Vikings & Anthony Barr Team Up for $30K Donation to Jeremiah Program

[Viktor]

Jeremiah Program Executive Director Patty Healy Janssen assumed her current role early during the COVID-19 pandemic and just two months before the death of George Floyd while in police custody on Memorial Day.


Amid the tumultuous time, she has worked to ensure that Jeremiah Program is a significant support system for the community.


"I am more committed than ever to breaking down systems of injustice, oppression and racism to better serve our families," Healy Janssen told fundraiser attendees. "As Maya Angelou said, 'When we know better, we do better.' I will strive to continue to do better for our families. Thank you for joining us on this journey.


"Together, we learned from the moment, leaned into the movement to disrupt generational poverty two generations at a time, and we're emerging stronger as an organization and are serving more families than ever before," she later added. "We're taking what we learned from reacting quickly to the pandemic to put program structures and interventions in place to not only serve more families but also to have greater impacts for the families we serve."


Viewers of the virtual event heard a testimony from Asia, a single mother who experienced two-and-a-half years of homelessness before randomly happening upon a social media post advertising Jeremiah Program.


"It was just meant to be. It was meant for me to find that post," Asia said. "Ever since I've come to Jeremiah, it's given me and my children a lot of stability. It's allowed me to focus on school. It's allowed me to not have all the [extra stressors] – I don't have to worry about anything, really. Jeremiah's created a new life for me that I didn't think I'd be able to have until after finishing school."


Asia emphasized the program's impact for her young children, as well.


"My kids appreciate coming home and knowing this is their home. It's also allowed them to become more of who they are as individuals – which is super sassy and fun and loving," Asia laughed warmly. "Jeremiah promotes being who you are, not altering who are you because of your circumstances, which has been super awesome for us.


"Our glasses are half full, not half empty. We have a lot more to fill up – and when our cup overflows, we have so much to give to other people," she added. "That's the motto that I go with every day that allows me to keep pushing and having my kids looking up to me. I can't fail; I have to keep going on."