Mpls.St.Paul Magazine recognizes the Twin Cities’ most dedicated volunteers of 2006.

October 2006

Throughout the eighteen years that Mpls.St.Paul Magazine has been recognizing the Twin Cities’ most dedicated volunteers, we’ve had the opportunity to see those volunteers’ efforts coalesce into something larger, and we heard a lot about it from this year’s honorees. Without exception, each of our ten Volunteers of the Year—reluctant, as a rule, to talk about themselves—made reference to the Twin Cities’ unparalleled “culture of volunteerism.”

To talk about a culture is to talk about a unifying force—a shared set of values that binds together otherwise disparate people following often significantly different paths. It’s what unites one professional Midwestern woman teaching refugees in Africa and another organizing a black-tie gala in St. Paul, or a lifelong Bloomington resident distributing furniture and an immigrant CEO mentoring small business owners.

Yes, we have a culture of caring volunteers, and the people on the following pages are proof of it. They represent—as they would happily inform you—only a minuscule fraction of the hard-working volunteers who drive our community’s nonprofit organizations, charitable foundations, and social-service groups. But they are emblematic of the dedication, vision, and spirit that make volunteerism in the Twin Cities a true culture apart. 

Congratulations and thank you to all of our 2006 Volunteers of the Year.