Our Initiatives

Coffee in the Hillside

One of the first initiatives the First Ladies decided to take on was to start what we've named, "1000 Cups of Caring". Every other Saturday you can catch the First Ladies set-up outside the Damiano Center on fourth street. During that time coffee, gum, socks, emergency blankets and more are available for free. 

Huge thank you to The Damiano Center for providing the space and the Duluth Coffee Company for providing the grounds (grown on a female led farm) for us to brew fresh for you!

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Needle Initiative

Healing Creations

Although the First Ladies feel proud of their work cleaning up the community, they all agree it is still not enough. Because of this they have launched a campaign to place secure Sharps kiosks (similar to a postal mailbox, but designed for safe sharps disposal) in areas where used needles are often found. The One Roof Housing Park as a start with the hope to add another kiosk in the near future.

The membership of the First Ladies of the Hillside is made up of  women with great talent.  Art is one of those talents.  Many of the artists have found healing in the process of making art. Knowing this, the First Ladies of the Hillside plan to support other developing artists in the community to encourage healing through creating art big and small.

Spirit of She Art

Heather Zellner

Rachel Ross

Amber Pelfrey

First Ladies Gift Express

Alloparenting

Upon receiving a generous amount of donated books and toys the First Ladies have decided to start their own gift express. Bags will be packed with a toy and some books that are organized by age, and then gifted to homes that can use them the most. 

Cleaning the Hillside

The Northland Foundation-funded, Central Hillside Alloparenting Project approached the support of alloparents through a trauma-informed, community-based caregiving lens with attention to the underlying neurobiological systems that influence personal narratives, perspectives, biases, and responses. The 8-week program will build an approach to alloparenting that is founded on basic principles of child development and the role of interpersonal connections.

Food Forward

One of the most important areas of work for the First Ladies is keeping their community clean and safe for their children and others. Because of this, they make an effort to hit the streets a couple weekends a month to do some trash pick up. 

Since the beginning of September 2021, the First Ladies of the Hillside have been working on a social enterprise to help folks living in the Central Hillside access to healthier food. It started out with trying out new vegetarian recipes after their weekly meetings, surveying the community, to eventually receiving pre prepped meals from a group of UMD students. Through the beginnings of the project, the women were able to discover what tasted good, what didn't, and what worked best for their families and lifestyles. ​

Chickpea Gyros tried out by the women in September.

UMD students packing prepped meals for the First Ladies and their Families.

With the end of the academic semester, the First Ladies of the Hillside once again shifted their initiative further into their own hands. They chose their own meals, found recipes that worked for them, and each week they meet to prep their meal. The pilot meals chosen were chicken fajita's, meat loaf, and lasagna. As the project progresses the First Ladies hope to test their pilot project further on ten families from the Central Hillside area of Duluth. As a group they decided to name their food access program, Food Forward. 

Above are images of the First Ladies of the Hillside perfecting recipes as they look towards their pilot run of Food Forward.