Healthy Community Initiative

Highlights from HCI’s 2025 Community Breakfast

More than 250 guests gathered in St. Olaf College’s Buntrock Commons Ballroom on Wednesday, April 9, for HCI’s annual Community Breakfast. HCI’s staff and board, along with friends, community leaders, and longtime and recent supporters of HCI, enjoyed breakfast and celebrated the transformational impact HCI-supported programs are having on the lives of Rice County youth and families.

After a welcome from Board Co-Chairs Alyssa Melby and Brianna Velazquez Sanchez and an energizing a cappella performance by Northfield High School’s Big Casa Grande, HCI Executive Director Tom Steinmetz spoke about HCI’s steadfast commitment to its guiding principles and his certainty in its ability to weather the uncertainty of the current U.S. political climate.

“The attempts to dehumanize people, destabilize our communities, and defund public institutions and nonprofits will test our commitment to our shared mission and values. But I know that we are up to that test. We are clear and resolute about what we stand for, and we will rise to meet this moment.”

Tom Steinmetz, Executive Director

“HCI will stay true to its vision to create communities where ALL youth thrive,” he said. “We will stay true to our guiding principles, our values, and our commitment to collaboration, innovation, youth engagement, and social connectedness, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion … because representation matters. Equity matters. Creating equitable access to opportunities is a measure of our compassion and maturity as a community.”

TORCH and RISE

He then introduced the first video presentation of the morning, featuring TORCH (Tackling Obstacles and Raising College Hopes), which is celebrating its 20th anniversary. TORCH is an HCI-supported program focused on raising high school graduation and postsecondary participation rates for Northfield’s students of color, youth from low-income families, and first-generation college attendees. Watch Valeria’s TORCH testimonial below:

“I’m graduating, and I’m really proud of myself.”
~ Valeria, TORCH student

Beth Berry (first coordinator at TORCH and former HCI Board Member) and Marnie Thompson (retired Northfield High School Assistant Principal, administrative liaison with TORCH, and former HCI Board Member) spoke about the program’s founding and growth.

Berry said the graduation rate for Northfield’s Latino students was about 36 percent when the program started. It focused on three areas: exposure, experiences, and increased expectations. The founding partners of TORCH believed that by exposing low income and potential first generation college students to college campuses and career fairs and supporting participation in sports and arts, these students might find their fit. By providing academic support, students moved from basic classes to college prep and AP courses. In the 20 years that TORCH has been in Northfield schools, 810 TORCH students have walked across the graduation stage, and the program overall has maintained a 98 percent graduation rate for students in its cohort.

Thompson emphasized that TORCH and programs like it cannot run without great human capacity. TORCH has thrived due to its incredible team of staff and volunteers and HCI’s partnerships with Northfield Public Schools, the Minnesota Alliance with Youth, and Carleton and St. Olaf colleges.

In 2019, RISE (Realizing Individual Student Excellence) was created to address similar needs in Faribault. “RISE is a great example of scaling up what works for TORCH and tailor-fitting it to the specific needs of the Faribault community. It’s exciting to be able to learn and support each other in the work we do to support youth and their families in Rice County,” Thompson said, as she introduced the RISE video.

Tre’Shawn’s RISE testimonial demonstrates the impact of the program in Faribault:

“RISE has made me grow as a person.”
~ Tre’Shawn, RISE student

After another musical performance — a moving rendition of “Rise Up” performed by Northfield High School junior Kyra Reverman, accompanied by Curt Johnson — HCI Board Members Ellen Iverson and Megan Carlson wrapped up the program. “At every age and every stage, HCI opens doors for youth and for families. HCI is a combination of longtime advocates like its three founding partners – the City of Northfield, the Northfield school district, and Northfield Hospital – plus new voices, new energy, and new ideas. In this gathering, there’s room for you, too,” Carlson said.

Thank You

Thank you to all 250+ guests who attended this year’s event, and to all who donated and shared HCI’s mission with your networks! Due to generous donations from The Astrup Family Foundation and an anonymous longtime supporter, the first $12,500 of donations made on April 9 were matched dollar for dollar! We exceeded the $12,500 match challenge thanks to your help sharing HCI within your circles. We enjoyed connecting with friends and honoring the many community members and leaders instrumental to HCI’s success.

Support from individual donors is especially important for stability and continuity of programs when other funding is uncertain.

It’s never too late give! All donations will help Rice County’s youth be better positioned for positive health, educational completion, career readiness, and economic mobility!