The internet can be a great resource, but sometimes finding the information you need can feel a little daunting.
Families with young children are often looking for all kinds of things: child care, health care, and things to keep kids occupied in all kinds of weather.
Itasca Area Schools Collaborative, or IASC, received a grant from the Minnesota Department of Education and brainstormed to figure out what kind of project they wanted to create with those funds. Within those conversations, they found out that many people in the community were not aware of local services that are available to them.
IASC serves all of Itasca County, plus the communities of Floodwood, Hill City and Remer.
Jackie Skelly, executive director of IASC, and Darla Rahne, director of early learning, were two of the people involved in creating the Up North Family Resource Guide, a new website designed to make it easy for people to access information about their communities.
"The hope was to just do something really local that would help bring people together that was going to be constantly updated and accurate," Skelly explained.
Rahne said there are some statewide resources that can be helpful, but people have more trust in something local. The guide has a place where people can submit information, or update existing resources.
IASC also worked with Itasca County Public Health and the Itasca County Family YMCA to create the guide. It is split into categories such as Education, Schools & Child Care, Fun Things to Do, and Family Health & Wellness.
Listen to our conversation above and find the guide at upnorthfamilyguide.org.
