For the third year in a row the space inside Warehouse Winery, 6415 Cambridge St., St. Louis Park, will have the look and feel of Louisville, Ky. during the \u201cRun for the Roses,\u201d complete with colorful dresses, audacious hats, seersucker suits, bow ties and mint juleps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition, on Saturday, May 7 from 3 p.m. \u2013 7 p.m., there will be casino gaming, food, contests for best hat for the women and best \u201cswag\u201d for the men, a mini fashion show, an outdoor cigar lounge and of course viewing of the Kentucky Derby. There will be music, a silent auction with prizes from the NFL Players\u2019 Association, the Minnesota Twins, Lynx and more. The now annual Connections 2 Independence (C2i) Kentucky Derby \u201cRun for the Roses\u201d party has become one of the more anticipated events in the Twin Cities. And after the event everyone goes back to their daily lives \u2026 and that\u2019s just the point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For most in attendance, that means going back to their homes, their jobs \u2026 their families. For a few special guests in attendance it means returning back to the uncertainty of being in the foster care system. But C2i is working to eliminate that uncertainty and transition the youth it encounters into a positive and healthy adulthood. The money raised during its signature event helps C2i achieve its noble mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For those in long-term foster care, the numbers are staggering. Nationally only 45 percent of fosters graduate from high school or attain a GED. Only 15 percent go on to pursue post-secondary education. Of that, only three percent will complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But in 2015 the youth nurtured through C2i had a 98 percent rate of achieving a high school degree or GED. Sixty percent have gone on to some form of post-secondary learning. C2i is making a measurable difference. It is also making a difference that is not so measureable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe look at the whole individual, not just a checklist approach,\u201d said Jessica Rogers, executive director of C2i. \u201cWe do our work from a trauma informed perspective. If a person isn\u2019t healthy on the inside they can\u2019t reach their potential. We get kids from survivor mode to thriving mode.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the many things that makes C2i successful in its mission is the fact that it works with fosters past the years the state kicks them off the rolls. C2i works with youth and young adults ages 15 \u2013 24, applying a five-prong approach focusing on employment, housing, education, financial literacy and personal wellness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt goes beyond just basic skills,\u201d said Rogers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rogers said the money raised during the annual fundraiser helps C2i to impact the daily lives of the youth who rely on C2i. Thanks to sponsorship from companies such as Dorsey & Whitney, LLP and others and funding from commercial realtors, Christianson & Co., 100 percent of every dollar raised during the May 7 party goes to provide services for the C2i youth and young adults, including a summer internship program. Tickets to the Kentucky Derby \u201cRun for the Roses\u201d fundraiser are $30 in advance and $40 at the door. Advance tickets are available at www.tinyurl.com\/J2wo94j<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n May is National Foster Care Month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For the third year in a row the space inside Warehouse Winery, 6415 Cambridge St., St. Louis Park, will have the look and feel of Louisville, Ky. during the \u201cRun for the Roses,\u201d complete with colorful dresses, audacious hats, seersucker suits, bow ties and mint juleps. In addition, on Saturday, May 7 from 3 p.m. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4363,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2732,2665,2733],"class_list":["post-4360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-c2i","tag-kentucky-derby","tag-warehouse-winery","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Insight-News-Website-Images.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4360"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4362,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4360\/revisions\/4362"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}