Western Communities Action Network Inc

WeCAN is providing much needed services to members of our community when they need help the most. The thoughtfulness in which this organization plans programming and community services is amazing. I am our community has such an amazing organization!

WECAN assists many residents in the western suburbs to achieve an improved standard of living by offering a wide range of services. The financial assistance program provides families and individuals the help they need for rent, mortgage, medical bills and utility assistance.

I volunteer on the front desk at WeCan. I welcome our clients and have an opportunity to hear their thanks as they source food and household goods. WeCan is a very important resource to our clients. It makes a major difference in their lives.
Dave Goode, long-time volunteer.

I currently hold a Board of Directors position with WeCAN. Since I started work with WeCAN I am impressed with the quality of care the staff provide to the clients. The clients are typically at their worst point in life, the staff at WeCAN provides the client a solution not only for that day but for the future. A holistic approach to move from the worst day to the best day. You can see the gratitude and appreciation the clients have for the respect they receive. What a blessing to have WeCAN in our community.

As a Board member and volunteer, I have personally witnessed how the life-changing, comprehensive services of WeCAN have helped people on their path to self-sufficiency. What makes WeCAN unique is that it is literally a one-stop service for those who need help with housing, jobs, medical bills, food, school supplies, etc. etc. another thing I truly love about WeCAN is the extraordinary efforts they take to preserve clients’ privacy and dignity. For example, the birthday shelf provides brand new gifts for children to bring when they’re invited to birthday parties, so they don’t have to show up empty-handed. It’s a small thing, but it is important to preserve the child’s dignity.

WeCAN has a variety of resources, food and family programs but have you seen their birthday shelf?! Just today I helped a single mother select awesome birthday gifts for her child in the well-stocked room of NEW toys and games. She selected a huge doll house, a cute stuffed puppy dog, an adorable book and all of the ingredients & supplies to make a birthday cake. She was overjoyed with excitement that she was able to find all of these NEW ITEMS for FREE!!! I then loaded up her car with personal hygiene essentials and an abundance of groceries. That proud mama was beaming and so grateful she can provide a proper birthday party for her daughter this weekend.
The staff always treats their clients in a dignified manner and goes out of their way to ease their burdens. I absolutely love volunteering with this fantastic organization because I can see the positive impact on my neighbor's lives.

I have volunteered for WeCAN for over 12 years. Helped with everything from packing food and personal care to deliveries via the Mobile Market, help at the Front Desk, serve on the BOD and many other programs.

WeCAN's staff is outstanding. Respectful. Understanding. And WeCAN's mission is to help our clients become self-sufficient and be able to pay it forward.

WeCAN is an outstanding organization and has had a noticeable impact on the community it serves. The events with donors have been fun and engaging!

Alex

I am a volunteer at WeCAN and have been with them for at least 11 years. I obviously feel it is a great organization or I would not continue to volunteer and financially support the organization. They have so many wonderful services with support for food, housing, personal care products, a birthday shelf so a family can provide gifts to their children and all the other annual events with school supplies, coat drive distribution, and family Christmas gifts. Clients may also come into the facility to use computers, make copies of needed documents and fax items if necessary. There are too many to mention with other available services and client help. I feel it is a great organization to support.

WeCAN is an exceptional organization helping to support the community! The Executive Director Christopher Anderson is one of the kindest and most genuine people that I have had the pleasure getting to know and volunteer with.

Very helpful staff and wonderful facility that does so much for the community!

WeCAN is an outstanding organization helping those in need get back on their feet! The staff and volunteers have very big hearts and work hard on behalf of all the clients.

WeCAN is a great resource in our community for many needs meeting people in western Hennepin County. Since our area is so far away from the core of Hennepin county, WeCAN is available to clients who need help navigating programs and resources that are available. It offers more than most people are aware of. It has job counseling services to help with writing resumes and interview coaching along with computers available for clients to fill out job applications. They provide food in many ways: a mobile market that brings food to areas where people have no transportation, they provide and deliver meals on wheels, they offer food bags to families with school children over long weekends or breaks, they do food rescue from area grocery stores and have this food available for clients to come and pick up, and they accept home grown produce from gardens for clients to pick up. WeCAN collects and distributes: school supplies to families, winter coats, birthday shelf items (including cake mixes and frosting, decorations, party supplies and gifts), personal care and cleaning products, blankets, and the Adopt a Family for gifts at Christmas. They have office space that counselors can use with clients, Hennepin county reps use with clients. They also are a huge resource to advocate for families and help them navigate funding and programs that are available to them for rent and utility assistance and other programs.
Our community is very lucky and fortunate to have WeCAN. It is a great place to volunteer and feel helpful and needed in assisting families and see the smiles, and sometimes tears of joy and relief, when they receive something new and receive it with dignity. The staff at WeCAN are all compassionate and caring and definitely go above and beyond in treating their clients with dignity and treating the volunteers as special and valuable.

WeCAN is such an amazing resource in our community! I am a board member for WECAN and I am so honored to be part of an organization that shows such compassion and kindness to the people in their community. I work for the Westonka School District and part of my job is community outreach. WeCAN is so supportive to the families in our area, assisting and empowering them in many ways; food share programs, job search program, school supplies, winter coat drive, emergency assistance, adopt a family and so much more! The WeCAN team of staff and volunteers is always helpful and welcoming with a smile!

WeCAN is a great service provider for all of our neighbors-in-need. The staff has always been friendly and they work so hard for everyone. The Board has their eyes on the future, so this organization continues to run smoothly, is financially sound, and continues to meet the needs of more and more people in our community. WeCAN is worth supporting, with both our gifts of money and time, because it is impacting lives and strengthening our community.

WeCan goes out into communities it serves to understand and meet the needs. They are a one stop shop where people can go for access to many services like housing assistance, food, employment, education, amd more. They are the heart of our community!

I am in the service industry and serve some of the same clients as WeCAN. I have seen success stories in which WeCAN has met its mission by helping people break the cycle of poverty and become vibrant and self-sufficient members of society. Without WeCAN, I don't know that several families would be in the position they are now without the help they got.

WeCan's importance to our area cannot be overstated. They work hard to meet the needs of our community with dignity, compassion and energy. I hope you will recognize them for the important and selfless work they do.

Small but mighty.
A caring community supporting neighbors in need.
WeCAN staff members, volunteers, civic and faith organizations have been caring for local families for 30+ years.
As a board member and volunteer, seeing families succeed and pay forward to another family is what it's all about!

Marge and I volunteered at WeCAN for the Mobile Market Food Packing under the direction of Heather Helm. We were definitely as rewarded as the clients that receive the food and other necessities. We have had the opportunity to speak with Chris Anderson at several Mound Westonka Rotary functions. He truly works tirelessly and exemplifies a heartfelt concern to help the less fortunate in our community.
Yours in Rotary,
Kirk Lau

Top notch nonprofit in our community!!! Leadership, volunteers and programs are all impressive

The WeCAN team is amazing! They treat each client, volunteer, community member, Board member and complete stranger as though they were their only care in the world at that moment! Each team member cares so much about who they are helping, that the programs offered stay relevant, that everyone is getting the attention they need. And they do it all with a smile! I have yet to see any one of them have a bad day! They are a dedicated and creative group. Most recently, their ability to tackle the challenges of COVID head on truly impressed me. They never stopped reaching out to who needed help. I am forever in awe at their loyalty, integrity, and most of all, sincerity. I am so proud!

WeCAN is a dedicated and caring nonprofit rivaling none. Because of their kindhearted work, I have been happy to help through the Timber Creek Tuesday Ladies League for the past several years.

Our family has been fortunate enough to help WeCAN in their mission of serving our community...from packing grocery bags full of food for students who might not get 3 meals a day during school breaks to adopting families during WeCANs annual Christmas Adopt-a-Family program. Our community is lucky to have such an amazing service organization in our backyard!

We run a charity golf tournament where all profits go to WeCAN. The team at WeCan, especially the Executive Director, Christopher Anderson, are very involved generating the most money to help their members. You can feel their dedication to help those in need with every interaction.

WeCAN is terrific at developing cooperative efforts and making referrals to other agencies as may be appropriate for their participants. I work for a mental health provider and we offer services at no cost to recipients at WeCAN. With WeCAN's leadership in establishing stable and reliable resources for underserved individuals and families, together we are helping people process, manage, and cope with various and intense life stressors, such as hunger and poverty.

I am in law enforcement and we partner with WeCAN to provide better service to our community. They help us find services where we cannot help. The relationship works well as we all provide better services to people who need our help.

We Can does a fabulous job for the needy in the community. They also do a great job fund raising for this non-profit. The Mound Community is so fortunate to have them as a resource. Chris Anderson, Executive Director of We Can is a hard working dedicated employee along with the rest of the staff. I had a tour of their building and I was very impressed with cleanliness and organization of all the products they offer to the needy. They even help with pet care.

Through this COVID pandemic the need for organization such as WeCan is astronomical. The Meals on Wheels program has given residents the opportunity to obtain food at a distance without fear of contracting the virus. WeCan provides those meals. Those recipients would potentially be without food with out WeCan. The school supply drive provided much need school supplies for needy children. The coat drive is another way that WeCan provides for the communities they serve.

WeCAN is a great nonprofit organization. They help support families in our community in a client centered, low barriers way. We are so thankful for their partnership.