Central Minnesota Women Shine

CMWS invites you to lean in with women from all backgrounds, fields and belief systems to develop it's first whole wealth and wellness center in downtown St. Cloud: an access point to connect locally, regionally and globally with women, families and organizations developing products and services for living well, learning and doing buisness in the 21st Century. It's a place to gather for learning circles and trainings; a place to create multi-media/multi-lingual productions and provide resources for women to develop and market products and services that are needed for sustainablility in a diverse community and technology driven world. A spcecial space is being designed for youth groups and events.

In 2011 area women of all colors, fields, walks of life and belief systems gathered with CMWS and agreed something new was needed to empower women. The next year, stories, ideas and goals were gathered and a for-purpose 501c3 was formed to guide its vision. Netweavings-- which is simply networking the women's way-- clarified the hopes and challenges and informed us what was needed. In 2013 the board expanded and began to  Build the Dream" and in 2014 the organization started negotiating for a site. That site did not materialize but offered us a base from which to write a detailed business plan and 2 year strategic plan to to actualize the dream.

The women's room will provide a safe and welcoming space that is trauma informed. It is a safe harbor for women to access and provide needed services and learn new skills in the language that each best understands. The commercial, community kitchen provides a space for developing cottage industries and preparing muticultural foods for visitors, meeting groups and community events. A multicultural welcome center is the community access point to CMWS as well as a marketplace to showcase products and services of CMWS clients and vendors.

And, you don't need to be a woman to help build and sustain this community gem. Neither do you need to be a woman to benefit from CMWS products, services and events. As Ken Ferber says, "we all have a feminine side". Yes, there is a powerful mother inside each and every one of us that can be in on the birthing and benefit from leaning in with this group.