LifeSource’s Culture of Community Support
During the pandemic we have all had to find new ways to do things. At LifeSource, this includes living our values. At a time of physical distance, we’ve managed to grow our organizational culture of supporting our community.
As members of the North Minneapolis community, we felt the pain and outrage along with our neighbors after the murder of George Floyd. In response, we looked for ways to elevate our support of equity, justice and systematic change as well as engaging in actively anti-racist actions.
Donating Resources and Time
As part of our commitment to the community LifeSource made a significant donation to the West Broadway Business and Area Coalition which “curates community-identified activities designed to transform West Broadway into a thriving commercial corridor that meets the goods, service and entertainment needs of neighborhood residents, businesses, and visitors.”
Additionally, team members who wanted to help address the immediate needs of our community were given paid work time to volunteer.
Support That Impacts Everyday Lives
Wanting to continue our support of the community, members of the LifeSource team identified The Lift Garage as an organization that impacts the everyday lives of Minneapolis residents who need affordable vehicle maintenance. We raised $2,685 through individual donations for The Lift Garage.
Helping our Littlest Neighbors
LifeSource continued to give locally over the holiday season of 2020. The Lucy Craft Laney school sits 2.5 miles away from the LifeSource building in North Minneapolis. 90% of the students at this school live under the poverty line and the school was flagged as failing despite the dedication and love of teachers and staff. Two of LifeSource’s internal committees joined forces to promote giving through Lucy Laney’s Amazon Wishlist or making monetary contributions to purchase larger gifts. Team members were able to purchase many of the requested items on the wish list – both big and small – and donated $1,600 in cash to the organization.
Backing Our Partners
For the past three years LifeSource has supported NorthPoint Health & Wellness through their annual food drive. Knowing the tremendous impact NorthPoint has on our community, our team has always been eager to support the NorthPoint food shelf and had raised over 700 lbs of food in three years. However, because of the unique challenges created by COVID-19, NorthPoint requested monetary donations instead for food in 2021.
Team members passionate about supporting NorthPoint were left with a unique challenge – how do we make donating money fun and engaging? The answer was the first ever LifeSource Skills Auction.
Team members submitted items and skills for auction, everything from guided hikes to homemade peanut butter bars. Once the auction started, everyone within LifeSource had just over a week to bid on items. Within three hours we reached our $1,000 goal. In the end, we raised $3,232 for NorthPoint, knowing every dollar would be used to support the most vulnerable members of our community.
Living Our Values
The mission of our organization is to offer hope and healing through excellence in organ, eye and tissue donation, but we know there are other ways to deliver hope and hearten healing. We continue to find ways to support our community through giving, partnerships and the sharing of resources. As an organization, we value and respect life, which is why we work every day to preserve it.