KSTP Why We Give

KSTP is excited to present our annual #whywegive initiative. KSTP supports a variety of charities throughout the year by running Public Service Announcements and airing the amazing stories demonstrating the impact that these organizations have in our community.

Our anchors, Minnesota Live, and Twin Cities Live hosts participate in speaking engagements, acting as emcees and hosting fundraising events.

Throughout November, KSTP is highlighting a few of the many charities and organizations they work with throughout the year and are sharing their stories. The following is a list of the charities and organizations that we are recognizing in 2023. We encourage you to tune in to learn more about these organizations and how you can support their work and mission by giving your time, talents or dollars.

Please share this special initiative using the hashtag #whywegiveKSTP.

Are you looking for a charity to support? Click here.


Paul Folger
Paul Folger

Open Arms of Minnesota is a nonprofit organization that prepares and delivers nourishing meals free of charge to critically ill Minnesotans and their loved ones. Their registered dietitians and in-house chefs create delicious, medically tailored menus using fresh and organic ingredients whenever possible. Through the support of a loving community of donors and volunteers, they harvest, cook, and deliver nutritious, made-from-scratch meals directly to their clients.

At Open Arms, they believe that food is medicine, and there’s always room for one more at their table.

Why We Give: Open Arms

Why We Give: Open Arms

Brandi Powell

Brandi’s relationship with Urban Ventures goes beyond television as she and her husband have spent countless hours volunteering for the organization. Brandi truly believes in their mission of educating kids, strengthening their families, and building a healthy community.

Why We Give: Urban Ventures

Why We Give: Urban Ventures

Leah McLean

KSTP has participated in several projects and events to benefit the kids at Masonic. Leah recognizes the value of what Masonic Children’s Hospital brings to our community and has participated in many of their fundraising events including Goldy’s Run, held on the campus of the University of Minnesota each year. M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital provides a broad range of pediatric programs from surgery, imaging and neonatal and pediatric intensive care to cardiac and oncology (cancer care) services and blood and marrow and organ transplantation. Their clinical staff apply innovative approaches to creating medical breakthroughs based on their work with patients and on findings through research at the University of Minnesota.

Why We Give: Masonic Children’s Hospital

Why We Give: Masonic Children's Hospital

Kevin Doran

The Minnesota Military and Veterans Museum seeks to strengthen public understanding of how armed conflicts and military institutions have shaped our state and national experience. They do this by documenting, preserving, and explaining military history as it was lived by the people of Minnesota.  They also function as a major repository in Minnesota for historical artifacts and records of a military nature. 

Why We Give: Minnesota Military & Veterans Museum

Why We Give: Minnesota Military & Veterans Museum

Lindsey Brown

KSTP has been a proud partner with JDRF for years. Many of our on-air talent and staff have been affect by Type One Diabetes and this is a partnership that hits close to home for us. JDRF’s research has two core objectives: Cures by restoring the body’s ability to make insulin and stopping T1D before it occurs or providing insulin independence through replacement with insulin producing cells, and Improving Lives by keeping people with T1D as healthy as possible until cures are found by advancing new T1D resources, technologies, and therapies.

JDRF has a plan to achieve their mission and vision of a world without T1D. Guided by our two pillars, Cures and Improving Lives, JDRF has a 5-year plan to bring us closer to Cures for T1D. This plan, created by JDRF scientists and approved by our International Board of Directors, most of whom have a direct T1D connection, focuses JDRF’s resources on the key drivers that will have the biggest impact on achieving our goals.

Why We Give: JDRF

Why We Give: JDRF

Christ Egert KSTP
Chris Egert

KSTP has been a supporter of Como Park Zoo and Conservatory for over 50 years. One of the last free community zoos in the country, millions of people from around the country visit this amazing place right here in our community. Como Friends, the fundraising arm of the zoo, inspires community generosity in support of Como Park Zoo & Conservatory so it thrives for generations to come. The successful public/private partnership behind Como Friends has fueled more than 20 years of major improvements at Como Park Zoo & Conservatory with almost $50 million in improvements to ensure future generations will have the opportunity to experience the wonders of our natural world.

Why We Give: Como Friends

Why We Give: Como Zoo

Megan Newquist

The St. Paul Fire Foundation was established in 2010 to promote the health, wellness, safety, and education for the St. Paul Fire Department and the greater community. Their Mission is to provide support to St. Paul Firefighters through health, wellness, and safety initiatives. Through their focus on cardiac health, cancer prevention, emotional trauma, and community engagement, they help to meet the current needs of our St. Paul Firefighters. The Foundation exists to provide additional resources for our St. Paul Firefighters.

Why We Give: St. Paul Fire Foundation

Why We Give: St. Paul Fire Foundation

Matt Belanger

Matt’s relationship with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is a personal one. Matt’s partner lost his sister to Lymphoma this year. Dedicated to curing leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, and other blood cancers, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), the world’s largest voluntary (nonprofit) health organization is dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services.

Why We Give: Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

Why We Give: Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

Alex Jokich

The American Cancer Society and KSTP have partnered together for years to make a difference in our community. Alex has stepped up to the plate as a cancer survivor herself, to be a strong voice for this amazing organization that touches so many people. The American Cancer Society has programs and services to help you manage cancer treatment and recovery and find the emotional support you need. And best of all, their help is free. 

Why We Give: American Cancer Society

Why We Give: American Cancer Society

Brett Hoffland

The mission of Matter is simple. We help people launch projects that improve communities. As an organization, they focus on leveraging some of Minnesota’s biggest resources: healthcare, education, beneficial food, and agriculture. Since 2002, with the help of tens of thousands of donors, supporters, partners and volunteers, whom they affectionately refer to as MATTERnation, MATTER has distributed more than $772 million in restorative aid, impacting millions of lives around the world.

Why We Give: Matter

Why We Give: Matter

Elizabeth Ries

Elizabeth is passionate about healthy eating and living a healthy lifestyle. She has been working with Greener Pastures, which is a blog, community, and activism hub in the upper Midwest here to make everyday support of humane, sustainable agriculture easy and seamless with your lifestyle. Let’s face it- we want our food and farms to be healthy, humane, and sustainable for farm animals, communities, and our environment. But the way our food system is set up makes that way too hard. So hard that we wind up buying factory-farmed products- even though we don’t want to! 

Why We Give: Greener Pastures

Why We Give: Greener Pastures

Ben Leber

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital opened its doors on February 4, 1962, based on a dream that “no child should die in the dawn of life.” Since then, they have made incredible strides in childhood cancer research. They have helped improve the survival rate of childhood cancer from 20% to 80%. And ALL, the disease with a virtual death sentence in 1962, now has a survival rate of 94 percent.


Matt Serwe

Matt’s and his husband are just beginning their journey of adoption. Children’s Home Society of Minnesota (Children’s Home) is partnered with Lutheran Social Service (LSS) to provide foster care, adoption, education and support services throughout the state of Minnesota and beyond. There is a urgent need for foster parents, and many options to grow your family through adoption. Children’s Home recognizes that adoption is a lifelong journey and offers supports throughout that include kid’s support groups, family-friendly events, adult adoptee online community, Family Support Coach, as well as search and reunion services. Many of Children’s Home’s support services are open to folks in the adoption constellation, regardless of agency.

Both organizations have a long history that began with the mission of providing care for orphaned children in 1865 (LSS) and 1889 (Children’s Home). Their current adoption services include; Foster Care, Foster Care Adoption, Infant Adoption, International Adoption, Relative/Kinship Adoption and Post Adoption Services.

Why We Give: Children’s Home Society

Why We Give: Children's Home Society

Chris Reece

The mission of Sanneh is to Empower youth, Improve lives, and Unite communities. Sanneh empowers youth by supporting and promoting educational attainment through in-school and after-school support, improves lives by providing programs that strengthen physical health and social and emotional development, and unites communities by advancing diversity, equity, and community well-being. The vision of The Sanneh Foundation is to address the range of social determinants that empower youth and improve community well-being through culturally responsive and equitable access to programs, opportunities, and environments.

Why We Give: Sanneh Foundation

Why We Give: Sanneh Foundation

Jonathan Yuhas
Jonathan Yuhas

Before the American Heart Association existed, people with heart disease were thought to be doomed to complete bed rest — or destined to imminent death.Before the American Heart Association existed, people with heart disease were thought to be doomed to complete bed rest — or destined to imminent death. But a handful of pioneering physicians and social workers believed it didn’t have to be that way. They conducted studies to learn more about heart disease, America’s No. 1 killer. Then, on June 10, 1924, they met in Chicago to form the American Heart Association — believing that scientific research could lead the way to better treatment, prevention and ultimately a cure. The early American Heart Association enlisted help from hundreds, then thousands, of physicians and scientists. In 1948, the association reorganized, transforming from a professional scientific society to a nationwide voluntary health organization composed of science and lay volunteers and supported by professional staff.

Since then, the AHA has grown rapidly in size and influence — nationally and internationally — into an organization of more than 35 million volunteers and supporters dedicated to improving heart health and reducing deaths from cardiovascular diseases and stroke.

Why We Give: American Heart Association

Why We Give: American Heart Association

Wren Clair
Wren Clair

The Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF) is the largest independent organization devoted to melanoma. Committed to the support of medical research in finding effective treatments and eventually a cure for melanoma, the MRF also educates patients and physicians about prevention, diagnosis and the treatment of melanoma. The MRF is an active advocate for the melanoma community, helping to raise awareness of this disease and the need for a cure. The MRF’s website is the premier source for melanoma information seekers.

Why We Give: Melanoma Research Foundation

Why We Give: Melanoma Research Foundation

Ken Barlow
Ken Barlow

People Incorporated is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt status nonprofit organization that serves people with mental illness in Minnesota. We operate various programs, including crisis residences, outpatient clinics, outreach to people experiencing homelessness, Intensive Residential Treatment Services (IRTS), case management, and behavioral health services.  People Incorporated was founded in July 1969 on the belief that those living with mental illness must not be isolated, removed, or otherwise segregated from their communities but instead should be “incorporated” and supported within the communities in which they choose to live. People Incorporated is a nonprofit community-based mental health provider servicing more than 10,000 discrete clients through various programs, from children to adults and those experiencing homelessness. 

Why We Give: People Incorporated

Why We Give: People Incorporated