Best & Flanagan celebrated Do Some Good Day on September 21, as part of our tradition of giving back to the communities in which we live and practice. This year, we challenged ourselves to commit to volunteering and fundraising for organizations supporting families and young people in under-resourced neighborhoods, and those struggling with poverty or homelessness making transitions into stable housing.

Urban Ventures primarily serves south Minneapolis, with a mission of ending urban poverty. Urban Ventures provides resources for persons in need in many areas. They strive to determine “opportunity gaps in academics, nutrition, physical activity, parenting resources, and more—all with the overarching goal to prepare and send every youth in our neighborhood to college or postsecondary education.” On the nutrition front, they grow their own food at an urban farm and then provide fresh produce to the community. Our volunteers helped clear some of their land of trees, brush, thorny plants, and grasses for new planting. It was physical labor but a beautiful day!

My Very Own Bed provides new beds to children in families who have recently moved into stable housing. Our volunteers delivered and assembled twelve beds for local families and completed seven tie blankets to be donated to their Dream Kit shelves. Additionally, individual donors at the firm purchased sheet sets, pillows, mattress pads, and stuffed animals as part of a donation drive supporting the organization. My Very Own Bed gives kids a safe place to call their own. They recently celebrated a milestone of providing their 5,000th bed since being founded in 2014.

After matching gifts from the firm, our monetary and in-kind contributions totaled more than $3,000. We are proud to support the work these organizations are doing and contribute to their efforts directly impacting our communities.