From Nature:

"Aisen foresees a future — maybe just a decade or so down the line — in which much of the burden of Alzheimer’s disease might actually be prevented. “We’re heading towards screening people from middle age on with blood tests, and treating those who show amyloid abnormalities with drugs that reduce the generation of amyloid plaques,” he says. “I am optimistic.”

A lot needs to go right for this hopeful view to become reality. Large clinical trials will have to show that these therapies work, and amyloid-clearing drugs will have to be proven to be safe and affordable. After decades of setbacks and failed clinical trials, some dementia researchers prefer to express caution. “The field is taking tremendous risks by engaging in studies that can cost billions of dollars,” says neurologist David Knopman at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

It will take a while for answers to emerge. Some trials of Alzheimer’s disease prevention are just getting started, and some ongoing ones could stretch into the next decade."

Read more. 

The Twin Cities Racial Equity (TCRE) initiative launched in 2020, with leadership and thought partners identifying the racial wealth and opportunity gaps as an entry point to begin exploring our role in advancing racial equity and justice in our hometown of Minneapolis, MN.

Our team (Cassie Bean, Kevin Bennett, Amelia Corl) is prioritizing bold and transformative opportunities that center voice, choice, and agency of those most marginalized in our community.
Senior Program officer and Twin Cities Racial Equity Lead Kevin Bennett shares, “GHR’s work is centering vibrant Black and Indigenous futures. We know that centuries of systemic racism have resulted in the disparities that characterize Minnesota today. We believe that new narratives are possible when we lead with love, partner boldly, and reimagine what is possible.”

The Foundation recently approved grants to the following organizations:
​
All Square: $1.05M over 2 years to provide operational support for the launch of The Legal Revolution, the first of its kind, Prison-to-Law pipeline, providing ABA accredited access to legal education and career opportunities for incarcerated individuals.

Center for Economic Inclusion: $1M over 2 years to strengthen operational capacity and deliver capital investments to Black and Indigenous businesses.

Northside Funders Group: $100k over 2 years to contribute to a collective pooled fund for grantmaking to BIPOC organizations in North Minneapolis.

Nuns and Nones: $300k over 2 years in support of the Nuns & Nones Land Justice Project – a new initiative that expands opportunities for Sisters to reimagine the future of land in their possession in a creative manner, in alignment with their charism and leadership in climate and racial justice.

Building on GHR’s rich tradition of innovation and deep relationships, we continue to examine, learn, and explore more ways to be of service to people and their limitless potential for good.

From The Star Tribune: 

"For 73 years, St. Pascal school has operated in St. Paul — now the last remaining Catholic grade school on the East Side, where many used to send their graduates off to high school in crowded yellow buses or in cars with tape decks blasting.

Still, its enrollment has fallen, and there have been worries about St. Pascal's future.

But as of this month, the school has new life — thanks to a consortium of schools tailored to urban families in need. St. Pascal is joining Ascension Catholic Academy, a Minneapolis-based group that has provided centralized leadership and other supports to three other Twin Cities Catholic schools since 2016."

Read more. 

From Pioneer Press: 

"Early in the morning in November 2019, Inna Collier Paske, principal of St. Pascal Regional School, had a vision. “God talked to me at that time. He asked me why I work at St. Pascal, and I said it’s because I want to share my faith,” she said.

Her school’s enrollment was dropping fast, and so was financial support from parishioners.

School officials came up with four pillars for the East Side school to live by: “Believe, Learn, Love and Connect.” Students posted strong test scores, even during the coronavirus pandemic.

And earlier this month, the school was welcomed into a consortium that should secure St. Pascal’s future at a time when many Catholic schools have been forced to close.

The consortium, Ascension Catholic Academy, was created in 2016 with major support from the GHR Foundation, founded by commercial real estate developer Gerald Rauenhorst and his wife, Henrietta. The pair, in life and in death, have applied much of their philanthropy to supporting Catholic education.

The foundation, now run by their daughter, Amy Goldman, sought in 2015 to establish a new model for funding Catholic schools."

Read more.