Barbara grew up in Montana but moved to Duluth to be closer to her daughter Vanessa and her family. In her younger years, she was a teacher, and later a businesswoman. Vanessa shares that when her mother saw people struggle, unable to pay rent or other expenses, it really bothered her. It was no surprise for Vanessa to learn her mother made an estate gift to us upon her passing.

“She was always a very giving person, giving of herself to others, and donating to lots of charities,” Vanessa shares.

Barbara named us as a beneficiary of her Individual Retirement Account (IRA). This simple and common estate gift allowed her to name us, as a qualified charity, to receive the full benefit of her IRA without the burden of income taxes on her estate when the gift was distributed.

“It was a beautiful thing to see my mom give back throughout her life,” she shares. “I hope this gift will be a reminder to all of us to think about giving back.”

*Our information is for illustrative purposes. We recommend that you consult your accountant or tax preparer for professional advice and information.

As a student, school can be difficult enough without having to worry about whether or not you or your family have enough to eat over the weekend. Many Northland children miss important meals like their free school breakfast and lunch, which adds stress on local families.

Thanks to your generous support of our BackPack Program, more than 1,000 children receive weekend food at nearly 50 NE Minnesota and NW Wisconsin schools each week. One such child, a pre-kindergartner, receives his ‘BackPack’ every Thursday and loves getting his food so much he insists on carrying it around with him from class to class.

As Lowell Elementary School Social Emotional Learning Specialist Taylor Walling shares, “We can’t expect kids to perform academically or socially in school if they don’t have their basic needs met. The BackPack Program offers families and students the security of knowing they don’t have to worry as much about food over the weekend.”

Child food insecurity is higher in our region than the state averages in both Minnesota and Wisconsin. But thanks to your invaluable contributions, more than 30,000 weekend bags of food make it to local children and families each year, filling an important meal gap in their homes.

We couldn’t operate our BackPack Program without partners like you. Here’s a sampling of those who are generously supporting our hunger-relief work:

• Cliffs Foundation
• Halvor Lines
• Kari Toyota
• Super One Foods
• Upper Lakes Foods