“In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!'”
Luke 24:5-6
As we conclude our Easter celebration, let us remember that Christ has died, Christ has risen, and Christ will come again. Hallelujah!
2025 SPRING BREAKFAST EVENT – CELEBRATING OUR 65TH ANNIVERSARY!
Over 200 guests gathered to celebrate our youth and to hear an inspiring message from Pastor Socheat Chum, Chaplain for the Minnesota Vikings who shared a message about finding our identity that is so important to all of us, but particularly to our young people. Also included in this year’s program was a historical perspective on how the organization has evolved since its founding by Elwood “Woody” Larson in 1960 to where it is today, led by Greg Serviss (Board Chair) and Jim Larson (Board Member and Woody’s son). We honored our youth who will be graduating from high school this year, many of whom have spent several years participating in HHYD programs. We also recognized our Young Woman of the Year, Labria Atkins and Young Man of the Year, Zavier Alexander. All of these young people are getting ready to go out into the world – and to know that HHYD played a small role (or more) in their life is very rewarding.
We are grateful to all who attended the event to learn more about our programs, to meet our staff, and meet some of the youth involved in our programs. To-date we have raised $115K towards our $200K, but there is still time to donate. Double the impact of your gift – new gifts or gifts of $600 or more from a current donor will be matched up to an additional $25K.
And finally, thanks to co-emcees Collin Barr (Ryan Companies – retired) and Sharell Letam (2023 Young Man of the Year), and to the staff of the Edina Country Club who helped make it such an enjoyable event. Most of all, we thank you Lord!!
WINTER SPORTS BANQUET
On April 12th we held our annual winter sports banquet. Our 5 basketball teams (5u, 6u, 11u, 12u and girls 13u) had a great season and we celebrated their success with a family event that featured a basketball showcase and a meal. Our 11u team even won the city championship! See event photos below!
TEENS HBCU TRIP TO THE EAST COAST
Helping to prepare our students for post-secondary education and/or careers are very important aspects of both our academic and teen programs. This includes visits to local college and universities, however this year we began something new and special. During Spring Break this year, we invited 12 of our students (10 girls and 2 boys) and a few chaperones, on a trip to the East Coast to visit several Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s). These included Virginia State University, Hampton University (also in Virginia), and Howard University in Washington D.C., in addition to some sightseeing in the Nation’s Capital. There are no HBCU’s in Minnesota, so it was particularly important to travel and expose our students to additional options as they plan for their futures. It was a wonderful experience for all involved. Check out some of the pics!
CHURCH SPOTLIGHT
We appreciate and thank our friends from River Valley Church who showed up on Saturday, May 9th to help us clean up our property and replace the wood chips around our playground. The playground is an important area at HHYD that gets a lot of use during the summer. The weather was great so everyone enjoyed working outdoors and making this a beautiful area for our youth to enjoy.
2024 ANNUAL REPORT RELEASED
WOMEN’S LUNCHEON SAVE THE DATE
CALLING ALL ALUMNI!
If you spent ANY amount of time involved with Hospitality House Youth Development as a student/member, athlete, staff/teacher, board member or volunteer over the last 65 years, we are proud to call you an alumni! We want to keep you in the loop on various upcoming alumni events celebrating our 65th anniversary in 2025 and filling out this contact form allows us to do that.
Please fill out this short contact form and pass it on to other alumni!
Would you or someone you know like to work at HHYD?
Did you know Hospitality House Youth Development is hiring? HHYD is always looking for high-quality candidates to join our team:
- Development Director
- Receptionist
- Elementary Teacher
- Teen Lead
- Part-time Floating Teacher
- Seasonal Summer Teaching Assistant
If you or anyone you know might be interested, please share this link to the job descriptions: https://hhyd.org/jobs
Site Visits
Interested in a Site Visit? Contact Walter Cox, Development Officer wcox@hhyd.org or 612.522.4485
Upcoming Events
July 29, 2025 – Women’s Luncheon
2025 Spring Breakfast Sponsors: Impact, Green Wealth Management Group, Cornwell Companies LLC, Lotus Restaurant Minneapolis, Traditional Capital Bank, Northside Economic Opportunity Network (NEON), Parallel Retail Group
