Meet Bethany and Brian

Big Lake, Minnesota

Adopt-A-Family for the Holidays MN is publicly tied to Bethany Nelson-Lieser and Brian Lieser.

What began as a class project at Minneapolis Community & Technical College, now Minneapolis College, has grown into a statewide movement of compassion. In the first season, fewer than a dozen families were helped. Fourteen years later, the program has reached more than 10,000 Minnesota families with hope, dignity, and holiday joy.

Bethany describes the heart of the program as having "Paul Wellstone beginnings," carrying forward the spirit that "we all do better when we all do better." Bethany and Brian have built pathways into recovery, homeless, veteran, shelter, food shelf, and transitional housing communities through their network, 2nd Chance Recovery Resources, and word of mouth.

Some public listings describe the effort as a nonprofit, while other public posts describe it as neighbors helping neighbors rather than a formal nonprofit. This website should therefore present the initiative transparently as a community support effort unless Bethany and Brian provide verified nonprofit, fiscal-sponsor, or charitable-registration documentation.