Ely Community Resource ... helping make Ely a great place to grow up!
Family Resource Facilitator/Community Navigator, Ryan Stewart has brought a wealth of experience and energy. He works with students and their families. In collaboration with school staff, he’ll reach out to families as needs arise.
ECR can help with access to food, information about and access to support groups, and can help do the legwork to connect families with outside-the-school resources needed to support their children.
This effort is supported by the Community Care Team and the Behavioral Health Network and adds a “helping hand” for school staff.
This effort is now also supported by Family Services Collaborative of St. Louis County who started a new initiative:
Regional Resource Centers.
This is made possible through nearly $1 million in combined grant funding and is aimed at strengthening family and youth support services across the region. In northern St. Louis County, this initiative includes funding from the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to support the implementation of three Community & Family Resource Centers and one mobile resource center to serve rural communities.
Partner organizations in northern St. Louis County also include Ely Community Resource, Voices for Ethnic & Multicultural Awareness (VEMA), and Mesabi Fit.
In southern St. Louis County, Valley Youth Center, Lincoln Park Children and Families Collaborative, and Lutheran Social Services as key community resource hubs.
The Community Resource Navigator at each agency will help connect families with regional support for food, transportation, and other basic needs not covered by county programs. Each navigator will also help families access services that promote healthy social-emotional development, offer safe social opportunities, and provide parenting resources.
United Way of Northeast Minnesota partnership is still strong.
We’d also like to express a big THANK YOU to Zup’s for donating fresh fruit for this project.
Each school year, we distribute backpacks full of shelf-stable, kid-friendly food every week for Head Start through 12th grade students.
This program is immensely appreciated by students who receive the backpacks.
Local families in need register to receive gifts for their children during the December holidays. ECR facilitates fundraising to make the holidays happy with toys and clothing items.
If you are a parent/guardian looking for help during the holidays – please email Jill Swanson at jill@elycommunityresource.org regarding information and forms. Forms can be filled out in person at the ECR office or one will be emailed to you. Forms must be submitted by early November. Children must be 18 years old or younger and living in Ely, Winton, or Babbitt.
In November, community members can choose a tag, found on Christmas trees at the Ely Surplus Store or churches in Ely and Babbitt or contact Jill Swanson. Gifts can be brought to our office at 111 S. Fourth Avenue E.