Box City Vigil 2009

HUGE Success!

2009-05-10T17:36:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who has supported the Box City Vigil and attended the 5th annual event. We had around 275 students from all over the metro area participate.

Participants raised $600.00 that will be donated to local youth homeless shelters, The Bridge and YouthLink. THANK YOU FOR YOUR DONATIONS!

Speakers included Beth Holger who talked about challenges homeless teens go through each night and how youth end up homeless and Tottiana who shared her story of being homeless through spoken word and other poetry.
Musical Guests included The Romanovs, Koo Koo Kanga Roo, Silent Agency, and 952 Crew.
Our DJ for the night, Mark Haugen from Beatiful Day DJs, was a great addition to the event this year.

Let us know if you would like to help plan the event next year or get information out to your high school about the event.
email: boxcityvigil09@gmail.com

Check out the slideshow to the right of the page with pictures from the event!

Suggested Parking for the Event

2009-05-03T17:51:00.000-07:00

Directions to Capitol from Bloomington
•Start by taking 494 EAST
•On the 55/ 494 split stay to the left and continue to take 494
•Take exit 70 for 35E
•Stay LEFT on the exit to take 35E NORTH toward St. Paul
•Take exit 106B – Kellog Blvd.
•Turn LEFT on Kellog Blvd. (turn into the right-hand lane)
•Take a RIGHT on John Ireland Blvd.
•Take a RIGHT on to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr Blvd.
•Go STRAIGHT through the stop sign at Cedar Ave
•The ramp is on the right. Look for signs, balloons, or etc.

This is the place many people have parked for the past few years. It has seemed to work out well in the past but we cannot be liable for anything that may happen by you parking in this ramp.. There is also parking available on side streets. Those are our two suggestions. YOU CANNOT PARK AT THE CAPITOL. As long as you aren’t parked in the capitol parking lot there is no designated place you should or shouldn’t park. Please follow all parking laws to ensure your car is still there in the morning.

Directions and Logistics

2009-04-21T19:14:00.000-07:00

We are just a few days away from BCV and wanted to give you some more information about parking and other logistics of the event.

This is the place many people have parked for the past few years. It has seemed to work out well in the past but we cannot be liable for anything that may happen by you parking in this ramp. There is also parking available on side streets. Those are our two suggestions. YOU CANNOT PARK AT THE CAPITOL. As long as you aren’t parked in the capitol parking lot there is no designated place you should or shouldn’t park. Please follow all parking laws to ensure your car is still there in the morning.

Click HERE to go to an interactive map that also shows parking spots.

Recommended Parking:

Event Parking Map

-Public parking in the Centennial Parking Ramp is avalible on the Orange Level only. The entrance to the Orange Leve is on Rev. Dr. MLK Jr. Blvd.

-Metered street parking is also available. Please check parking information posted on the meters for enforcement times.

You can also get directions to the State Capital by following the link above. Or you can go to MapQuest, google maps, or use your GPS to get you there!

The Capitals address is 75 Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, St. Paul, MN 55155

We have a fun packed night full of entertainment and speakers that have experienced homelessness.

Bands lined up are Koo Koo Kanga Roo, The Romanovs, Silent Agency, and The 952 Crew!

Hope to see you all at the 5th annual Box City Vigil on May 8th!

Press Release and Update!

2009-03-30T15:17:00.000-07:00

We are finalizing the plans for entertainment and have some great speakers that will be talking about their experience with homeless youth. We will also have a woman who was homeless as a youth and is now getting back on her feet.
For music performances we have The Ramonos (Jefferson High School student band) and The 952 Crew (Kennedy High School student band). We will also be having an awesome DJ throughout the night with fun games and other activities. Make sure and get your registration packet in by May 1st to guarantee yourself the correct size t-shirt.

If you are a Kennedy or Jefferson High School student you can pick up a registration packet in the Main Office at school and turn them in there too! Everyone else should print off a registration packet HERE.

Our press release is out and you can get to it by clicking the link on the right hand side of the page or clicking HERE.

Countdown to BCV '09!

2009-03-14T23:18:00.000-07:00

The Box City Vigil team was recognized at the March 9th Bloomington School Board meeting. Spectra Myers from Youth Venture presented the $10,000 check to the BCV Team.

Reminder to get those registration packets in!!!! Click here and you can download and print off the forms. If you have any questions PLEASE e-mail us! boxcityvigil09@gmail.com and if you would like to get some information to post at your school e-mail us and we can forward you more info.

Bloomington Loves Its Kids

2009-03-02T14:16:00.000-08:00

Every February, Bloomington Loves Its Kids holds an award ceremony at the Civic Plaza Council Chambers, to recognize kids working to help others in their community. Box City received the award for 'Recognition of Outstanding Group of Youth'.

The Registration Packet Is Here!!!!

2009-02-02T20:21:00.000-08:00

Click here and you can print off the 2009 Box City Vigil registration packet!!!

Please fill out these forms and return them as soon as possible. In April if you are a Kennedy or Jefferson student you will be able to turn your registration forms into the main office. OR you can mail your registration forms no later than May 1st, 2009 to:

NHUMC
C/o Rachael Anne Weller
9920 Normandale Boulevard
Bloomington, MN 55437

If your forms are not in by May 1st, please bring them with you to the event. However, due to limited supply you will not be guaranteed a shirt.

Questions??? E-mail the BCV '09 team at boxcityvigil09@gmail.com

Thank You!!

2009-01-16T12:51:00.000-08:00

All of the voting paid off!! We found out officially this morning at 11a.m. that we are one of the 15 teams to win the @15 $10,000 grant!!

We could not have done it without everyone's help! With this money we will be able to donate directly to youth shelters (that are yet to be determined for sure), make hygiene kits the night of the event, & make it a bigger success. So thanks to everyone for voting!!

Thanks to Youth Venture, Best Buy, the @15 Grant Challenge, and of course you guys for all your support & voting!!

-The Box City Vigil '09 Team

Save The Date!

2008-12-17T19:24:00.000-08:00

Box City Vigil 2009

May 8th 7PM - May 9th 7AM

If you do NOT go to Bloomington Kennedy or Jefferson and would like to get some posters to hang around your school or any other info to get students at your school to come to BCV '09, e-mail boxcityvigil09@gmail.com and we can help you out!

What: Food, service projects, speakers, entertainment, games on the lawn of the capitol, and other great stuff!!

What to bring: Be aware of the weather and the expected temperature for the night. Blankets are a good idea to have as well as sleeping bags and sweatshirts. Although we are trying to essentially simulate a night outside for homeless teens, we can't expect you guys to freeze. You can experience your night at the Capitol to any degree you want with whatever you decide to bring just try not to get too carried away...

This year there will be many new and fun things happening to keep the night going.

INVITE YOUR FRIENDS! We really want this to be a statewide event so if you know people from other schools in the Twin Cities and suburbs, invite them to join us!

If you have any questions or want some materials for your high school e-mail us (boxcityvigil09@gmail.com) and we will be happy to help you out!

Just by attending, you are helping take steps towards ending youth homelessness.

Make sure to check back for more updates!

Remember to keep voting for Box City Vigil in the Best Buy grant challenge! Text BBYV6 to 32075 on your cell phone (standard text messaging rates apply, but there is no extra charge!) and go online to GenV.net/bestbuy and vote for Box City Vigil!!!

How to vote for Box City Vigil

2008-12-01T18:21:00.000-08:00

The decision of what teams get the Best Buy @15 grants depends on how many votes each team will get. Please vote for the Box City Vigil every day! If we were to receive this grant, the money would be spent on basic expenses to put on the event and we are also going to put together hygiene kits to give to local homeless shelters. We also hope to increase the visibility and participation of our event. We hope to make BCV 2009 a great success thanks to your votes.

There are 3 ways to vote each day. All are FREE and take very little time!!
1) Text BBYV6 to 32075.
2) Visit www.genv.net/bestbuy and cast a vote for your two favorite teams. There is no need to sign in or be a member of genv. (this method allows one vote per day)
3) Visit the site yvteams.mobi on your mobile phone. Here you will be able to vote for your favorite team which is accessible only on an internet capable phone (This method allows one vote per valid phone number per day, and can only be delivered over a cell phone with internet capabilities)

Thank you!!!

-The Box City Vigil '09 Team

Top 30

2008-11-20T14:36:00.000-08:00

Box City was chosen to be on of the 30 BestBuy@15 Finalists!!

In December there will be an online competition at www.GenV.net/bestbuy this will determine the winners (top 15) ventures that will get the grant!

Each day of the competition you can vote online & via text message

So vote as much as you can (and get your friends to vote)!!

Everyone here at BoxCity really appreciates the help & if you have any questions feel free to ask!!!

Thanks for the help :)

& feel free to check out our Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?ref=mb#/group.php?gid=30864403822