Alumna Tara Carlson featured in United Way video
United Way of Cass-Clay is a participating Combined Charities federation
Tara Carlson, a 2023 social work and sociology graduate, is featured in a United Way of Cass-Clay 2025 Video. She was also featured on our story site, in “Juggling single parenthood, college with a village’s support.” Tara is a foster care case manager in the Family Services Division at Cass Human Service Zone, and she is is also in the process of launching a nonprofit called EmpowerHer with her co-founder, Tory Queensley. Their mission is to support parenting mothers who are struggling with addiction by offering a holistic, compassionate approach to recovery that emphasizes long-term healing and stability.
United Way of Cass-Clay is one of the participating federations in the Minnesota Combined Charities campaign. Nonprofits supported through Combined Charities work every day to provide food, shelter, clothing and other critical resources for individuals and families in crisis. Your donation helps bring stability and dignity to people facing tough challenges.
Here’s what payroll deductions can help fund:
- $1 per week provides milk for one week at a homeless shelter for women and children.
- $6 per pay period provides nutritious and easy to prepare meals for a hungry child for an entire school year.
- $10 per pay period provides 650 free meals to families and 26 hygiene bags for homeless youth.
- $20 per pay period provides two uninsured families with children with complete dental care for the entire year.
How to Donate
Visit the Participating Federations webpage to learn more about the federations and charities you can donate to.
- Visit Self-Service Website, https://mn.gov/admin/employees/hr/new-employees/employee-ss/ and log in.
- Select the Self Service tile.
- Select the My Pay tile, then the Charitable Contributions tile.
- Select the Add Deduction button.
- Choose your charity or federation, enter your donation amount, enter the start and stop dates, and select Save.
Note: Payroll deductions are valid for one calendar year. If you donated last year, you’ll need to renew your deduction for 2026. For more information, visit How to Make a Donation.