It’s National Nonprofit Day! A special day to celebrate the important role that nonprofits play in our communities - one of those nonprofits providing critical services in Minnesota is Spare Key in St. Paul.
Spare Key’s mission is to provide assistance to families with critically ill or seriously injured family members through housing grant payment assistance, engaged resource referral and advocacy. They are committed to helping families stay by their loved one’s side by relieving the stress, anxiety and financial burden that comes with a medical crisis.
Like that of thousands of others, Spare Key is facing a dire future because of the impact of COVID-19 on the economy. In an effort to keep the nonprofit afloat, Spare Key Executive Director Erich Mische is planning to embark on a 1,700 mile, two-month, ten state journey down the Mississippi River on a homemade raft christened the “S.S. Hail Mary.”
The journey, known as “Hope On The River”, will commence on Thursday, August 27th with Mische boarding the S.S. Hail Mary at Harriet Island in St. Paul. Mische will spend nearly two months drifting on the river to raise funds and awareness about Spare Key and the work they do to help families facing a medical crisis pay their bills.
“Throughout our nation’s history, the Mississippi has been a gathering point for communities, hope, and prosperity,” Mische said. “During this journey down the Mississippi, we are asking for people from every walk of life to once again gather at the banks of the river to support their neighbors and communities in need. And to recognize that no matter what may divide us today is nowhere near as powerful as what binds us together as Americans.”
Show your support by texting "RIVER" to 52000 to donate $5 to the Hope on the River Journey.