Serving With Purpose: Data Maven Volunteers With Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota
- Date: December 17, 2024
The volunteer space was bustling with activity — and warmer than we expected! We quickly shed our winter layers as we worked up a sweat assembling food bags and bagging potatoes.
At Data Maven, we believe that data should inform and inspire change. As a women-owned public health consulting firm, our mission is to transform complex data into actionable insights that help shape better decisions and build healthier communities. But sometimes, the most powerful impact happens not in spreadsheets or reports, but through direct service — connecting with the very communities we aim to support.
Last December, seven members of our team of public health professionals spent an afternoon volunteering with Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (LSS) — the largest statewide nonprofit social service agency in Minnesota. During our time, we:
- Assembled 224 food bags
- Bagged over 1,040 pounds of potatoes
- Unloaded approximately 1,000 children’s books
- Contributed 21 collective hours of service
These bags, filled with nutritious staples, will help support families across the region.
LSS provides a broad range of services that support children, families, older adults, people with disabilities, and others in need. Operating in more than 300 communities across the state, LSS reaches thousands of Minnesotans each year, thanks to the help of over 10,000 volunteers. Their vision is rooted in service that inspires hope, changes lives, and builds stronger communities — and that mission resonates deeply with our team.
Everyone got into a rhythm as we weighed, tied, and stacked bags of potatoes — data people love a process!
A wholesome surprise in the middle of our workday—a reminder that joy shows up in unexpected places.
Each family receiving a food bag also gets to choose new books for their children — a thoughtful touch that promotes learning and literacy alongside nutrition.
At Data Maven, our work focuses on analyzing federal survey datasets, producing reports and guides, and creating data visualizations that inform decisions at state and national levels. Our team includes experienced epidemiologists and data analysts, emerging public health professionals, a project manager and an editor, all working together to make data accessible, actionable, and impactful.
Volunteering with LSS reminded us that public health is more than just metrics and models — it’s about people, relationships, and taking meaningful action. Whether we’re building a state scorecard, writing a report, or bagging potatoes, we’re contributing to a larger goal: improving lives and strengthening communities.
We’re grateful to Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota for welcoming us into their work, and we look forward to continuing to connect our data expertise with real-world impact.
