November 16, 2012
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Since its beginning dating back to 1997, MinneapolisNEXT has been committed to identifying capable and determined young people in need and providing them with assistance to help make their dreams a reality. We do this through our flagship scholarship program and by providing financial assistance to inner city recreation and dance programs.
The MinneapolisNEXT scholarship program has 50 young men and women from the Twin Cities urban core enrolled at private high schools in the 2012-13 school year, and we have proudly sent more than 150 alumni off to college. The positive outcome of our efforts is not only personal success for these deserving young people, but the emergence of new leaders who will forge a better society for us all. To borrow some lines from Bishop Ken Untener’s “The Prayer of Oscar Romero”:
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning.
On behalf of everyone involved with MinneapolisNEXT, thank you for your support. As in prior years, 100 percent of your contribution goes directly to programs that benefit kids in need, as all of the organization’s operating expenses are paid by the Board of Directors. Please continue to help us shape the next generation of leaders and make dreams come true…one child at a time.
Best wishes,
Rexford Holland
President, MinneapolisNEXT