The Drawer

06/06/2026

Oh how busy we have been here at The Drawer!

Who has been behind our success and growth? Why it's our Executive Director, Gina Lindquist!! We proudly recognize and celebrate Gina as we celebrate her 5-year anniversary as Executive Director for The Drawer. Over the past five years, her leadership, vision, and unwavering commitment have strengthened our mission and expanded our impact in meaningful ways.

Thank you, Gina, for your passion, dedication, and the countless lives you’ve helped bring warmth and dignity to along the way. We are grateful for all you do and excited for what lies ahead!

Stew and Debby Shepard
Founders - The Drawer
http://www.thedrawer.org

06/04/2026

Thank you to 3M for having us over today for their department service project! We were able to purchase several thousand pairs of underwear with their donation and then have their team bundle them together with us!

05/28/2026

Donate $25, but give $50? Yes! You can double your donation today through June 5th! There are FREE State Fair tickets up for grabs too, so donate today! https://www.givemn.org/story/gmwp7f

Fill The Drawer is all about helping us prepare for our fall/winter season, where almost 50% of giving is done! Last year, we gave 96,000 pairs out in the last quarter alone of the 206,000 pairs donated in 2025, this year we estimate we will need to give out over 100K pairs in the fall/winter season.

Help us make sure we can by giving the gift of dignity today! https://www.givemn.org/story/gmwp7f

Thank you to the Eagan Lions Club for their recent donation and match!

05/26/2026

Please help us welcome our newest Board Members, Phillip Milton, Marie Manner and Kelly Shepard!

Phillip is an Engineering Supervisor at Xcel Energy, supervising Procurement Engineering at both Prairie Island and Monticello Nuclear Power Plants. He served the country for 28 years in the Naval Submarine Force and has a passion to continue serving the local community. In his free time he enjoys BSF, boating, hunting and fishing along with spending time with his wife, four grown children and four grandchildren.

Marie Manner, Ph.D. is a Data Science Specialist in 3M’s Personal Safety Division. Marie loves giving back to her community and has spent decades tutoring math and computer science for adults; her most recent volunteerism includes environmental cleanup and animal care at a local shelter. Marie mentors undergraduate STEM students at the University of Minnesota every year and has been an organizing committee member for 3M’s RISE symposium since its inception.

Kelly Shepard has been the Chief Financial Officer at Northwestern Mutual – Twin Cities since the beginning of 2025. Previous to that, she has 5 years of public accounting experience and 10 years of operational accounting experience primarily focused in centralized services. Kelly was born and raised in Rosemount, Minnesota. She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Welcome aboard, Phillip, Marie, and Kelly!

Give today to help them celebrate! https://www.givemn.org/story/gmwp7f

05/22/2026

A chance to win free state fair tickets AND give back to your community? Yes please!

First 100 donors to our Fill The Drawer fundraiser will get a chance to win two FREE STATE FAIR TICKETS! No minimum donation needed, just donate today for your chance to win!

Last year, we donated over 96,000 pairs of socks and underwear in our fall/winter season alone! This fundraiser will help us stock up before the need goes up, give today here:

The Fill The Drawer campaign is about raising the funds needed to "Fill The Drawer" for our busiest seasons of fall and winter, where the need is the highest and our distribution is at full capacity.Your gift now will allow us to purchase, sort, and inventory thousands of...

05/20/2026

Applications are now open for our Student Board Member role! This is a volunteer and unpaid position with our Board of Directors.

Applicants can be from any high school in Dakota County, must be a sophomore going into their junior year as this is a two year term. Position requires hours outside of school work for events and volunteering projects.

This is a great way to get more involved in your local community while making a difference and learning more about non profit governance!

Apply today!

05/14/2026

Check out this interview our ED (Gina Lindquist) did with Voyage Minnesota! Thankful for the opportunity to shine a light on The Drawer's work and spread awareness for our mission: https://voyageminnesota.com/interview/meet-gina-lindquist-of-minnesota

Can you find the mention of our Founders - Stew Shepard and Debby Shepard?

$20 will buy us over 100 pairs of underwear, and first 100 people to donate will get a chance to win FREE State Fair Tickets!

Consider a gift today: https://www.givemn.org/story/gmwp7f

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gina Lindquist. Hi Gina, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?I first started working for The Drawer as their first Executive ...

05/08/2026

It's time to help Fill The Drawer!

The Fill The Drawer campaign is about raising the funds needed to "Fill The Drawer" for our busiest seasons of fall and winter, where the need is the highest and our distribution is at full capacity.

Your gift now will allow us to purchase, sort, and inventory thousands of pairs. From now through June 26th, we will raise $25,000 to “Fill The Drawer"!

This spring campaign falls over both Mother’s and Father’s Day, reminding us that many mothers and fathers struggle to provide warmth and dignity for their children.

Your gift in honor or remembrance of your mother or father will help The Drawer provide for those that work every day to give their kids the best. Any amount/size gift helps!

First 100 people to donate will be put into a raffle for 2 FREE MN State Fair Tickets - sponsored by the MN State Fair!

Give today!:

The Fill The Drawer campaign is about raising the funds needed to "Fill The Drawer" for our busiest seasons of fall and winter, where the need is the highest and our distribution is at full capacity.Your gift now will allow us to purchase, sort, and inventory thousands of...

05/01/2026

Our Founder's, Stew and Debby Shepard, delivered several hundred pairs of new socks and underwear to the Pine River-Backus Family Center, today. So good for us to bring warmth and dignity to those in need in the Pine River and Backus, MN area!