Faith Baptist Church is 125!
Faith Baptist Church at 4350 Russell Ave. N. is celebrating their 125th anniversary and they have a full weekend of activities planned for June 25-27. They would love to have you join them. For more info go to faithmpls.org.
Call for Gardens! Victory Garden Tour on August 1
Building on the successes of our inaugural event in 2009, Victory announces their second annual Garden Tour. Our driving goal for this year is to highlight the diversity of Victory's landscaped spaces and the pride that our residents take in their gardens and their community. We want the tour to showcase all corners of Victory as well as a diverse range of gardening styles. In order to ensure that we represent the broad spectrum of our neighborhood in this short 3 hour period, we may use a selection process and limit the number of gardens on the tour. In addition, we plan to incorporate many of the suggestions for the tour that came from last years participants and expand our marketing to draw more visitors from other parts of the city. If you are interested in opening your garden for the tour, please return the application or call or e-mail the ViNA office for more info on how your garden may fit into this year's tour.
The tour will take place on August 1 from 1–4pm.
Salvation Army Pick up on June 12 from 9 am–4 pm
Here's another way to be part of the recycling movement. Donate your gently used clothing, toys, household or sporting goods to the Salvation Army. The truck will be parked in the Loring School parking lot; you can not only keep your unwanted items out of the landfill but help an organization that helps the homeless and the helpless.
March Livability Committee Meeting Rescheduled
The Livaiblity Committee meeting scheduled for March 13 has been rescheduled for Saturday, March 20, 9:30 am – 10:30 am and will be held at The Warren – 4400 Osseo Road.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
Support "Our" Kids at Loring Community School
Spring time activities:
Loring 5th Grade Car Wash Fundraiser:
Saturday, April 24th from 11:00 AM–2:00 PM
In the parking lot on 45th Avenue.
The kids will also be selling hot dogs and pop.
All the money raised is for their camping trip to Camp Audubon.Loring School Carnival
Friday, May 7 from 5:30–7:30 PM
In the school gym and multi-purpose room.Loring Band Concert
Tuesday, June 1 at 7:00 PM
Green Home Improvement Loans Available!
The Victory Neighborhood Association is making $73,000 of NRP funds available to Victory residents for "green" exterior and interior home improvements. Our 1920s to 1940s vintage homes are beautiful but many are energy inefficient. The Home Improvement Loan Program (HILP) is designed to encourage environmentally friendly, sustainable and energy efficient home improvements that meet certain "green" standards. In addition applicants will be required to secure an energy audit and include the results of the audit with their application materials. Homeowners will also have the option of pursuing, MN Green Star Certification of their home improvement project and if they are successful in obtaining certification they can have a portion of their loan forgiven.
The maximum loan amount is $15,000 per household with a loan rate of 3%. The Greater Metropolitan Housing Corporation (GMHC) will administer the program through the Housing Resource Center Northwest at 2148 44th Ave. N. Complete applications will be processed by GMHC on first come, first serve basis as funds are available until all program funds are committed. Applications are available from the Housing Resource Center at 612-588-3033 or the ViNA Office, 612-529-9558
Reduce Yard and Garden and Household Toxins Workshop on March 20
Maintaining our yards and cleaning our homes, can mean being exposed to chemicals in many ways. Simple changes in our usual practices can reduce our long-term exposures to potentially harmful substances—possibly save us money.
In this workshop we will identify toxins that we may use in our homes or gardens, how to use and dispose of them properly and safely, and how to reduce one's use of them. The workshop will be held Saturday, March 20, 2010 from 9am to 11am at Webber Park Recreation Center, 4400 Dupont Avenue North. The workshop is free and open to all Hennepin County residents but there will be a $5 supply fee if you wish to make and take home a non-toxic household cleaner. Please register for the workshop by calling the ViNA office at 612-529-9558 by Friday, March 19.
Let's Go Green and support ViNA!
LetsGoGreen.biz is an on-line one stop resource for many green products such as cleaning products, recycled paper products, compostable plates, water saving devices and energy saving lighting. In addition when an order is submitted through the LetsGoGreen.biz website, ViNA supporters can select the organization from the fundraiser menu and designate 25% of the sale directly to the Victory Neighborhood Association. Go Green and support the Victory Neighborhood Association at the same time!
Reserve an Energy Meter Now
The Victory Neighborhood Association has four energy meters, which are available for check out from the neighborhood office. The meters are easy to use – just plug the meter into the wall socket and then plug your device or appliance into the meter. The meter will display how much energy is being consumed, and if you enter the cost per kilowatt hour, how much the device or appliance costs to operate. You can check out a meter for one week with a photo ID.
Energy consumption in the United States has skyrocketed in the past decades, as has the cost per kilowatt. We now use more electricity-consuming stuff around the house, such as multiple televisions, computers, DVD players, and game consoles. Also, many electronic devices, rechargers, and appliances draw power even when they're switched off or not in use, and though it may seem trivial, this "phantom load" can add up to between 5 and 20 percent of the energy use of a typical household.
You can use a simple energy meter to check how much electricity a device in your home uses and to calculate how much it costs to operate each year.