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by Dawn Slade
With tough economic times you may be wondering how to make ends meet. Where do you go for help? Stop by the Mille Lacs County Operation Community Connect (OCC) event Thursday, Oct. 23 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Milaca to learn more. The event runs from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.
This is the third annual OCC event that helps connect individuals and families with services and organizations that can benefit them in their time of need.
Last year, the OCC served 67 families and fed about 125 individuals. Services provided included clothing, quilts, gas cards, grocery cards, flu shots, and haircuts.
“One woman received a haircut. It was her first in five or six years,” OCC Coordinator Beth VanderPlaats of Mille Lacs County Family Services said. “It was inspiring.
“That’s one of our goals is to change at least one person’s life,” Vanderplaats added.
There will be flu shots available (if you have insurance, it will be billed), as well as door prizes and lots of give-away items donated by area businesses. Seated chair massages will also be provided and two beauticians will be on hand.
Roseann Wiltsey, a social worker with Mille Lacs County Family Services, is looking forward to the event.
“What we’re excited about is we’re going to have children’s dental services,” Wiltsey said.
Children Dental Services will be providing teeth cleaning, fluoride and sealants for children attending the event. Dentistry for Children will provide toothbrushes for the kids, while Dr. Doty’s office of Milaca will provide adult toothbrushes.
The event is possible in part by grants from Benton Telecommunication Foundation and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.
Vendors include Central Minnesota Jobs & Training, Lakes and Pines, Mille Lacs County Family Services, Mille Lacs County Public Health, Mille Lacs County Mental Health, Metro Plains, the Milaca Area Pantry, New Pathways (homeless shelter), Our Home (permanent transition housing), Pine Tech Jobs and Training, Five County Mental Health (including its Crisis Service and Mobile Crisis Service programs), St. Cloud Area Legal Services, Rum River Interfaith Caregivers, Rum River Health Services, the Salvation Army, East Central Energy, Twin Cities Voice Mail (a service for people without a telephone), Department of Veteran Services, Milaca Senior Dining, Senior Linkage Line, Milaca Community Ed, Central Minnesota Re-Entry Project, East Central Senior Resource Center, Rum River Life Choices, Landmark Personnel (temp agency), Outreach Services, Community Investing in Families, U of M Extension Office, Mille Lacs Public Health, RISE Employment, Medica, UCare, Mille Lacs County Family Services’ Child Support, MedEligible (re: social security), Natural Elements (chair massages), and Pearl Crisis Center.
There are resources in the community that you may not be aware of and this event can help you make the necessary connections.
There will be a meal provided for attendees (the ladies of Trinity Lutheran Church are making a sit down meal).
“Every year it keeps growing with more vendors and more opportunities,” Wiltsey said.
“We want to see this event grow even larger,” Vanderplaats added. “We want to reach out and touch other people’s lives.”
“With today’s economy, it’s getting harder and harder to make ends meet,” Wiltsey noted. “Hopefully we can connect resources and families to help them make ends meet.
“It’s an awesome opportunity for people in our community to obtain new resources for services to help with day-to-day living.”
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