Community Connect event a success

Last week’s Project Community Connect event at the Four Seasons Centre chalked up another successful year.

“It went really well,” said Matt McLaughlin, one of the organizers of the event. He said 381 guests registered for the event that was designed to connect individuals and families in need with essential resources and services in one convenient location.

There were more than 50 organizations on site, McLaughlin said, with many of the organizations not only giving information on the services offered but also helping those stopping and starting the process.

Among the groups offering help in connecting individuals with their services were Center Clinic, Spero, United Way of Steele County, The Lighthouse of Southern Minnesota, Regional Legal Services, Semcac, the Exchange Club for Family Unity, Steele County Public Health, Community Pathways, Transitional House, Crisis Resource Center and others.

Distribution of hygiene items was also a big part of the event. Employees of Federated Insurance were on hand to distribute a variety of hygiene items at no cost. Those staffing the Federated tables, as well as others with hygiene items reported that their supplies were quickly depleted.

Hygiene items were donated by Prairie Ridge Orthodontics, Main Street Dental, Bethel Church, St. Joseph’s Church, St. Paul’s Lutheran-Meriden, Owatonna Christian School, Grace Baptist, Good Shepard Lutheran, Radient Lutheran and Federated Insurance.

Our Saviors Lutheran Social Ministry had a table at the event offering hygiene items and information on other church programs available including community dinners on Monday nights. Quilters from Trinity Lutheran were at the Four Seasons with quilts to give away and the Salvation Army had a table to inform individuals of the services they offered.

Volunteers from Riverland also gave 70 haircuts and 25 manicures during the event.

Pizza from Taste of the Big Apple was also available to participants at no cost.

Trinity Lutheran provided bus transportation to and from the Four Seasons throughout the afternoon.

Melissa Schultz was located by the pizza providing musical entertainment for those eating lunch.

Most of the participants registered during the first hours of the noon to 4 p.m. event, McLaughlin said, giving the various service providers a chance to do some networking during the last hour.

Community Connect is sponsored by the Community Coordination Team of Steele County, McLaughlin said. Over the years, he said, the event has gone from being hosted by various churches to several years at Trinity Lutheran as space needs increased. When the event outgrew the space at Trinity, he said, arrangements were made to move to the Four Seasons.

With the success of the 2026 event, he said, the group has already secured the Four Seasons Centre for the 2027 version of Community Connect.