Opportunity Neighborhood was a wonderful and diverse place to volunteer at. The children were very energetic and the staff members are very helpful. The staff members inform you about situations or upcoming events that are happening in the neighborhood.

I consider myself very lucky to be able to witness how this nonprofit organization works on a day to day basis. The employees of this organization make a huge difference on the children in the Ames Lake Neighbor Community located in East Saint Paul. The staff works so hard to educate the children and help them achieve in school with tutoring after school and a bookmobile that comes to the community.

Not only does this organization help the children in the community but also the adults that need help finding resources for food, furniture and access to a computer.

I really enjoy watching how involved ONDC is with the children of Ames Lake Neighborhood. I like how they keep the children involved and how they all participate one way or another in the program.

I reside at Ames Lake and I have resided here for two years. I love the program that Kacee Moua is in charge of here at Ames Lake neighborhood. It is a very positive program and she is a great leader. Kacee is in charge of resident services and she is always positive and energetic and she is a very sweet and endearing person. The resident services program is about families as well as individuals both of which I think is great. Kacee and Lee(Kacee's assistant) are always very helpful and patient and they are both dedicated and work hard to make sure everyone feels welcome and comfortable and that is a very big plus for me.

The biggest contribution to increasing community safety at Garden View Apartments has been the community building. When people feel they are part of a community they take ownership of their community. As people take ownership they have a desire to be a contributing member to make their community better. As a result of the community building done by Opportunity Neighborhood people no longer become afraid to call the police when someone is behaving out of the norms of the community to they can preserve the safety and quality of their community.

I work in social services and frequently refer parents to the Ames Opportunity Neighborhood for family support and high quality child care. The Ames Opportunity Neighborhood after school program is always seeking new ways to offer learning, engagement and caring to the youth they serve. Kacee Moua is a great leader who is really the driver for innovation and improvement at this program.

I have seen Kris, Kacee and the team be intentional at collecting and looking at data to inform continuous quality improvement in their programs. Their commitment to quality and collaboration have made it a pleasure to work with them.

Kris and her team have been a delight to work with. In the past few month, the Twin Cities Mobile Market has been a new addition to the Garden View and we couldn't ask for a better group to people to work with. They truly care about the resident.

I have had the great pleasure to work together with Kacee Moua, Resident Services Coordinator, and Opportunity Neighborhood on an early childhood program called Birth to Five. The Birth to Five Early Childhood Program serves parents with young children and provides a space to grow, learn and develop community relationships. Kacee's professionalism and the care and attention she gives to her residents is exceptional. Kacee and the other staff at Opportunity Neighborhood clearly value their community!

ACES partnered with Ames Lake Opportunity Network to provide innovative field trips exposing 3rd-5th graders to post-graduate opportunities. Students had a blast visiting Metro State University and Century College. Staff were professional, organized, and maintained clear communication throughout planning and implementation process.

The children and staff were energetic and articulate. We hosted the students - elementary aged - for a campus visit and I was surprised at how engaged they were. The students asked many intellectual questions, were respectful, and engaged in all of our activities. The Opportunity Neighborhood staff also helped with activities and encouraged their students to ask questions. Because of the generous help from their staff, the campus visit went by smoothly.

I support Opportunity Neighborhood because of the exceptional programs they offer their residents.

I am glad to serve opportunity Neighborhood board.because this board can address complex issues and anticipate challenges and assessing risks, having diverse board from different background really helps diverse board allows for the opportunity neighborhood better anti-cipate and consider the concerns and perspectives of all key constituencies, I have confidence and trust to the board and executive director that they can delivery for their neighborhood.

Opportunity Neighborhood, continues to live up to its mission of supporting people and strengthening neighborhoods within affordable housing communities, through cooperative partnerships. The programs that it offers continue to make a difference in the lives of the those families and individuals that live in affordable housing communities that it supports. I am prod to not only be a supporter but also serve as a board member of this organization

Keith Bluford

Opportunity Neighborhood is uniquely positioned to provide innovative services for children, families, and safety in large multifamily properties. Great work is being done with after school programs that help families succeed. Large complexes often have a variety of safety needs that require flexibility with and knowledge of multi-cultural issues on site. Opportunity Neighborhood has developed a one of a kind program to address many of these issues call "Courtesy" which daily places a caring adult where difficult circumstances exist. I have been continually impressed with the staff's ability to adapt and implement effective solutions on these large properties.

This organization is a strong partner with our free summer lunch program located nearby their Garden View site. Both organizations enjoy cross marketing programs that meet the needs of lower income households. It is a good fit and a great partnership.

I worked for Opportunity Neighborhood at the Ames Lake location as a Youth Programmer for 9 months. It was an amazing learning experience for me. The staff are very supportive of each other, especially my supervisor Kacee Moua. I was also using my work hours at ON for hours in my internship as a Recreation, Parks and Leisure Studies major. Although, it wasn't structured to be an internship, Kacee offered to help me as much as possible. The overall program was great for teens and kids. As the programmer, I had to meet certain requirements such as covering certain learning and beneficial topics each month. We also followed the YPQA so that we had a quality-program. Each child and teen was offered a full meal so that they wouldn't go home hungry. This made Opportunity Neighborhood a home for a lot of teens and kids. I am happy to say I was once part of this organization.

Opportunity Neighborhood is an amazing place for kids to go after school! They provide homework help, and plan fun, constructive learning activities that the kids will enjoy! They cater to many different needs and you can really tell that the staff care for the kids, and are passionate about the service they are providing for them. Opportunity Neighborhood was a really fun place to work and I learned so much not just from the staff, but also the kids!

My church small group volunteered with Opportunity Housing for National Night Out. We had such a wonderful time meeting the staff and families that live in New Brighton. We are excited to work with them again!