NorsKids Foundation received a grant from the Thief River Falls Area Community Fund (TRFACF) to support its “Ticket Purchases for Local Events” project. Through the project, NorsKids provided 212 tickets to disabled individuals, their caregivers, and veterans who live in the Thief River Falls school district. Most of the tickets were given to the participants from REM North Star and Johnson Riverside Inc.
NorsKids Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in Thief River Falls with the mission to support and conduct social activities and mentoring programs for people of all ages, including disabled adults, veterans, youth, and senior citizens. They have been providing tickets to community members for local events since 2016, and the demand has continued to grow each year.
“The (ticket) project is an important part of our mission to provide opportunities for disabled individuals and veterans in our community to attend and participate in social events to improve their overall mental health and improve their socialization skills,” NorsKids Foundation stated in the final grant report back to the TRFACF.
According to a report, the grant helped cover the cost of the tickets. NorsKids Foundation maximized the number of tickets available with the funding they received. NorsKids provided tickets for various local events including RiverFest, Pennington County Fair Grandstand events, TRF Area Community Theater productions, and the Thief River Falls Skating Club Annual Show.
“Most of our participants would not be able to attend these social events in our community without our assistance because they are on fixed incomes and could not afford these tickets,” NorsKids Foundation stated.
The “ticket project” received positive feedback from the participants:
- “RiverFest is always a blast to attend.”
- “RiverFest is great. I love listening to music and hanging out with our group.”
- “Attending the Demo Derby with the group is awesome! It is always fun to do activities with (my friends).”
- “I love going to the Bull Rides with our group. I am looking forward to more picnics and (getting) together this year.”
