Mano a Mano’s mission is “Partnering together – Hand in Hand – to transform the health and well-being of Bolivian communities in need.”
Every Mano a Mano community project in Bolivia is a partnership: with the local community; their Municipal government; Mano a Mano staff and volunteers in Bolivia; and Mano a Mano staff, volunteers, and donors in the US.
We want to highlight a few of the local partnerships in the US and our recent activities that are as core to our model as our partnerships in Bolivia:
HERO Fargo
We are always happy to partner with HERO, Healthcare Equipment Recycling Organization and share supplies that fit best for each of our programs!
“Ask and you shall receive
Larry & Georgia traveled to Mano a Mano International in St. Paul, MN yesterday and came back with a haul! Words cannot express our gratitude toward Mano A Mano, everything they do for HERO and as a mission is extraordinary!”
HERO’s Facebook page – August 2023
Reuse Minnesota
We were happy to be able to take part in the recent tour of MSP Airport with Reuse Minnesota and ARM (Association of Recycling Managers) highlighting the Metropolitan Airport Commission waste diversion programs, and also be able to share a little more about Mano a Mano at the meeting! (We will also be at their booth at the State Fair, and hosting a tour at Mano a Mano in October.)
MATTER
Mobility equipment such as wheelchairs are in very high demand for our programs in Bolivia, and we are grateful to be able to regularly partner with MATTER to source these much-needed items (like last week).
Metro State
Next week we will start hosting our Fall 2023 Social Work field placement interns from Metro State.
Mano a Mano has been happy to be a field placement site for Metro State’s Social Work program for the past 5+ years. This video below was made in partnership with TPT in 2019 highlighting this partnership, and the importance of social work to Mano a Mano as an organization.
Frogtown Green
Thanks to Patricia and Frogtown Green for helping make our front parking lot garden look better. (We also have a pollinator garden on the side of our warehouse.)
Our In-Person & Remote Volunteers
In addition to the organizations that we partner with, we rely on our many volunteers that come to our St. Paul warehouse in-person to support our Recovered Resources program and those that help on remote work such as research, fundraising, and communications.
2022 Annual Report
Mano a Mano volunteers spent 16,687 hours working with us in 2022; 4,433 hours were spent working in our Saint Paul, Minnesota warehouse: picking up donations of supplies, sorting and organizing donations, distributing supplies locally, and helping load containers for shipment to Bolivia and elsewhere. In addition to our core volunteers that are regulars, we also hosted 7 social work interns from Metro State University for the Fall 2022 semester and hosted a student worker through St. Kate’s Community Work & Learning. There are also many people that spend time supporting Mano a Mano beyond our Recovered Resources program: helping raise funds for our work across our 5 counterpart organizations in Bolivia and Minnesota; doing research projects; translating Mano a Mano information; spreading the word and making connections; and serving on our Board; among other projects.
