Take time for Kids

There’ll be live music, a silent auction, a beer and wine tasting and delicacies from some of the area’s top restaurants. And the theme for the planned festive event is “Take Time for Kids.”

The impetus behind Wednesday’s fundraiser for Lutheran Social Service of Duluth’s Crisis Nursery is far more somber.

“Our main goal is to prevent child abuse and neglect,” said Jessica Ollhoff, the Crisis Nursery’s program manager. “Parents call for many different reasons — mental health or medical issues, domestic violence, homelessness, having to go to work and their childcare is not available.”

Offering a place for children 12 years old and younger a place to stay for up to three days, the facility opened in 1994. Its mission is to keep children safe by providing support services to families and emergency care for children during times of family crisis.

“On any given day I am talking and meeting with families who seek our service voluntarily. “We all here at the nursery can speak of countless opportunities of providing the simple gesture of just listening and offering support when needed,” said Keri Sampson, a family worker at the facility located at 424 W. Superior. “We are learning from the families we serve just as often as we are offering a given service to them.”

One client said those services were a lifesaver.

“If it weren’t for the Crisis Nursery when I was a child, I probably would not have survived,” said one young parent who asked not to be identified. “Now that I have my own children, I want to make sure the Crisis Nursery is there to support others.”

One resource offered for parents is The First Year Program.

It is a collaboration between Lutheran Social Service, the

Duluth Public Schools Early Childhood Family Education program, St. Louis County Public Health and Human Services, University of Minnesota’s St. Louis County Extension Service, along with a licensed psychologist.

“The First Year Program assists first-time parents with multiple challenges who have limited support during pregnancy and their infant’s first year of life,” Ollhoff said. “The program provides parent education, mental health support, health and nutrition education, and home visits.”

The Crisis Nursery’s programs rely on grants from local foundations and donations from the community to run.

What to help?

Take Time for Kids, a live/silent auction, will be held at 6 p.m. on Aug. 1.

Held at the Duluth’s Depot, the fundraiser will feature music by Breanne Marie, Brown Eye Blue Eye and Rachael Kilgour. A beer and wine tasting by Keyport Liquors will be held. Food will be provided by New Scenic Café, Duluth Grill, Savories Catering, and JJ Astor. Two parents impacted by the programs will also speak.

“Our greatest need is having the funds to pay for the childcare needed to offer families who are experiencing a crisis an opportunity to be somewhere safe and for free,” said Sampson.

For more information, call (218) 302-6837, or email cynthia.kolquist@lssmn.org, or go to www.lssmn.org/taketimeforkids to get advance tickets for $30. Tickets sold that day at the door are $40.

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