Thank you for asking what volunteer support and donations we need most right now. We are grateful to our community partners who help us meet specific requests from our staff and the people we serve. Together, we can make sure that people experiencing domestic violence, sexual violence, human trafficking and crime have what they need to be safe and feel confident in their next steps.
When people donate to Cornerstone it is so important for them to know that they really are helping a lot of people who need it. I couldn’t have navigated the terrifyingly turbulent storms without Cornerstone. This organization is invaluable! – past Cornerstone participant
Urgent Needs
The following information is updated regularly in response to what we hear from our staff and our participants about their evolving current needs. The following list of volunteer opportunities and needs was updated on 7/23/24.
Volunteer Opportunities
Group Organization and Outdoor Cleanup
We are in need of individuals interested in coming to Cornerstone to help organize storage areas and clean up our outdoor spaces. Scheduling will be flexible. If you are interested, please contact courtneyp@cornerstonemn.org to learn more and sign up.
Join Cornerstone’s Board of Directors
Want to make a difference in the lives of those who have experienced violence and trauma? We are currently seeking a diverse group of board candidates with varied backgrounds and areas of expertise to join our Board of Directors. We encourage applicants with lived experiences related to our mission and/or who identify as Black, Indigenous and people of color; and people who identify as LGBTQ+. We specifically are seeking candidates with expertise in fundraising, legal matters, public policy, and/or who are employed within a small business enterprise or have local corporate affiliations.
For more information on joining Cornerstone’s Board of Directors, contact our Executive Director Artika Roller at artikar@cornerstonemn.org.
Financial Gifts
Cornerstone continues to provide critical supportive services to individuals and families in crisis. We need your continued financial support. Please consider making a donation to support victims / survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, human trafficking and general crime at mightycause.com/organization/Cornerstone.
Donated Goods
Due to limited storage space, we can only accept items listed below. All items must be new, unused and with tags on. Thank you for thinking of Cornerstone.
We are only able to accept the following items at this time. Last updated January 2024
- Personal hygiene items including shampoo, bar soap, smaller tubes of toothpaste, lotion, baby wipes, as well as cleaning items such as Clorox wipes.
- $25-50 gift cards to big-box stores and grocery stores (Walmart, Target, etc.) so we can be flexible in meeting the most immediate needs of our participants
- Specific items from our Amazon Wish List
Donations may be dropped off at our Bloomington location Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm. Please email Courtneyp@cornerstonemn.org once you’ve dropped off a donation so that we may record your gift and properly thank you. If you’d like to purchase items online and ship them to us, please use the following shipping address for Cornerstone:
Cornerstone
Attn: Courtney P.
1000 East 80th Street
Bloomington, MN 55420
School Supply Donation Needs
Mechanical pencils
Backpacks (preferably larger ones for older youth)
Red pens
Calculators (regular, scientific, and graphing)
Colored highlighters (colors other than yellow)
Kleenex
Sandwich size Ziploc bags
Clorox wipes
Paper towels
Pencil pouches (fabric and plastic)
Wired headphones
College ruled notebooks
1 inch binders
3 inch binders
Expo markers
Pencil sharpeners
Donations can be dropped off at our Bloomington location, or contact Courtney P. at courtneyp@cornerstonmn.org to coordinate pick-up.
Food Donation Needs
Fruits/veggies:
- Canned fruit in 100% juice( pull tab)
- Shelf stable fruit cups (no artificial sweeteners)
- Dried fruits/veggies with no added sugar
- No sodium canned veggies
- Shelf stable tomato/veggie pasta sauce
Whole grains:
- Brown/wild rice
- Whole grain cereal
- Rolled oats/oatmeal/cream of wheat
- Granola/cereal bars
- Pasta’s
Protein:
- Canned chicken/tuna/salmon in water (pull tab/pouches)
- Chick peas
- Peanut butter/PB2
- Cannellini beans
- Black beans
- Quinoa
- Unsalted/low sodium nuts
- Jerky (beef/turkey/chicken)
Other items:
- Chicken/beef/veggie broth
- Cooking Seasonings (dry herbs/spices)
- Olive/coconut/avocado oils
- Jams/jelly
- Peanut/almond/cashew/sunflower butters
- Honey
- Sugar
- Flour
- Canned/boxed coconut milk
- Protein bars
- Formula/baby foods
Condiments:
- Maple syrup
- Hot sauce
- Mustards
- Vinegars (apple cider/balsamic/white)
- Low sugar BBQ sauce
- Red pasta sauce
- Miso
South Asian:
- Rice
- Wheat flour
- Oil (Fish/chili sesame/rice vinegar)
- Curry paste
- Tinned/dry chickpeas
- Tinned tomatoes
- Dry noodles (rice/pad Thai)
- Tinned veggies
- Lentils/dals
- Tinned fish
- Tinned potatoes
- Tinned peas
- Semolina
- Vermicelli
- Desiccated coconut
- Soybean
- Moong bean
- Kidney beans
- Corn (dry/tinned)
- Cooking sauces (fish/Hoisin/teriyaki/peanut/black bean/oyster)
- UHT milk (Ultra-pasteurized milk)
African/Caribbean:
- Rice
- Wheat flour
- Oil
- Iwisa(super maize meal flour)
- White hominy corn(dry/tinned)
- Millet
- Couscous
- UHT milk (Ultra-pasteurized milk)
- Garri flour
- Semovita (flour)
- Plantain flour
- Poundo yam
- Tinned tomoatoes
- Dry noodles
- Tinned veggies
- Lentils
- Tinned fish
- Tinned potatoes
- Tinned peas
- Tinned beans
Middle eastern:
- Rice
- Wheat flour/Arabic khobez
- Olive oil
- Tinned/dry chickpeas
- Tinned tomatoes
- Pepper paste
- Couscous
- Tinned veggies
- Bulgar (whole wheat kernel)
- Fava beans
- Tinned fish
- Vine leaves( the leaves of the grapevine plant)
- Za’ tar(Spice mix)
- Tahini paste
- Tinned olives
- Dry Molokhiyaa (is the leaves of Corchorus olitorius)
- UHT milk (Ultra-pasteurized milk)
Hispanic/Latin/Spanish :
- Lard (pig fat)
- Beans (Frijoles Charros (“Cowboy Beans”), refried, black, dried, pinto)
- Dried chiles (ancho, chipotle, guajillo, mulato, pasilla, lentils)
- Tortillas (Flour, corn, masa)
- Gorditas (Mexican flatbread)
- Dried chiles
- Canned corn
- Rice (white, Mexican, brown, long grain)
- Salsa
- Corn chips
- Spices (allspice, cloves, cumin, garlic, paprika, thyme, coriander, cacao, Mexican vanilla)
- Hominy
- Pozole
- Menudo (Mexican beef tripe soup)
- Nopales
- Tomatillos
- Tortilla chips (Corn, flour, wheat)
- Chipotle sauce
- Habanero sauce
- Canned jalapenos (sliced, diced)
- Condensed milk
- Evaporated milk
- Chilorio
- Quince and guava paste
- Chongos zamoranos
- Canned fruit (mango, guava, peaches)
- Capers
- Canned fish (tuna, crabmeat, sardines)
- Canned olives (green, black, green stuffed with pimentos)
- Dried pasta (vermicelli, angel hair, spaghetti, elbow macaroni)
- Vinger (apple, white)
- Oils (vegetable, olive, avocado)
Cornerstone is unable to accept the following items at any time:
- Any used or gently-used items
- Any items with opened or damaged packaging
- Any items purchased more than one year ago
- Clothing
- Furniture
- Travel-sized / hotel-size personal care items and toiletries
- Medications
- Perishable food
