1. Meadowbrook Collaborative
Reinvesting in Families & Children
Jul • Aug • Sep 2009 4072 Meadowbrook Lane • St. Louis Park, MN 55426 • www.meadowbrookcollaborative.org
THE VALUE OF OUR INVESTMENT
The first frost of a new season: a sign that the cycle of life continues. Such is
also the case at Meadowbrook. Summer has ended, a new school year begun…
new faces among the children, parents and volunteers.
 The school year is off to a great start with old & new partners eager to col‐
laborate in the name of student success.
 Thirty‐five students in grades K‐8 are participating in Meadowbrook’s Tar‐
geted Services/Homework Help program.
 Summer brought laughter, enrichment and learning with the Playground
program and Summer’s Cool.
 Our multi‐cultural garden flourished and its harvest was shared with many.
 Thanks to your gifts and those of Park Nicollet Foundation, we have an ap‐
proved budget for the 2009‐10 fiscal year.
 The children voted on a new playground plan, which will be built within the
next month or so, and maintained as a city park.
 Volunteers have taken over a portion of the Panera Bread Dough‐nation
program, freeing up my schedule for other things of importance.
 The SLP Soccer Association spent an afternoon teaching interested kids
new soccer skills. Twenty‐five children participated and got a “kick” out of
it!
 Police officers Jon Fisher and Don Lewis helped divert potential summer‐
time problems, always ready to be creative and important members of our
team.
 Thanks to volunteers, we were able to tutor several immigrants this sum‐
mer, enabling them to strengthen their English language skills, and make
new friends!
Please read on and learn more about what’s happening in the Meadowbrook
community of St. Louis Park. As always, I welcome your questions and ideas,
and invite you to visit.
Mea
Linda Trummer

2. Reinvesting in Families & Children
Jul‐Sep 2009
Meadowbrook Targeted Services and Homework Help
We welcome back teachers Nathan Tangen and Kelsey Okey, and add Nick Jacobs to our staff this year. We started
programming the day after Labor Day, without a hitch. For each of thirty‐five students we have required CLPs –
Continuous Learning Plans, written by classroom teachers or school administrators, and approved by parents and
students. This year’s program, at least through the end of the calendar year, is one day per week less than in previ‐
ous years. Programming is on M – Tu – Th, 4:30‐6:00 pm. Students are assigned to “learning areas” based on their
grade level. In addition to a licensed teacher, we have recruited 3 – 4 adult volunteers to help each day with one‐
on‐one learning with students who need extra help. On Tuesdays, a social work graduate student from Park
Nicollet Creekside Clinic is on hand to develop relationships with kids who have been identified by parents and staff
to need additional support.
The Volunteers: Love in Motion!
Our volunteers are the glue that holds us together. We could never achieve a budget that would provide for all the
in kind resources and volunteer hours provided by these exceptional people. We are blessed in so many ways, by
the talents and time of these generous volunteers:
Homework Help Advisory Council Panera/Surplus Food Programming
David Anderson Dianne Hennes Merrie Marinovich Parks & Recreation
Jon Reiss Matt Schadow Claudia Johnston Ridgedale YMCA
Matt Schadow Frank Johnson John McHugh SLP Schools
Mary Erickson Lori Dreier Dave Koefod  Kelsey Okey
Brian Weitz Linda Saveraid Ofelia Perez  Nate Tangen
Susan Hodder Corey Maslowski Karen Corona‐Duran  Nick Jacobs
Norma Jason Boll  Susan Hodder
Lana Dowd Rebekah Forrest Creekside Clinic
John McHugh George Baboila St. Louis Park Police
Chris Sherwin Angela Bernhardt Meadowbrook Manor
Michael Goitom Allyson Hayward  Crime Free
Ifeoma Iwe Multi‐Housing
Summer Playground Program Provides Structure & Fun for Kids
We had a great summer of recreational fun for kids. Once again, kudos to Parks & Recreation for bringing to Mead‐
owbrook for its 17th year this awesome program. We had a lot of fun with a limited budget. Most days we were
outside, but on the hot or rainy days, there was always plenty to do indoors, with board games, arts & crafts, read‐
ing, movies, and playing with an assortment of donated toys we’ve collected over the years.
Other good news to report from our city partner – Parks & Recreation allocated funds to replace the Meadowbrook
playground. Kids got to vote from six different playground plans as to their number one choice. It was a lot of fun

3. Reinvesting in Families & Children
Jul‐Sep 2009
seeing them follow the democratic process of ballot voting, and their excitement when the winning playground
plan was announced: C, primary colors. Kids of all ages are excited about the new playground, which should be in‐
stalled later this month.
Summer’s Cool Helps Prepare Kids for School
Summer's Cool is a program designed to help learners in grades K‐6 transition from summer play to academic
structure. The program is one week in mid‐August. Students begin each day with a team meeting, followed by or‐
ganized recreation, reading, writing, and math, all set in an environment with caring adults and the opportunity for
older students to work with the youngest.
This was our third year of Summer's Cool at Meadowbrook. Teacher Nate Tangen worked with several volunteers.
Children helped serve lunch. On the final day, we went to Oak Hill Park for a BBQ and water games. Our thanks to
Mr. Tangen and his crew of volunteers: Gina, Steve, Jon, and Kelsey.
Summer's Cool 2009 is dedicated to Mrs. Bonnie Williams, who, on her 95th birthday asked friends and family to
make a contribution to Meadowbrook. Those funds were specifically designated to Summer's Cool. Happy Birthday,
Bonnie!
Meadowbrook Preschool Provided Positive Learning Environment
Initially, this program was to be funded with stimulus dollars funneling through CAPSH. However, the guidelines for
use of those funds changed, and weren’t immediately available, so private donations supported the efforts of
Meadowbrook’s learning readiness program. Boys and girls ages 4 ‐ 5 participated in activities that led to new skills
and school readiness, and I’m proud that we were able to once again offer summer preschool programming. Next
year we will look for a more secure funding source.
Multi‐cultural Garden Grows Friendships
Last year, Meadowbrook friend Betsy Packard shared her homegrown tomatoes and parsley with Meadowbrook
moms, and they turned it into salsa and other delicious recipes. This year, Betsy offered to work with us as a volun‐
teer to grow a Meadowbrook garden. Property manager Denn Evans has given us the green light on a patch of land
behind the community center, and offered some help from his yard crew. SLP environmental coordinator Jim
Vaughan met with us to identify and commit available city resources.
The serious version of “garden” came up a year ago when we were looking at ways to unite our diverse community,
to create a common ground and plant the seeds of friendship – and corn, tomatoes, and onions!

4. Reinvesting in Families & Children
Jul‐Sep 2009
We started our work in May with residents to coming together and talking about how the garden plot would look.
Many people donated tools. A garden storage shed was donated by Sunrise Rotary Club, and built by Sunrise presi‐
dent Matt Schadow... and Meadowbrook's master farmer Jorge Perez kept things growing tall and proud! The to‐
matoes grew, the peppers ripened, the Cilantro became a bush. Several families harvested the lemon grass to
make a healthy hot tea.
We are currently working with Sunrise Rotary to build a more permanent fence around the garden plot, and install‐
ing a compost bin, in preparation of next year. Many thanks to Sunrise Rotary Club, The Home Depot, and all the
private donors who helped make our garden a reality!
Crime Free Multi‐Housing
Lt. Lori Dreier of the St. Louis Park Police Department provided the following statistics. If
you have any questions or comments, please contact Lt. Dreier at 952/924‐2131.
For us to continue this good work, your support is needed and appreciated. You can easily make your tax‐
deductible gift on‐line at https://pnfoundation.parknicollet.com/SSLPage.aspx?pid=265&srcid=265. Just designate
your funds to the Meadowbrook Community. Park Nicollet Foundation is our fiscal partner will send you a receipt
for your gift. Thank you for helping us reinvest in families and children.