November 25, 2002

The McKnight Foundation honored 11 Minnesotans, including Nokomis business owner Gayle Weigle, with Virginia McKnight Binger Awards in Human Service for 2002. The annual McKnight awards recognize exceptional volunteers who demonstrate the difference one person can make in serving others.

Mark Luinenburg

Gayle Weigle, owner of Earth Circles, 3324 E. 54th St. (612-729-2014), received the award November 22nd for her volunteer efforts with Project OffStreets to enrich the lives of homeless teens.

A customer at Earth Circles, where Gayle Weigle sells Native American arts and crafts, introduced her to Project OffStreets. The drop-in center for homeless teenagers soon became part of her life. "Her lifework focuses on redistributing resources to ease the disparity between those who have and those who have less," says Susan Raffo of YouthLink, the sponsor of Project OffStreets.

Weigle teaches skills and instills pride in Native American homeless teens through their culture. She has helped them make and sell dreamcatchers, and currently they are creating a book and website about frybread (www.frybreadlove.org).

She organizes an annual benefit for Project OffStreets-the FryBreadLove concert. Frybread has become a metaphor for feeding the spirit. "Frybread is kind of like loaves and fishes," Weigle says, "only it's frybread."

All of Nokomis East congratulates Ms. Weigle on her prestigious award, and for her outstanding efforts and commitment to the greater community.

The Awards
This is the 18th year of the awards, named for the Foundation's honorary chair and former president. The awards, each including a $7,500 check, were presented at a private ceremony on Friday, November 22, in Brooklyn Center.

Nine people from the Twin Cities metropolitan area and one each from Ponsford and Worthington were selected by a statewide committee of seven people who work in human services.

The McKnight Foundation created the awards in 1985 to honor Minnesota residents who give their time and energy to enhance the quality of life in their communities. This year's recipients include two immigrants who help other newcomers and refugees feel at home in Minnesota, a Native American elder who drives across the reservation delivering traditional foods to homebound people, an accountant who helps low-income and elderly people prepare their taxes, and a couple who have been volunteering together for 54 years.

"One of the great rewards of our work at The McKnight Foundation is the chance to meet people who set aside their own interests to make life better for others," said Virginia McKnight Binger, the Foundation's honorary chair. "They do good work quietly without expecting anything in return, even though it may involve considerable personal sacrifice."

Candidates are nominated anonymously by someone who knows their work. Ten awards are given annually. Since 1985, 187 people, including seven pairs, have received the awards.

- Compiled from information supplied by the McKnight Foundation and the Star Tribune.

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