Central MN Shynes

• Art Auction: View in person at B-Side Cafe, 27 7th Avenue North, St. Cloud, MN from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Winning bidders will be contacted and must pick up their items later in the week. 

• Silent Auction: View in person upstairs at Pioneer Place, St. Cloud, MN from from 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Winning bidders will need to pick up their items. You do not need to attend the concert to participate in the silent auction. There will be music open to public in lounge at Pioneer place. 

• Beneficiaries: All funds will go to local organizations who are providing mutual aid funds to immigrant families for groceries or rent relief. Central Minnesota Community Foundation has partnered with us to be the fiscal host for the event.

Ma Elena Gutierrez is a fierce advocate for immigrant communities in Central Minnesota. She is the Executive Director of Fe y Justicia, a grassroots organization working to bring kindness, compassion and justice to immigrants across the region. Fe y Justicia develops leadership skills with community members so that they can advocate for themselves and others with dignity, in spaces where decisions are made. Everything she does is for, and grounded in community.

She has built a movement grounded in faith, solidarity and storytelling, transforming fear into action. She is recognized for her relationship-driven approach to organizing. Her impact is rooted in her ability to mobilize change at both local and state levels while centering on the voices of those most directly affected. Many of the constituents she organizes with are agricultural and meatpacking workers; facing intense working conditions, disproportionately high levels of exploitation, and very low wages.

While her leadership normally focuses on training and power building, the influx of immigration agents in Minnesota created an environment of terror in immigrant communities that demanded a different way of showing up. Fe y Justicia is on the frontlines, listening to needs in the community. The organization quickly pivoted; building off of over a year of proactive rapid response training, to meet this moment. The organization is currently running the most widespread mutual aid and rapid response work in the region.

At the office of Fe y Justicia, floors and tabletops are covered with boxes and bags of groceries, diapers, household cleaning supplies and other necessities. Volunteers come together; packing boxes, making phone calls, delivering food to families in need.

The spotlight has largely moved on from Minnesota. But, the impact is real, and the damage is done. ICE raids continue to happen as agents increasingly blend in. Families have been ripped apart. Community members have lost income and are on the brink of eviction. Emotional trauma will live on.

Making systemic change is complex. It takes organizing, relationships and persistence. Fe y Justicia will not stop investing in its community, and will walk the line of immediate emergency support and get back to its roots of training, education, and power building.

Ma Elena's bold leadership through this time of crisis can prompt a question: What side of history do we want to be on?

Support Ma Elena, Fe y Justicia, and immigrant communities across Central Minnesota by investing in grassroots organizing, mutual aid, and rapid response to create a better Minnesota for all.

Many immigrant families are struggling to pay rent and afford groceries due to losing jobs or not feeling safe to work during ICE's occupation of Minnesota. Local non-profits have been collecting food, but donations and supplies are dwindling.

All funds will go to local organizations who are providing mutual aid funds to immigrant families for groceries or rent relief. Central Minnesota Community Foundation has partnered with us to be the fiscal host for the event.

Central MN Shynes is made up of community members who saw a need for rent relief and mutual aid. Our planning committee includes Dawn Yilek, Aaron Decker, Sarah Decker, Aric Putnam, Anne Meyer, and Madie Hynes.

Contact: CentralMNShynes@gmail.com