A Seed Grows Into A Tree!
This year was wild! We officially became a nonprofit and met new faces. We are still figuring things out, learning, and growing, but we have made progress quickly. We are excited to do even more great work in 2025.
2024 Events
Love Is In The Air!
In February, of 2024, SSP4ALL hosted a Valentine's Day social. We invited the community to join us in making Valentines filled with positive affirmations for the students attending the high school and involved in the SAGA group. We had a great day filled with laughter and love as we created 46 cards that were delivered to the students in time for Valentine's Day!
In March, SSP4ALL hosted a Marching Forward event. This was a smaller event that took place in the meeting room at the Kaposia Library. At this event, we found interested volunteers, and that evening our organization grew from three to eight!
We Planted The Seeds
In April, SSP4ALL hosted a "Grow With Us" event, and we invited the community to join us outside the Kaposia Library for a seed exchange. We also invited families to plant their own seeds in cups that they could take home to plant when the time was right. Kids also enjoyed painting on rocks for their gardens at home. Two volunteer staff members also cleaned Southview Boulevard on Earth Day.
In May, SSP4ALL adopted a flower garden via the city and invited members of our community to join us at Lorraine Park to plant new colorful foliage in the garden. Once again, we painted rocks that were left by families in our garden, providing positive affirmations to remind anyone enjoying our garden that they are loved. Town Square Television attended this event and interviewed Gus and Bethany.
Pride In Our Community!
In June, SSP4ALL hosted South St. Paul's very first Pride Festival. It was a colorful day filled with smiles and laughter. We had 28 crafters and artisans and six food trucks selling their goods. A local community member graciously donated their time to perform as Cher! That was so much fun and got everyone dancing and singing. We had kids’ games and face painting. We were grateful to have State Senator Matt Klein read the proclamation from the Minnesota Senate and School Board member Paul Cumings speaking on behalf of Rick Hansen from the Minnesota House of Representatives. WCCO News was also in attendance and once again interviewed Gus and Bethany.
We were invited to attend the Juneteenth event at the Clarke-Grace Lutheran church. It was a warm day where once again we received a warm welcome and thank you for our attendance. We chatted with the crowd and shared our resources as well as once again providing games for the kids that were in attendance.
At the end of June, we also participated in the local Kaposia Days Parade. We worked as a team to create the first pride float to join the parade. The cheers and applause were very heartwarming. It was a great day to be very visible for our LGBTQ+ community.
It Is Getting HOT In Here!
In July, SSP4ALL gathered to clean Marie Avenue from 21st Street down to 3rd. Once again showing our fellow residents that we care deeply about our city, and will be of assistance when we can. Later in the month, a couple of our volunteer staff joined another organization to clean the shoreline along the Mississippi River.
Also in July, we were invited to attend WSP Pride but were rained out.
At the end of July, we were also invited to set up our booth at the First Presbyterian Church Food Truck Event. That was a fun but very warm day. There were many opportunities to network and share our story. We were lucky to be able to set up our booth next to WSP Pride, where we were able to continue to grow our friendship and get to know some great staff from WSP Pride.
In August, our Executive Director filmed two segments with Town Square Television promoting SSP4ALL as a nonprofit, our fundraiser campaigns, and our volunteer opportunities.
This aired on local television throughout the month of October.
We Didn’t Cool Off
In October, SSP4ALL hosted a Royal Prom for the LGBTQ+ community and our allies. We held the event at the Croatian Hall (another nonprofit) and those in attendance had a simply divine time! With light appetizers, signature mocktails (or the full bar), and some amazing tunes provided by DJ Kobra, awesome memories were definitely made that night.
In November, SSP4ALL hosted our 2nd Annual Chili and Pie Fundraiser. Much to our surprise, we had such a big crowd that we ran out of food. We had a very diverse group of people in attendance, and have greatly outgrown the venue. We will have to search for larger places to host next year's event and find even more volunteers to make a pot of yummy chili. We hosted a successful day of raffle, as well as an online silent auction. We were able to raise a good amount of money that will be used toward continuing to host community events.
