Twin Cities Social Cohesion Initiative

RICHFIELD LEADERSHIP NETWORK (RLN) IS DEDICATED TO STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY CONNECTEDNESS AND SOCIAL COHESION WITHIN RICHFIELD, MN. A SIMPLE THREEFOLD PHILOSOPHY ENCOMPASSES RLN'S MISSION: 1) CREATING CONNECTIONS, 2) WORKING TOGETHER, AND 3) SERVING OUR CITY. SOME EXAMPLES OF THE WORK THAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH RLN INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: HOOP LOCAL: THIS OUTDOOR 3V3 TOURNAMENT IS HOSTED AT DONALDSON PARK IN RICHFIELD AND IS RUN IN COLLABORATION WITH THE CITY OF RICHFIELD AND OTHER SUPPORTING COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND EVENT SPONSORS. OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS, THIS TOURNAMENT HAS RAISED ROUGHLY $35,000 TO PURCHASE TEN NEW MEGA SLAM XL BASKETBALL HOOPS THAT THE CITY HAS INSTALLED AT THREE LOCAL PARKS. MIXTO MURAL: THIS MURAL, DESIGNED WITH COMMUNITY INPUT BY LOCAL ARTISTS, WAS COMPLETED IN THE FALL OF 2022. IT IS LOCATED AT GALAXY FOODS, A SMALL, FAMILY-OWNED CARIBBEAN GROCERY STORE. THE 1,100-SQUARE-FOOT MURAL REPRESENTS ONE OF RICHFIELD'S LARGEST PIECES OF PUBLIC ART AND IS ALSO MINNESOTA'S FIRST AUGMENTED REALITY (AR) MURAL. COMMUNITY RESOURCE DRIVES: OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, RLN HAS JOINED FORCES WITH OTHER LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS TO HELP RUN FOUR IMPORTANT EVENTS, INCLUDING THE CITYWIDE FOOD DRIVE (THOUSANDS OF POUNDS OF FOOD COLLECTED EVERY YEAR), THE WINTER CLOTHING DRIVE (SUPPORTING THE LOCAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND TWO SMALLER CHARTER SCHOOLS), THE GREAT PUMPKIN GIVEAWAY (HUNDREDS OF PUMPKINS GIVEN AWAY EVERY YEAR), AND UNITY IN THE COMMUNITY (A COMMUNITY RESOURCE FAIR AND BACKPACK/SCHOOL SUPPLY DRIVE ORGANIZED BY THE COMMUNITY LIAISON FOR THE RICHFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT). JUNETEENTH: RLN HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN WORKING WITH THE CITY OF RICHFIELD, THE CITY'S HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, BEST BUY, BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF MN, AND CROSSROADS PANORAMA (A LOCAL COMMUNITY THEATRE AND YOUTH SUPPORT CENTER) TO ORGANIZE AN ANNUAL EVENT CELEBRATING THE HOLIDAY. BEACONS PARTNERSHIP: RICHFIELD HIGH SCHOOL HOSTS AN AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM RUN BY THE BEACONS NETWORK IN COLLABORATION WITH THE YMCA. RLN HAS BEEN WORKING WITH BEACONS TO SUPPORT A GROUP OF STUDENTS DOING YOUTH PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH (Y-PAR) AROUND THE QUESTION, "WHAT SPACES DO YOUNG PEOPLE NEED TO HAVE A STRONG AND INVOLVED RICHFIELD COMMUNITY?" RLN'S ROLE HAS BEEN TO CONNECT THESE YOUNG RESEARCHERS TO LEADERS WITHIN THE CITY, INCLUDING THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL, PARK & REC STAFF, AND LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS. NETWORKING EVENTS: HOMETOWN IS A NETWORKING EVENT THAT HIGHLIGHTS LOCAL RICHFIELD LEADERS AND GIVES COMMUNITY MEMBERS A CHANCE TO GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER. TOGETHER RICHFIELD IS ANOTHER ANNUAL NETWORKING EVENT THAT ALSO SERVES AS A FUNDRAISER FOR RLN.