NONPROFITS
artistic expression, cultivates friendships,
is engaging and accepting, enriches
lives and celebrates the human spirit.
continues, businesses and residents can
support wetlands and watershed health.
Visit the website (below) for tips on
water-friendly lawn care, guidelines on
salt/deicer, and info on grant programs.
Grants support raingardens, native
plantings, smart irrigation systems that
water according to weather, and more!
Visit the website for a full listing of
classes and events.
White Bear Lake, MN
651-779-5532
century.edu/foundation-alumni
651-407-0597
whitebeararts.org
CENTURY COLLEGE
FOUNDATION
The Century College Foundation,
founded in 1973 by local philanthropist,
J. Stanley Hill, helps students “Discover
What’s Next!” by offering an array
of scholarships and other financial
supports, such as Acts of
Kindness Emergency Grants
and an on-campus Food Pantry.
The generous gifts of individual
and business donors help students on
their path toward self-sufficiency and a
brighter future.
Students “Discover What’s Next!”
After a tornado left her and her five
children without a home, Rosie found
her way from Joplin, Missouri to Century
College to study horticulture. While
taking her required English classes, her
teachers noticed her talent for writing.
They encouraged her by telling her,
“Rosie, you are a writer.” With that
encouragement and a scholarship from
the Foundation, Rosie discovered her
talent and passion for writing at Century
College, becoming a published poet
and public speaker. Rosie will graduate
and transfer to the University of
Minnesota to pursue her writing career.
56
Northeast Metro Business
VLAWMO: WETLANDS,
ENGINEERING AND
CREATIVE SOLUTIONS
In 2018 the Vadnais Lake Area Water
Management Organization (VLAWMO)
began a study in White Bear Township.
The goal is to mimic wetlands and their
benefit to water quality. As Minnesota
has lost about half of its original
wetlands, creative solutions help
VLAWMO restore valuable function in
water filtration, groundwater recharge,
and flood control.
Vadnais Heights, MN
651-204-6070; [email protected]
vlawmo.org
PAI: OPPORTUNITIES
FOR IDD ADULTS
PAI (Phoenix Alternatives, Inc.) is a
nonprofit organization that provides day
programming for adults with intellectual
and developmental disabilities (IDD).
PAI provides support to individuals
in community-based employment
to ensure they are successful, and
recreation and leisure activities:
community exploration, music therapy,
physical fitness programs and more.
Due to its successful service model and
the growing need for expanded day
service options, PAI has grown to serve
262 individuals at four locations in the
Northeast Metro area of the Twin Cities
(three locations in White Bear Lake and
one location in Oakdale).
In 2016, VLAWMO received a grant
from the MN Environmental Trust Fund.
Three wetland treatment cells were
built, filled with engineered soils, and
planted with native wetland plants. Each
cell has a different mixture of sorption
media (concrete, tire crumbs, peat,
clay), and is designed to grow beneficial
bacteria. This bacteria, along with
mineral exchange and various oxygen
levels, captures excess nutrients and
E.coli bacteria (canine, avian). Water
exits the treatment cells cleaner – but
how much cleaner? Which cell is most
effective?
Visit VLAWMO.org/projects for more
on the Whitaker Treatment Wetlands
and to follow the project. As the study
PAI was started in 1990 in response
to a Ramsey County Request for
Program for a day service to meet the
needs of some of the last individuals
with IDD that were leaving Minnesota
state hospitals for homes in the
community. Many of these individuals
had challenging medical and physical
conditions in addition to cognitive
disabilities that had been thought to
be too complex to be supported within
community-based day services.
White Bear Lake, MN
(651) 407-7181 | [email protected]
paimn.org