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    THE DAN BAKER FOUNDATION

    Established in 2011

  • OUR MISSION

    To provide strength and support to persons, families, and organizations fighting addiction.

     

    In 2011, The Dan Baker Foundation was established in Dan's honor to spread awareness of addiction as a disease, and to provide support to those struggling and seeking treatment. Thanks to generous donations through the annual Dan Baker Memorial Golf Tournament, the foundation has donated to several sober homes, treatment centers and various county drug programs. Our work has only just begun.

     

    Join us in supporting those caught in the grip of addiction, and together we can work to bring solutions to this disease and shed light on healing programs in Minnesota.

     

  • THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AFTER TEN YEARS.

     

    An update:

     

    Dear friends & family,

     

    Sadly, this month marks the 10th anniversary of Dan’s passing. Our family has been honored to have had so much support in sharing Dan’s battle with addiction to opioids. One of the biggest lessons we learned throughout his battle is that addiction affects not just the person struggling, but the entire family and all who love that individual.

     

    God placed Dan in our hands 35 years ago and we are forever grateful. We did our best keeping up with him as he grew into the beautiful man we knew and loved dearly. Dan had a heart like no other and was nothing but tender and loving to everyone he knew. We knew Dan had little patience for those who were negative or judgmental which is why ten years ago we decided to honor his memory in an attempt to help anyone else who might find themselves in the same difficult situation.

     

    Our community of friends, family, coworkers, acquaintances, and even those we may have never met, stepped up and helped to carry forward with The Dan Baker Foundation. Through the annual golf tournament events, the countless donations, volunteerism and the actions of so many, we can say we have done something really truly great. We've seen that by simply acknowledging and recognizing the disease of addiction, we've been able to make a difference. We couldn't have done it without all of you.

     

    So, we are sunsetting The Dan Baker Foundation with a final gift of $10,000 that will help open a brand new Project Turnabout Women's residential treatment center in Willmar, located next to Sheri’s Place (Women’s recovery home).

     

    If you would like to donate for this critical need, the link is here and any donations would be greatly appreciated. https://www.projectturnabout.org/donate-willmar-campus

     

    We've worked hard to be honest and open in hopes of helping others. Through education, awareness, recovery programs and mostly prevention, there is hope. Dave has been and will remain a fierce advocate as a Minnesota State House Representative to do all he can to educate and prevent this from happening to other families. We promise to continue helping others, and most importantly, we'll continue to love and be there for those who have experienced the loss of a child, for any reason.

      

     

    Thank you all so much for the amazing support, generosity and love this past decade. We miss Dan so much, especially the little things like his attempt to make jokes which usually landed flat only to make us laugh even harder. We miss hearing his heavy footsteps lumbering up and down the steps. His voice, and his precious, sweet smile.

     

    As a family, we have one final ask: We ask that you continue to support others by giving what you can and educating yourselves on important issues like Mental Health and Addiction through pathways to recovery.

     

    And remember most of all, love well today and always try to find the good especially when it’s the hardest. Life has no guarantees.

     

    We pray God blesses you and your families as He has ours. Love always,

     

    Dave, Mary, Liv and Al

  • DONATE

    The Dan Baker Foundation partners with the Willmar Area Community Foundation and CommunityGiving to ensure your donations are kept safe and secure. To give online just click the button below, choose the Dan Baker Foundation Fund from the drop-down menu, and enter the contribution amount on their donor portal. Your tax receipt will be mailed to you from our partners.

    Thank you for supporting our mission.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • MEET THE TEAM

    Meet the team behind the Dan Baker Foundation

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    Al Baker

    Executive Director

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    Olivia Baker

    Director of Content

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    Craig Holmgren

    Financial Advisor

    Kurt's Dad.

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    Dave & Mary Baker

    Dan's Mom and Dad

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    Dan's Story

    It was well into his college career when Dan's addiction to prescription pain killers took a serious turn. At the age of 20, he was prescribed Vicodin to treat back pain stemming from a herniated disc; the abuse of the opiates grew over time.

    In 2010, Dan agreed to check into a rehab facility. After treatment, he lived in a halfway home and remained sober for a few months. After his relapse, he went back to treatment and remained there for a short time.

    Upon the night of his release, Dan and a fellow addict (whom he became friends with at the facility) went searching for pain killers. When they couldn't find any, they resorted to and located heroin. After taking the drugs, they went to sleep and planned to return home before Dan's parents arrived, hoping they wouldn't suspect anything.

     

    When his friend went to wake Dan that morning, he was unresponsive.

     

    Dan had just turned 25 years old. On March 9, 2011, the paramedics pronounced him dead.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • The DBF Blog

    All things related to foundation happenings, articles in the news related to addiction and the opiate epidemic, and more. 

  • Did You Know?

    Opioid Statistics in America

     

    · Nearly 1 in 3 Medicare beneficiaries received an Opioid prescription in 2015.

    · The U.S. has less than 5% of the world population but consumes over 80% of the world’s Opioid supply.

    · 1 in 4 patients given an Opioid prescription goes on to chronic abuse.

    · 44 Americans die from a prescription painkiller overdose every day in America.

    · Low back pain is the #1 reason for Opioid treatment in this country.

     

  • GOT QUESTIONS?

    Submit a question to Al Baker below for any and all inquiries. 

    (Don't be shy; he likes getting emails.)

  • Connect with us

    Follow our Dan Baker Foundation page on Facebook and LinkedIn for regular updates.

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    The Dan Baker Foundation on Facebook

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    The Dan Baker Foundation on LinkedIn

  • Treatment Resources

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    Project Turnabout

    Nestled amidst the natural beauty of prairie grasses and granite, Turnabout’s sprawling campus is the ideal setting for discovering the miracle of recovery.

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    Woodland Centers

    A non-profit organization, Woodland Centers focuses its efforts on providing comprehensive mental health services to meet varied community needs.