"Truly a Life-Changing Experience for Our Family"​Kimberly, a mom of four, found hope, healing, and lasting change for her family.
“Our experience has truly been life-changing,” she beams.
What started as support for her children transformed her entire family — even her spouse — creating a hopeful new future. Their journey celebrates how Bob's legacy of love continues to grow through our passionate staff and dedicated families.
Read More Life-Changing Stories

"ACTG Changed my Life and I'm Excited to Help Change
Someone Elses"
​​I spent a lot of time at A Chance To Grow when I was little but I had no idea how much all of it mattered. I was just a kid trying to get through hard things...
Now I’m 22, living a life my younger self never thought was possible.
And the craziest, most amazing part? I'm excited to donate and give back to the same place that once supported me during some of my toughest times.
Read Jayna's Story Here

When a child struggles with reading, it’s not always a matter of simply not understanding the words—they may have trouble smoothly moving their eyes from word to word. The RightEye system allows us to observe how the eyes move while reading to uncover any eye-related issues. With RightEye’s video playback feature, our Occupational Therapists are able to watch how a patient’s eyes move throughout a passage. It’s like having a map that shows exactly where a child’s vision is impaired, so we can target those areas directly!

For parents, this visual feedback is incredibly helpful because it provides a clear, concrete picture of what’s happening and shows the progress their child makes over time.

Vision is a fundamental skill that impacts everything from balance to learning. We are proud to help children develop the visual readiness they need to succeed. Through the combination of vision technology and individualized care, we give our pediatric Occupational Therapy clients the tools they need to overcome challenges.

Ask your child’s Occupational Therapist about RightEye to learn more!

S.M.A.R.T. Steps has helped the children at Little Wonders build foundational learning skills such as gross and fine motor skills, vision skills, auditory skills, and balance: all of which are essential for reading, writing, focus, retention, and more. By strengthening these skills, children prepare for preschool and kindergarten learning! In addition to learning-readiness benefits, S.M.A.R.T. Steps helps Brenda manage challenging behaviors.

We join Brenda in thanking the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) for spreading awareness of continuing education opportunities like S.M.A.R.T. Steps. SMIF is a proud partner of A Chance To Grow, serving 20 counties, 175 communities, and one Native nation in the southeastern Minnesota region. Says Brenda, “Having SMIF offer these trainings to us, it shows that our profession is being valued, which is huge.” A Chance To Grow is honored to support Family Child Care Providers like Brenda, who are located in rural Minnesota communities.

Read the entire story here: smifoundation.org/blog/2024/12/feeling-valued/
Photos by Red Bird Hills with permission from Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation

Allison knew that S.M.A.R.T. is what students in Bermuda were missing. With S.M.A.R.T.’s multi-sensory approach, students would receive the tools they needed for academic success. 

The S.M.A.R.T. program is unique because it centers on the important relationship between the brain and the body. By using intentional, movement-based activities at the proper frequency, intensity, and duration of practice, children become better prepared to learn. S.M.A.R.T. activities focus on the growth and enhancement of balance, coordination, reflex integration, body awareness, and visual and auditory skills, because these are the foundations to learning. Whether a child is behind in specific developmental milestones for their age, or meeting each milestone, S.M.A.R.T. makes learning easier for all children.  ​

This May, A Chance To Grow transformed into A Starry Night Prom, for family fun! The kids of our Turnquist Child Enrichment Center, their parents, and siblings all enjoyed the DJ, dancing, food, and lots of fun and games! Everyone looked fabulous in their Prom Night attire! ​

A Chance To Grow is thrilled to host its 33rd annual Race For The Children on August 11! For a $65 adult ticket, $20 children’s ticket, and free admission for children 3 and younger, participants enjoy: ​

Best of all, attendees are supporting A Chance To Grow’s biggest fundraiser of the year!
​Proceeds go towards helping A Chance To Grow make the greatest impact possible.
Join the fun! Secure your seat today at www.actg.org/raceforthechildren. We look forward to seeing you there! ​

Did you know that S.M.A.R.T. Workshops aren’t just for Elementary and Pre-K teachers? ​

Join The Fun! Take Our 3-Day S.M.A.R.T. Training to earn continuing education units and learn how movement-based teaching develops and enhances learning. Give students the skills they need to be life-long learners! ​

HOLIDAY CHEER FOR OUR FAMILIES OF TURNQUIST

As the holiday season approached, our staff at A Chance To Grow, with the incredible support of donors, hosted Turnquist’s annual festivities for the Turnquist Child Care Center’s children and families.

The festivities were made possible by an extraordinary donation of $10,000 from Jerry and Jim Myers of Sheet Metal Connectors, longstanding and beloved supporters of A Chance To Grow. With this substantial gift, Turnquist stocked their food pantry with an impressive 2,773 pounds of fresh produce and non-perishable items. Second Harvest Heartland, Minnesota’s premier food bank, provides the food to us at a discounted rate and delivers the food to our building. Turnquist families were given the chance to select items they need, as well as receive supplies for holiday meals! In addition, families were welcomed to a wide array of essential care items and home goods, also funded by the Myers’ donation.

​The holiday meal packages were supplied by our Friends at the Northeast Lions Club who also provided a present for each child and parent. One special Lions Club member, Marty Zaworski, has a tradition of attending the festivities, as our Santa Claus! Smiles lit up the room as families took holiday photos with Santa, and kids received their presents. The kids’ toys were lovingly gift-wrapped by A Chance To Grow administrative staff and made possible by the generosity of Toys For Tots and individual donors

A SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH OF S.M.A.R.T. STEPS 4TH YEAR

We are excited to share that last month, A Chance To Grow’s S.M.A.R.T. (Stimulating Maturity through Accelerated Readiness Training) Steps program launched its fourth year! The program saw impressive growth from the prior year, proudly enrolling over 100 Family Child Care Providers. Partnerships with the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, the Northland Foundation, the Initiative Foundation, and the West Central Initiative were key in expanding the program's reach. Their support helped us to offer S.M.A.R.T. Steps training in 49 counties and tribal regions throughout Minnesota.

THE GARDEN OF HOPE'S FIRST BUSINESS SPONSOR!

A Chance To Grow is overjoyed to welcome its very first business sponsor, Turbo Tim’s Anything Automotive, to ACTG’s Garden Of Hope program, which provides essential support for our activities! Turbo Tim’s is a much loved automotive shop with stores in North East Minneapolis and St. Paul, known for their friendly team, top-notch service, and adorable crew of cats. They are also long-time, committed supporters of local business, giving awards, making donations, and other outreach. We are proud to be one of the agencies that Turbo Tim’s supports.

A special thank you to all of our Garden Of Hope Superstars!

• Turbo Tim's, Hero
• Erica Dickerson, Champion
• Jana and Scott Moore, Champion
• Katherine Norcross, Change-Maker
• Vicky Stein, Change-Maker
• Nancy Farnham, Advocate​

From March 1-3, A Chance To Grow is hosting an MNRI Archetype Movement Integration course in our Northeast Office, taught by Instructor Summer Shepstone of the Svetlana Masgutova Educational Institute (SMEI). SMEI provides professionals in the areas of health, wellness, and education, as well as parents and caregivers, with non-invasive techniques to address maturational, developmental, and life challenges.

Archetype Movement Program techniques work to activate and engage archetype movements that, for various reasons, have remained dormant in the body. Archetype movements, less complex in nature than motor reflex patterns or schemes, are among the first reflexive movements to develop and emerge. This course welcomes Speech Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, Rehabilitation Professionals, Medical Professionals, Mental Health Professionals, Educators, Parents, and other Health Care Providers to join and learn more about the fundamental role the MNRI Method plays in overall development!

​LeAnn Taylor, MA, CCC-SLP, and Adrienne Ero-Phillips MA, OTR/L of A Chance To Grow’s Clinical Services department are eager to participate in the class to increase their knowledge and practice of the MNRI Model and Archetype Movement Integration.

For the last 5 years, Ean Koerner has been the talent behind this newsletter, creating its look, authoring its content, finding stories and getting it out on time, in addition to a million other responsibilities.  

So long, Ean, we appreciate all the marketing accomplishments you achieved.  You are missed!  We wish you the very best in your new endeavors.

Ean left us in August, and it has taken a good bit of time to find his replacement. Hello to Maylee Moore, our new Marketing Specialist. She is a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota's Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication with experience in all of the aspects of marketing that we need.  Welcome Maylee!

If you have been a regular reader of our newsletter in the last couple of years, you learned a lot about us...
 
Our Success Stories
You met Sam, who had lifelong problems with activities that the rest of us take for granted.  At 31, he was still living at home.  After visual therapy with our Dr. May, he’s able to live independently, works two jobs, and has a busy social life.
 
You met Hadley, a shy but sweet 13-year-old, who’s had difficulty in school since the 2nd grade. She had neurological evaluations, specialized instruction, math tutoring, dedicated help at school, medications, dietary changes and more.  Nothing changed. But functional eye and hearing screenings at A Chance To Grow uncovered eye misalignment and an auditory processing disorder.  With vision and auditory therapy, as well as neurofeedback and Neuro Integrative therapy, Hadley has been improving steadily.
 
And you met Meghan, an Iraq veteran, who after several tours of duty, was experiencing symptoms of PTSD, including nightmares, high stress levels and an inability to cope with change.  After a course of neurofeedback treatments, she is sleeping better, has fewer nightmares, and she is better able to cope with stressful situations.  She is able to be the mom she wants to be.
 
Our Services
You not only learned about our Clinical Services, you also learned about the important work that our educational services provides:
 
You learned about the Minnesota Learning Resource Center, which has trained thousands of Pre-K and K-3 teachers in hundreds of schools in Minnesota and beyond, in our S.M.A.R.T. (Stimulating Maturity through Accelerated Readiness Training) approach to integrating purposeful movement into their daily class schedules.  And you heard about our new innovative program, S.M.A.R.T. Steps, developed for Family Child Care Providers, to ensure that even the littlest learners are ready for kindergarten.
 
You also learned about the wonderful work our Turnquist Child Enrichment Center is doing with children ages 6 weeks to 5 years, who are at risk for developmental delays and poor academic achievement due to poverty and its attending ills – homelessness, food insecurity, even violence.  Every Turnquist child receives age-appropriate developmental curricula, social emotional education and the S.M.A.R.T. approach.  They also get vision and auditory screenings, and occupational or speech therapy as needed.
 
But did you know that:

• Because our clinical services are cutting-edge, not all of them are covered by insurance?  And not all people who need our therapy can afford it?
• MLRC is funded in part by workshops paid for by schools, but in the era of education budget cuts, many schools that want to implement S.M.A.R.T. can’t afford it.
• Turnquist relies on county funding, which doesn’t cover all the costs associated with implementing new curricula, providing transportation for our Teen Parents, or programming for our parents to get them involved in their children’s education.
• None of the program funding pays for administrative costs – HR services, keeping the building safe and secure for our clients, making sure our tech infrastructure is up to date and well-protected, and so on.

 
You can make a HUGE difference in the lives of so many by supporting our work! 
 
There’s two ways to donate:
Go to www.actg.org/donate , to make a one-time contribution.
 
Join our Garden of Hope, a monthly giver’s club designed to bring in a steady stream of revenue to support our vital activities. Even $5 a month will have an impact!  Go to www.actg.org/gardenofhope to join.

S.M.A.R.T. and S.M.A.R.T. Pre-K Workshops are right around the corner! Don’t miss your chance to experience this amazing 3-day workshop and discover how to boost your students’ learning readiness skills through fun and engaging movement activities! Space is still available, but filling up fast! Registration is NOW OPEN!

If you or a loved one struggle with a lack of focus, sleep issues, emotional instability, inability to calm, or brain fog, then this intensive may be a good fit. Call (612) 789-1236 to schedule a free consultation and learn more about the program!

Summer Neuro Integrative Intensives also available!
This intensive combines several interventions that collectively promote brain growth and development through purposeful movement. By establishing more efficient neurological connections between the brain and body, this intensive can improve higher-level functioning as well as physical and emotional independence. Click here to complete a program inquiry!