Resources to Support the Twin Cities in the Wake of George Floyd's Death

By Hailey Almsted

In the wake of George Floyd’s death, community members across the Twin Cities are banding together to support each other, local businesses and displaced community members.

Below is a list of local resources, including places requesting donated goods and funds, cleanups happening throughout the Twin Cities, organizations to consider donating to, educational resources and books and more.

Know of any other local resources for your neighbors during this time? Email them to hailey.almsted@tigeroak.com.

Food and Supply Drives

• Monday, June 8–Friday, June 12, noon–6 p.m.: Centro De Trabajadores Unidos En La Lucha (3175 Chicago Ave., Mpls.) is accepting masks, PPE, gloves and sanitizer.
• Monday, June 8–Friday, June 12, noon–7 p.m.: Pimento Jamaican Kitchen (2524 Nicollet Ave. S., Mpls.) is accepting the following donations: OTC children's medications (tylenol, ibuprofen, allergy and cough medications), OTC creams (vaseline, hydrocortisone, diaper creams, neosporin), toilet paper, diapers, personal hygiene items, first aid and medical supplies, masks, sanitizer, cleaning supplies, food, water and beverages. Schedule a donation drop off at: tinyurl.com/pimentodropoff
• Monday, June 8, Wednesday, June 10, Friday, June 12, 10 a.m.–noon: Holy Trinity Luthern Church (2730 E. 31st St., Mpls.) is accepting the following donations: Cooking oil, bottled water and gatorade, laundry supplies, personal and feminine hygiene supplies, diapers (all sizes, especially large), masks, baby wipes, dish and hand soap, paper towels and toilet paper.
• Monday, June 8–Wednesday, June 10 and Friday, June 12, 11 a.m.–2 p.m.: Sanctuary Covenant Church (2018 Aldrich Ave. N., Mpls.) is accepting the following donations: Lotion, body wash, shampoo and conditioner for textured hair, hand soap, hygiene products, laundry detergent, paper towels, diapers (sizes 5, 6 and NB), produce, burgers, cheese, peanut butter and cereal.
• Monday, June 8 and Thursday, June 11, 11 a.m.–4:30 p.m.: Bethleham Lutheran Church (436 Roy Street N., St. Paul) is accepting the following donations: Rice and beans, pasta and pasta sauce, noodles, canned beans and soup, canned proteins, spices, cooking oil, bread, tortillas, fruits and vegetables, snacks, cleaning supplies, hygiene items, paper towels, reusable bags, face masks, diapers (sized 4, 5, 6 and NB), formula and baby wipes.
• Monday, June 8 and Friday, June 12, 1–3 p.m.: The Native American Community Development Institute (1414 E. Franklin Ave., Mpls.) is accepting the following donations: Crackers, cereal and oatmeal, canned soup, canned fruit and vegetables, cases of water, toilet paper and paper towels, bread, ramen, rice and pasta, pasta sauce, pancake mix, personal hygiene items.
• Tuesday, June 9–Friday, June 12, 1–5 p.m.: Seward Cafe Southside (2129 E. Franklin Ave., Mpls.) is in need of the following donations: Toilet paper, paper towels, formula, diapers, basic ingredients (salt, flour, spices, etc.), masks, gloves and sanitizer. The following items are also acceptable: Fresh produce, premade food, cleaning items and personal hygiene items.
• Tuesday, June 9–Friday, June 12, within curfew: The Sheraton Hotel Downtown (2901 Chicago Ave., Mpls.), which has turned into a houseless community, is accepting the following donations: Gatorade, juice, individually packed salt and pepper packets, milk, phone chargers, ziploc bags, prepaid phone cards, naloxone and narcan, lanyards.
• YMCA locations across the Twin Cities are running a Take What You Need, Leave What You Can drive. Requested items include: Diapers/wipes, baby food/formula, first aid supplies, feminine hygiene supplies, essential toiletries, laundry detergent, non-perishable food, paper towels, toilet paper, face masks, dish soap, Ziploc Bags, tissue. Click here for a list of drop off and distribution sites.

Organizations to Support

• George Floyd Memorial Fund
• Black Visions Collective: Led by black, trans and queer leaders, this organization is committed to deconstructing systems of oppression to create long-term change.
• Campaign Zero: An online organization utilizing research-based policy solutions to end police brutality.
• Unicorn Riot: A non-profit organization committed to revealing root causes of environmental and social issues.
• Note: The Minnesota Freedom Fund and Reclaim the Block are additional organizations dedicated to creating long-term change; however, the organizations are no longer accepting donations due to an overwhelming support.

Educational Resources

• Watch: Dear White People; She’s Gotta Have It; When They See Us; Miss Simone; 13th; Age of Rage; Who Killed Malcolm X; Self Made; Becoming.
• Read: White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo; Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob; Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Anthony Greenwald and Mahzarin Banaji; So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo; What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker: A Memoir in Essays by Damon Young; Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Listen: 1619 (New York Times), About Race, Code Switch (NPR), Intersectionality Matter~ by Kimerle Crenshaw, Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast, Fare of the Free Child Podcast, Pod Save the People (Crooked Media), Seeing White, Pod For The Cause (Leadership conference on civil/human rights)