We Can Do It…So We MUST Do It.

Did you ever meet someone whose life story seemed “beyond challenging” and wondered how this person could possibly have the energy to think of others, bring joy to others, laugh and still be able to dream of a different life AND THEN, continue to DO something to make it happen? I have. Miranda is her name.

Coming from a “place of privilege,” I am aware that I have not had to develop the same level of resilience or fine tune my survival skills. I have learned however, that recognizing these differences is the first step in deciding to actually try to DO something that might make a DIFFERENCE in the life of one person who is right here, right now, and could use some extra support. We hope Miranda's story is one that encourages you too, to do what you can to make a difference.

My name is Nancy Meyers. I am managing this fundraiser for Miranda and I am joined by a team of co-volunteers. We all (including Miranda) volunteer at a Garden that grows fresh produce for a Food Shelf, which is located at the same site in South Minneapolis in Minnesota. Our work is sponsored by New Creation Baptist Church. Some volunteers are members of the Church, others are people who live in the immediate neighborhood. The Church is primarily, but not solely, a Black Baptist Church. The Neighborhood is primarily and historically all white. To round off the diversity surrounding us, the people (often called "clients") who rely on the Garden and Food Shelf for weekly food are currently recent immigrants from Ecuador whose main language is Quichua; Spanish is their second language. One client is a Native American woman from the Leach Lake Band of Ojibwe. That person is Miranda, the beneficiary of this fundraiser. We weren’t looking for this much diversity…but it definitely found us and it has been and will continue to be a life-changing experience.

Miranda NOW

Miranda is a 40-year-old, single mother of three school-aged children ages 9 through 13. She also is mother to an adult son who lives "up north." Miranda and her three children currently live in the basement of a house owned by a 95-year-old woman, whose grandson is a childhood friend of Miranda. He takes care of his grandmother, and now they both house Miranda and her three children.

In the last month, Miranda achieved what could be called a milestone in her life. She graduated from an Auto Mechanic program! She also was hired by Luther Auto, a “voted best” car dealer that has been in Minnesota for 65 years. Now Miranda has been accepted into their advanced, paid training program which begins in the Spring of 2024. As a mother who has been the sole parent for all her children, with little time for a job, let alone a career...THIS IS A BIG DEAL!

We celebrated Miranda's achievement with a cake decorated with a tire and a wrench. A cutout of a woman mechanic (with Miranda’s photo) was stuck into the center of the cake. It was, in Miranda’s memory, the first cake someone bought for her since she was 13 years old!

All was well in this brief Fairy Tale until the “rubber hit the road.” There was a big problem. Sitting around the dining room table we began to map out the city bus route she needed to take to get from "here to there." The result was jaw-dropping. I thought it must be a mistake. Miranda, who has been around the world of public transportation a lot more than I have, was not even surprised.

Bottom line: A one-way daily commute of 11 miles on public transit would take over 2.5 hours!

Not believing the reality of the map, I called Metro Transit. I spoke with customer support. They tried everything. They consulted the freeway express bus schedule; it made no difference. I asked about Light Rail between Minneapolis and St. Paul. "Oh," they said, "that will be a lot slower."

"How could this be?" I naively thought. Most of the suburban dealerships are outside major metropolitan city limits. Here we are providing wonderful programs to train jobless and homeless people to learn new skills to fill these jobs. But in this case, to have a job as a car mechanic requires having a car before Miranda could start making enough money to pay for the car!

We looked at e-bikes, but winter is coming. (And many e-bikes are not much less than a used car!) We ran the numbers for Lyft or Uber. We looked at finding volunteer drivers.

At the end of the day, the best way to help Miranda overcome this public transportation obstacle was to set up a GoFundMe!

Here's how you can help Miranda

So, here we are, asking you to join us in raising enough money to get a matching grant so Miranda can get a car to take her (and her children) through the winter months. The good news is that as a Native American, Miranda has access to Tribal matching funds of $2,000 specifically designated for a car. Miranda will also need car insurance. She has access at a very reasonable rate through the Leach Lake Band of Ojibwe where she is a registered member. PLUS, now that she has marketable job skills and a job offer--if only she can get there-- so life can really change for the better. And she'll have the skills to keep a cheap car running!

So a first goal is to raise $3000.

And

We also want to address a second barrier. Here is another eye-opener for some of us. A person in Miranda's position does NOT HAVE reliable access to a CELL PHONE.

And what does living without a cell phone mean? It means: no communication, no access to school materials (for the children), no access to calendars, no access to many public services... Without access to "the cloud," where does she keep and get medical records? Think about it. Somewhere along the way, what once was a luxury or would be "nice to have," has become a necessity. Not a small necessity either.

What is the one thing that allows you to call a friend, call for HELP, get a call from your child's teacher, keep track of dozens of government programs that keep your kids fed and clothed: a CELL PHONE. If you can't afford a CELL PHONE or have access to a cell phone PLAN (which requires a credit history). No Credit history means no cheaper cellphone plans.

Yes, there are “free phone” plans and government sponsored low cost plans, but the rules and policies make some offers not as good as they look. There are no pay phones so now, even with a quarter, a kid cannot call home and say, "Mom, come and get me, please."

Without a cell phone, you are completely isolated from the world that you must, nevertheless, navigate. Without a cell phone plan, you must store everything necessary to engage in the world on the phone!

So, if you're still reading this, we ask you to please think about add a little more that will go toward another phone or two--and a family plan for the sake of safety.

Our larger goal is $5000.

More about Miranda and why we care:

Miranda is a proud member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. She is known as a master fry bread maker and a mom. When applying for the auto mechanic program, Miranda was diagnosed with ADHD. Having completed only an 8th grade education, her comment was: “It sure would have helped if I had known earlier that I was not stupid, lazy or crazy!” At 19, she signed up to take the GED test, assuming she would fail, but wanting to try. She hadn't learned lots of study skills and to her surprised she passed: "I guess I do know something!" she said. But her friends were not surprised because, of course she does!

How did we meet?

One day, while standing in a long line at the food shelf with her 9-year-old son, who was restless Miranda walked up the hill to the garden attached to the food shelf and asked: “Could we help you?” Homeless and food insecure, they both became valued volunteers, helping to move bags of mulch and compost, planting the garden, and sparing the aging joints of the several senior citizens who are also members of the garden team.

Miranda likes to work and learn, whether it's about how to plant watermelon or use a Sawzall, she is ready, willing and able. It wasn’t long before neighbors near the garden hired her to help with summer projects from landscaping to yard sales. Miranda gets paid, but that isn't her only motivation. Miranda takes great pride and interest in making someone's yard look amazing. She knows how to solve problems whether in garden design or getting clutter out of the basement. She is invaluable to the food shelf garden and the many people with whom she works.

We, the team of food shelf and garden volunteers, are a diverse group. The church where the food shelf and garden is located is a predominantly Black Baptist church located in a predominantly white neighborhood. Many homes in the area were previously controlled by racial covenants that stipulated that homeowners could not sell their homes to certain groups of people, including Black people. The past history of the neighborhood includes the recent murder of George Floyd, which occurred 1.5 miles down the street. It was in this context that we initially formulated the idea of gardening to grow produce for the food shelf and cultivate our diverse community.

We are Black women from the Baptist Church, a single mom who is a recent Russian immigrant, White women who are senior citizens, and an Ojibwe woman with her three children, working together to grow food for people in the surrounding neighborhoods and those new to Minnesota who come from other countries.

With $3000 she can get matching funds to buy a car to continue working and learning. With $5000 we can get cell phones and a plan so that Miranda can care for her kids and herself in a modern world.

Thank you for reading!