Freely we receive, Freely we give
Serving our Community Since 2009
OUR MISSION: To serve the St. Paul Midway and surrounding area by leveraging contributors' gifts in providing a means for those who are economically challenged to obtain nutritious meals, groceries and personal supplies, along with access to an array of community resources.
About Open Hands Midway
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2003 - Members of Bethlehem Lutheran Church prayed for a vision of how they could reach out to the neighborhood in which the church was located. The first Christmas party for neighborhood children was held with the help of St. Luke's Lutheran Church of Cottage Grove, Minnesota.
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2004 - The first Lawn Parties were held in June and August.
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2005 - Street Ministry was held the 3rd Saturday of each month for the first time at Snelling and University Avenue in front of the old American Bank Building.
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2007 - In January the Mission Statement of "Serving the Midway with open hands" was drafted.
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2008 - It was decided that a meal would be served once per month from the 'Jesus Delivers' truck in the parking lot. The name of Koinania was adopted for the organization.
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2009 - In April meal service began twice per month on Monday and in May meal service moved to every Monday.
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2009 - On May 19, 2009, Open Hands Midway became our name and the organization was incorporated as an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We began offering an emergency food shelf. A summer partnership was established with YouthWorks. In October, Kids' Club began once a month during the school year.
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2010 - A weekly meal on Wednesday's during the summer months was added. Kids' Club expanded to four days a week in the summer being staffed by YouthWorks.
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2016 - In March our new mission statement, 'To serve the St. Paul Midway and surrounding area by leveraging contributors' gifts in providing a means for those who are economically challenged to obtain clothing, household goods, nutritious meals, groceries and personal supplies, along with access to an array of community resources', was drafted.
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2018 - In November, Open Hands Midway received the Midway Chamber of Commerce Nonprofit of the month award.
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2019 - In April, Open Hands Midway received the L'Etoile du Nord (Star of the North) award from Minnesota United FC.
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2020 - In May, Open Hands Midway added a second day of weekly meal service every Wednesday and all of our meal programs switched to take out only service.
Matthew 25:37-40
Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
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2020 - In August, our mission statement was revised to 'To serve the St. Paul Midway and surrounding area by leveraging contributors' gifts in providing a means for those who are economically challenged to obtain nutritious meals, groceries and personal supplies, along with access to an array of community resources' as we changed the focus of our mission to be on meal and food programs only.
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2021 - In July, Open Hands Midway opened a NEW food shelf where guests are able to shop for their own groceries.
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2023 - In October, Open Hands Midway received the Midway Chamber of Commerce Nonprofit of the month award.