Category / Announcements

by adminuucm

Stop the Waste Challenge

The Stop Food Waste Challenge starts next month, consider joining team UUCM! It’ll help you notice when you’re wasting food, connect you with resources to help reduce it and provide support and motivation along the way. About 40% of food is wasted somewhere along the supply chain! You may not think you waste that much food at home, but the little bits here and there add up. Register now at stopfoodwaste.ecochallenge.org. 

by adminuucm

UU the Vote Update!

Democracy is an important value of being a Unitarian Universalist. UUCM is partnering with the Minnesota Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Alliance (MUUSJA) and the UU the Vote campaign to encourage people to vote.

MUUSJA’s goal is to mail 70,000 postcards to contact 150,000 voters in the state of Minnesota. These postcards are targeted to renters in about 15 cities. These are cities where the election was decided by as little as 200 votes. As of this Friday, July, 12, 2024 4300 postcards have been distributed so far in our congregation!

We’re out of postcards for now but hope to get more in the coming weeks. Mike Elliott will be at church this Sunday to collect packets as you finish them. You can also drop them off at the office if Mike’s not around. Postcards will be mailed en masse on September 17, so please return postcards before then. 

Each packet contains 60 postcards (more if you’d like), preprinted address labels and instructions on how to fill them out. If you would like to add your own postcard stamp that would be great. You can also contribute at www.muusja.org/donate and mark it “in honor of UU the Vote” to help cover the cost of postage. Mike is also willing to deliver postcards. Contact him with any questions at MikeElliott05@msn.com

by adminuucm

Minnesota Aspiring Teachers of Color Scholarship Application Now Open!

From the  Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board:

The application is now open for the Minnesota Aspiring Teachers of Color Scholarship, a pilot program providing postsecondary financial assistance to eligible undergraduate and graduate students who are preparing to become teachers. 

To receive an award, students must belong to a racial or ethnic group underrepresented in the state’s teacher workforce, demonstrate financial need and must be enrolled in either a Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) approved program seeking initial licensure or in a two-year program specifically designed to prepare early childhood educators.

Full-time students can receive up to $10,000 annually. Awards for students enrolled less than full-time are prorated on a per-credit basis. Applicants selected to receive an award are expected to serve as a full-time teacher in Minnesota after completing their program.

The Aspiring Teachers of Color Scholarship pilot program was established by the 2021 Minnesota Legislature and has awarded over $2.9 million to 380 future Minnesota teachers over the past two years. The pilot program was extended and received a one-time appropriation of $1 million for the 2024-2025 academic year.

Students can find more information and apply for the scholarship on the Minnesota Office of Higher Education website. Students must also complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or Minnesota Dream Act application.

The priority application deadline is August 2, 2024. Questions about the program can be directed to state program administrator Diamee Xiong Yang at diamee.xiong.yang@state.mn.us.