and West facilities and had a booth at the St. Paul Farmers Market, where they collected monetary and food donations at the beginning of June. We anticipate having the results of the total amount raised from the campaign in the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

Bremer Bank’s commitment to fighting hunger for kids, adults and seniors in our community is greatly appreciated and deserves recognition. They have made a significant impact on the lives of our hungry neighbors through various financial contributions and volunteer work. We invite you to join us in thanking them.

For the seventh consecutive year, Bremer Bank is Taking Action to End Hunger through their June campaign. Donations made online and in Bremer Bank branches will be  matched $1 for $1, up to $50,000. (Click here to donate now.)

One in 5 US kids faces hunger on any given day. And when kids go without food, they are likely to suffer deficiencies that hinder their learning, growth, health and happiness.

Bremer Bank is committed to fighting hunger for kids, adults and seniors in our community, and we invite you to join them this June.

In addition, for every view of the YouTube video below, Bremer will donate $1 up to $15,000. Spread the word!

Bremer Bank’s annual Taking Action Against Hunger campaign wraps up Thursday. Don’t miss your chance to double your impact by getting your gift matched today!

Donate Now >>

Bremer Bank kicked off its fifth annual “Taking Action Against Hunger” campaign this June! Bremer recognizes the growing need for food during the summer months, when more families utilize food shelves as children are home from school and have less access to subsidized meal programs.

You can help match the $100,000 Bremer Challenge Gift by making a gift today. Anytime between now and the end of the month, you can:

• Stop by your local Bremer Bank to make a gift.
• Click here to donate online.
• New! Text to give. Text BREMER to 27722 to make a $10 donation to Second Harvest Heartland on behalf of Bremer Bank. Message and data rates may apply.*

*A one-time donation of $10 will be added to your mobile phone bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. You will also receive up to 1 message per day from Second Harvest Heartland Alerts. Msg&Data rates may apply. All charges are billed by and payable to your mobile service provider. Service is available on most carriers. Donations are collected for the benefit of the Second Harvest Heartland by the mGive Foundation and subject to the terms found at www.mGive.com/A. To unsubscribe text STOP to 27722, for help text HELP to 27722.

What does 700 boxes, 21,000 pounds or 10.5 tons feel like? It feels good! That’s the amount of food that a small team of Bremer employees packed for people who use this service from Second Harvest Heartland.

It was fun to feel good while doing good! Our team members were all ‘workers’ – no one slacked off and everyone seemed to work up a bit of a sweat. Our staff coordinator told us we didn’t need to ‘kill ourselves’ and yet none of the Bremer folks turned off their ‘Taking Action’ mentality as they packed the 700 boxes in just under three hours.

Learned some interesting facts – one in 10 seniors lives in poverty in the U.S. These are people who probably worked hard their whole lives and now find themselves struggling just to feed themselves – there’s something wrong with that formula. Also found out that if you mix powdered milk with condensed milk you end up with 2% milk!

As volunteer opportunities go, this one was great. We all felt like we were making a significant contribution and that contribution would directly impact – and hopefully improve – the lives of some of our neighbors.

Teresa Morrow
SVP, Bremer Banks

Bremer Bank kicked off its fourth annual “Taking Action Against Hunger” campaign this week! Bremer recognizes the growing need for food during the summer months, when more families utilize food shelves as children are home from school and do not have access to subsidized meal programs.

“Bremer’s vision is to build healthy communities through partnerships,” said CEO and President Steve Meads. “We believe we can achieve this vision by meeting basic needs in our communities, and ending hunger seems like a great place to start. We invite everybody in the community to help us take action to end hunger. Thanks for your valued partnership and effort.”

Want to help Bremer Take Action Against Hunger this month? Anytime between now and the end of the month, you can stop by your local Bremer Bank, make a donation online or send a check to: Second Harvest Heartland, attn: Taking Action Against Hunger,1140 Gervais Ave., St. Paul, MN 55109.

With a requested minimum donation of $5, you can receive a reusable grocery tote available at all Bremer Bank locations while supplies last! If you donate online or send a check, please bring a copy of your receipt or check to the bank to receive a reusable grocery tote.