Do Good Roseville celebrates ten years
Making good things happen one idea at a time
This week the nonprofit Do Good Roseville is celebrating ten years of coordinating acts of kindness, conversation, and connection in the community.
"I can’t believe it’s been ten years. The fact that we’re still doing stuff, it’s actually pretty exciting," co-founder Kathy Ramundt said. "It's taken off in ways we could never have imagined."
Do Good Roseville is a nonprofit, volunteer-led organization dedicated to doing good things in the community.
Ten years ago, in 2015, Roseville resident Kathy Ramundt decided she wanted to get more involved in her community. She had gone back to school for a Master's degree in gerontology—the study of aging—and she learned how important having community around you was as you grow older.
"I knew nobody in Roseville," Ramundt said. "I needed to work on this."
She had an idea to do a winterwear collection for local school children, and another Roseville resident Sherry Sanders joined her. Sanders was President of the Lake McCarron's Neighborhood Association and a co-founder of the Rice Street Gardens.
They didn't want to stop with one collection, so they gathered people together to hear their ideas for how to do more good things in the community. At one of these community conversations, Roseville resident Nyia Harris shared her vision for a panel discussion about the experiences of Black men, which turned into the bi-monthly "Ask" series. Harris joined the board of Do Good Roseville and went on to lead eleven panel discussions over the next two years.
James Walsh
Since then, the types of activities and events have changed year to year. Book clubs, film screenings, dinners, bake sales, clothing collections for people experiencing homelessness and kids in school, voter engagement, kite day, park chats, the community Juneteenth celebration, and so much more.
"When the world is going mad, I double down on Do Good Roseville," Ramundt said.
Covid changed things for Do Good Roseville in 2020. In-person events temporarily stopped and community partnerships shifted.
In 2021, when people were starting to emerge from social isolation due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Ramundt had an idea.
"I was desperate to talk to people," she said.
So she decided to host a Park Chat. She advertised that she would be at one of Roseville's parks with a lawn chair and invited anyone who wanted to come to join her for conversation.
"Now I have fourteen really good friends," Ramundt said. "If I need anything, I have fourteen women I can call and I know they'll be there."
The group has supported each other through various things in life, including one member who was diagnosed with lung cancer. She told the group that she was feeling overwhelmed with getting to appointments, and within two hours the other women organized and signed up to cover every single appointment.
Naomi Krueger
Making Good Ideas Happen
Do Good Roseville works by partnering with people in the community, both individuals, nonprofit organizations, and institutions like the City of Roseville and Roseville Area Schools. If any individual or group has an idea for a service project or a community event, Do Good Roseville comes alongside to make it happen.
"As long as somebody asks for something and it will make a positive impact on the community in some way, the answer will be yes," Ramundt said. That doesn't mean they'll do all the work for you. Do Good Roseville is a completely volunteer-led organization, operating on a shoestring budget. Any donations received go directly to the events and opportunities they're designated for.
So when Ramundt hears a good idea for how to do good in the community, she and other Do Good Roseville volunteers will help facilitate connections and opportunities with the person or group that wants to do it.
For example, last year Becki Erickson reached out to Ramundt with an idea to collect yarn for a men's knitting group in a correctional facility. So Ramundt did a Red Bin Collection and ended up collecting twenty garbage bags of yarn to donate.
Recently Ramundt heard from Erickson again. The experience collecting the yarn with Do Good Roseville inspired her to start her own nonprofit—Sort of Solutions—to collect items for incarcerated people.
"That's the best feeling in the world, knowing that something we did caused something else to happen,"Ramundt said.
Do Good Roseville rarely counts how many people participate in their events and activities. The numbers are not important.
"We always feel like the right people showed up and you never know the impact you're having downstream," she said.
Do Good Roseville also relies on community partnerships to make ideas happen, whether it's partnering with them to organize an activity or event or receiving financial donations to make an idea a reality.
Frequent community partners include:
- Ramsey County Library
- Roseville Area School District
- League of Women Voters—Roseville Area
- City of Roseville
- Shoreview Human Rights Commission
- Roseville Area Interfaith Community
- Kiwanis North Suburban St. Paul
"Being involved with Do Good Roseville has been life-changing for me. It has allowed me to build meaningful relationships, learn from other passionate community members, and participate in initiatives that truly make a difference," Do Good Roseville board member Jeena Gurung Vomhof said.
Vomhof is the owner of Namaste Brows & Boutique in Roseville. One of the ways Vomhof has been involved with Do Good Roseville is by building relationships with and organizing events for residents at the Roseville Senior House, such as holiday parties and supply drives. The Roseville Senior House is an apartment building for low-income seniors and people with disabilities, not far from Vomhof's Roseville business.
"I’ve grown as a person and as a leader, and it has given me the opportunity to give back in ways I never imagined. It has reminded me of the power of community and how small acts of kindness can ripple out and create big change," Vomhof said.
Naomi Krueger
Community Impact Celebration
On Saturday, Oct. 11 Do Good Roseville is throwing a Community Impact Celebration to commemorate the past ten years and celebrate their community partnerships. The event will feature some of Do Good Roseville's "biggest hits" of the past ten years: ways to get involved and do good in the community.
"Saturday’s event is really a celebration of everyone in our community coming together to make a difference. Beyond just attending, there are so many ways to get involved—volunteering with initiatives, sharing your skills, or simply spreading the word about the work being done. Every little contribution counts, and the event is a wonderful chance to see that spirit in action," said Vomhof.
The event will include the 8th annual Roseville Area Volunteer Fair. Except during the pandemic when in-person events were not happening, Do Good Roseville has hosted a community volunteer fair every year. Community organizations from around the Twin Cities and Roseville will be there to share ways to get involved. Nearly 40 organizations will be there on Saturday!
There will also be a Family Service Fair to give kids hands-on experience with volunteering, and a big "Red Bin Collection." During Covid, Kathy put out a red bin at the end of her driveway to collect gently used bras and ended up receiving 700! She replicated the idea many more times after that, collecting different types of donations for different organizations and needs. At Saturday's event, Do Good Roseville will have a line-up of red bins outside the high school to collect winterwear, shoes, nonperishable food, fabric, glasses and hearing aids, socks, diapers, old sheets and bath towels, diapers, travel size toiletries, and books. For a complete list of acceptable items, visit the Do Good Roseville website.
The event will also recognize and celebrate the community connections that have made Do Good Roseville's work possible. They will also be celebrating the impact Do Good Roseville has had on the community.
While the event is intended to celebrate the organization's community impact as a whole, Vomhof hopes that Ramundt feels celebrated for her leadership and service as an individual too.
"Her dedication, compassion, and tireless work to make Roseville a better place for everyone is remarkable. She leads with kindness and integrity, always lifting up others and creating opportunities for people to connect, contribute, and make a real impact," Vomhof said. "I admire not only her vision, but the way she brings people together to turn ideas into action."
The event will be held at Roseville Area High School from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Oct. 11.
What's Next for Do Good Roseville
Do Good Roseville is taking it one idea at a time, but Ramundt is hoping to create more lasting opportunities to support seniors in Roseville, in particular. She's thinking about what she learned in her Master's program, about how health is tied to a sense of belonging in a community. She has dreams of creating a program to connect seniors and children, but it isn't fully formed yet. She also has more ideas for ways people can come together to share their time and talents to make the community stronger too.
"There is a limit to what we can do, but we haven’t reached it yet!" Ramundt said.
For more information about Do Good Roseville and how to get involved, visit the website.
