Sustainability is our future. Together we prosper.
Lions Club Medical Loan Closet
The local Lions Club has worked hard to collect used medical equipment for our community to use free of charge. The Medical Loan closet offers medical beds, crutches, wheel chairs, shower seats, canes and anything else you can think of. These items can cost a lot when you are already paying for a medical emergency, or they can be applied to high deductibles. The loan closet works just like a library. You borrow what you need and return it when you are finished. What an awesome service offered to our community!
Thrift Store
Our thrift store is completely self sustainable and one of the biggest funders of The Orr Center. It opened in January of 2018. Thanks to generous donations from our community and greater Minnesota, the thrift store pays most of the operating costs of the center including electric, propane/wood heat, repairs, advertising, internet, legal, and accounting costs.
Art Gallery
The art gallery opened in June of 2019. The purpose of the ORRiginality project is to CREATE an esthetically pleasing environment for community, learning and creativity. PROMOTE all art as a form of self-expression, mental/emotional health, and discovery. SUPPORT local artists from the youngest to the oldest who enhance our community with their work. ENCOURAGE positive, healthy, sustainable: living, creating and art. TEACH the arts to improve the lives of youth and others, particularly those in crisis or at risk. This will be an ongoing project but eventually will be a place for locals and tourists to visit, read, play chess or checkers, work on puzzles, and just relax on a rainy day.
Community Library
Our community library was one of the Center's first projects. Opened in May 2018, we offer books, magazines, DVDs and VHS to check out. If you borrow an item from our library, please make sure to sign it out in the thrift store. When you are ready to return it, simply sign it back in in the thrift store. We are looking for a donor to sponsor a library check out system, if you are interested please contact Wendy at The Center! We now have internet and WiFi available in the building. Our next library project is to add two computers with a printer for the community to use. Another project in the works is a Little Free Library at the center. We need creative volunteers to weatherproof and paint a cabinet. We have the books, this project could be completed in as little as a week!
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Orr Heritage Museum Project
One of our visions of the future involves our community's history. The Mankus family, Syvilla Shermer, and others donated extensive amounts of Orr memorabilia. Our plan is to convert the cafeteria hallway on the main floor of the old school into an Orr Heritage Museum. The plan is to replace all lockers with built in glass cases to display and protect historical items. We hope that other community members are willing to share their family artifacts so we can tell the complete story of Orr. To begin this important project we need volunteers with skills to create the wood and glass cases and we need donors to fund the project. If you are interested in participating in the museum project, please contact us!
Food Pantry Project
The Orr Center has formed, in partnership with the Orr Lion's Community Foundation, a community assistance food program. The goal is to not only provide tangible products, but to educate and assist families with resources to improve their situations. We accept and encourage contributions to the Pantry in both monetary and food donations.
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