Sisters of St. Joseph Ministry Center

The Sisters of St. Joseph Ministry Center at 2200 Nicollet in Minneapolis allows the Sisters of St. Joseph to educate more than 400 adult immigrants. Research shows there is a gaping need for greater investment in programs that promote self-sufficiency among immigrants, particularly related to language struggles. The Sisters of St. Joseph have responded to this need by encouraging adult immigrants to have the opportunity to advocate for themselves, contribute to their communities, and access jobs with livable wages.

Prior to purchasing and renovating the new CSJ Ministry Center, the Sisters worked with MAP for Nonprofits, a leading organization helping nonprofits be effective and sustainable to achieve their mission-driven results, to assess the future need for a school for adult immigrants in that neighborhood. The Sisters asked three significant questions about their work to educate adult immigrants: Is there a future for our school? Are new Americans still going to need this kind of schooling years into the future? Is the Whittier neighborhood in Minneapolis the best location for the school? Is the approach our school takes unique or is another program doing the same thing just as well?

The findings amounted to a referendum on the validity of the Sisters of St. Joseph’s work to educate adult immigrants. “The demographics showed that immigrants would keep coming to Minneapolis, and the need for education was ongoing,” Sister Carolyn Puccio explains. “The location was absolutely the right location. And our approach – teaching in small groups, focusing on women, and working with people who may have zero English when they arrive – nobody else was meeting that need.”

With clarity of need and urgency, the Sisters of St. Joseph embarked on expanding their successful school for adult immigrants through their new Ministry Center in Minneapolis. With their powerful credentials and amazing track record as educators, the Sisters of St. Joseph are uniquely positioned to meet the current educational needs of adult immigrants in our community.

Join the Sisters of St. Joseph in investing in 160 years of success in education by making a gift to the Sisters of St. Joseph Ministry Center today.