We have a Gen Z kid in the house at Inspire(d) HQ, and she consulted on this maybe dorky, maybe cool Mother’s Day project! Either way, chocolate is definitely a Mother’s Day favorite around here. Download these printable Gen Z Chocolate Bar Wrappers and let your mom know she slays!
Gen Z Chocolate Bar Wrappers Supplies:
– Chocolate Bars (I ((Aryn)) love these Chocolove bars we can get from the Oneota Food Co-op in Decorah – my MOST favorite is Salted Almond Butter) – Glue stick – Scissors – Pen (to use if you write a note to your mom in the blank space on the wrapper) – templates (we’ve got five options!):
How to make your Gen Z Mother’s Day Chocolate Bar Wrappers
Print the template (or templates) you want to gift to your mom for Mother’s Day, and cut along the dotted lines around the design.
Once it’s cut out, you can write a nice, heartfelt message to your mom! This is optional, but as a mom, I can tell you it would be greatly appreciated!
Flip the design over, and get ready to wrap your chocolate bar. You’ll need the glue stick handy, and since you’ll be gluing along the edges, putting a scrap of paper under the template can help keep your table free from glue goo.
Glue along three edges. You’ll want your note to be on the outside of the wrapper, so glue along the left side, right side, and the side where you wrote your note. (FYI, I added “Happy Mother’s Day from Inspire(d)” to the templates after I took these photos, but you will see it on the template print outs.)
Fold the unglued edge of the wrapper up over the chocolate bar. I imagine you wrote your note on the blank side opposite the “Happy Mother’s Day from Inspire(d)” note, but either way, make sure you fold the side in that DOESN’T have your note on it (if you chose to write a note).
Carefully fold the glued side over top the chocolate bar and press down along the edge to stick the glue.
Then, as neatly as you can, press the edges together so they don’t look too crinkled (but it’s okay if they do, because your mom loves you no matter what).
Once both edges are sealed, it should look like this (see, I’ve got crinkles on the left but I don’t care)!
Now, to make it even cuter, carefully trim the edges in a design. You could do little triangle cut-outs like I did, or make it sort of wavy…it’s up to you (or you can just leave it as is)!
Ta da! Cuter, right? You can see the wavy one I did in the background.
Finally, you’re ready to give your mom her Gen Z Chocolate Bar Wrapper gift! Huzzah! I know I would love this gift, and I hope your mom will too! (Maybe she’ll even share her chocolate with you?!?)
For author and activist Bobbi Rathert, adventure is always on the brain. She’s been a self-proclaimed “wonderer and wanderer” her whole life, traveling all over the world and exploring wherever she landed.
Bobbi Rathert / Courtesy photo
One thing about wandering is that it makes you appreciate the feeling of home even more.
Twenty years ago, after many years of living in Chicago, and before that, her hometown of Cresco, Iowa, Bobbi wandered to a ridgetop farm near La Crosse, Wisconsin. It was just the home she was looking for.
Bobbi has loved living in La Crosse for many reasons – its big city services with smaller-city access; its abundant and beautiful wildlife; the willingness and friendliness of its residents; its rich arts community; its biking and paddling options; and its college-town energy.
“I also love the geography here, the rivers that run through it, the barges and other river traffic, city bus system, mobility features, maintained parks and recreation areas, and easy access to travel whether air, rail, or interstate,” explains Bobbi. “It is a city that is easy to navigate by car, bus, bike, or on foot. Some say it is because La Crosse is boxed in by ridges and the river, making it a long and narrow geography easy to decipher. I agree totally. I love to navigate through the neighborhoods and ridges alike. La Crosse has made the riverfront accessible to everyone, too, which many waterfront cities do not always accomplish.”
Paddling for Hope raised funds and awareness for Hope Restores, a La Crosse-based community organization that “supports, advocates, listens, and bridges the gap between the African American community and local services.” / Photo courtesy Bobbi Rathert
But Bobbi saw that La Crosse was not always accessible and welcoming in other ways, especially for members of its Black community and folks experiencing homelessness. As she neared retirement, she began to wonder how she could give back to her community.
In 2020, Bobbi watched a local film called Amplifying Black Voices. It featured Black youth and their parents in La Crosse, telling their stories of discrimination in the community. Bobbi was heartbroken and wanted to do something.
She watched the film again, wrote down the participants’ names, and proceeded to build meaningful relationships with them. “I witnessed the strength of the people in the Black community who frequently felt demoralized and discouraged when just getting groceries, going to school, applying for jobs, or accessing local services,” Bobbi says.
By then, she had started volunteering at Hope Restores, a La Crosse-based community organization that “supports, advocates, listens, and bridges the gap between the African American community and local services.” As she planned her next adventure, a solo kayaking trip the length of the Mississippi River, Bobbi couldn’t help but think of the folks served by Hope Restores. She wondered if she could use this trip as a tool to raise awareness and money for the organization. “One thing led to another when eventually a committee was formed and a name for the initiative was given: Paddling for Hope. In the end, there were so many pledges and much support that we raised $30,000,” Bobbi says.
In May 2022, Bobbi set out from the headwaters of the Mississippi in northern Minnesota. She paddled a total of 650 miles before succumbing to heat exhaustion and ending her journey. “I did not die on the river. I lived,” she writes in “The Truth on Water,” the book she authored, chronicling her experiences.
Writing a book and kayaking the Mississippi, both solitary and deeply personal, proved to have many similarities that one finds in uncharted territory. “Both required awareness of precise details and rapid learning and presented very steep learning curves with no one watching out but me,” says Bobbi. “Someone on my river trip said that a kayaker did not need to train to paddle the Mississippi because the trip itself was the training. The paddle, as well as the writing, proved this to be true. I was left with a deep sense of fulfillment from both even though I am not an expert in either.”
“It’s Time. After loading my kayak on the car and a loving send-off early today, I traveled with family and friends the nearly 400-miles to our lodging in northern Minnesota. Along the way, I watched the Mississippi River move. Swift and bulging each time we crossed over it, the river was rushing south as I was racing north just to get on it and ride downward. Of course I thought, WHAT am I doing!? Still, launch time creeps closer every second. I myself have set this time, early tomorrow morning, but I want to cancel it as if someone else has forced this. It is natural to resist what we love, to want to give into fear and discomfort by staying home. But I keep going toward it as it pushes me against gravity. That is what I’ll do before dawn. Pray, eat a meal with friends, go,” Bobbi writes on her Paddle for Hope Facebook page
After being on this kayak trip where she slept in a different place every night, Bobbi was relieved to return to La Crosse. “I felt the peaceful experience of being back home, belonging,” she explains. “Then I noticed the difference between me and those living unhomed.”
On a walk along the river park in downtown La Crosse, Bobbi passed a large, active tent encampment, full of unhoused people going about on foot, riding bicycles, and carrying provisions from one tent to another. The contrast between her rooted experience and that of the people there was profound.
The idea to interview these unhomed community members was born. She wanted to learn their stories, hear their disappointments and dreams, and understand where they came from before they began living outside. Bobbi had a hope that sharing their stories may aid in the effort to find solutions for chronic homelessness.
Once she went out to actually talk to people, her resolve faltered.
“When I started to hear stories, I felt clumsy,” she writes in the introduction to her book, “Where’s Home,” the culmination of these interviews. “A voice in my mind kept asking me, ‘What are you doing!?’ I was so embarrassed of myself that I was even out there and obviously over my head. I didn’t understand any part of it and felt awkward and ill-prepared.”
“Where’s Home: People Experiencing Homelessness In La Crosse County Share Their Stories On a Quest for Understanding, Belonging, and Stability” by Bobbi Rathert
Bobbi thought frequently about ending the project but reminded herself that she needed to finish what she started. For five months, she listened to people’s stories, feelings, and dreams and goals.
“The people started expanding, no longer in my periphery like paper dolls,” she writes. “They began to take shape and dimension. I began to remember names and their deepening stories…I was receiving phone calls asking if I was coming out, or informing me that their friends wanted to speak with me….stories poured out…sorrows and strengths, memories of moms, brothers, and school, obvious faith and ideas, jobs, hopes, and memories of grandparents, their children, and desires for home.”
In 2024, “Where’s Home: People Experiencing Homelessness In La Crosse County Share Their Stories On a Quest for Understanding, Belonging, and Stability” hit the shelves. The first four pages that encompass the introduction are the only part of the book that includes Bobbi. The rest features powerful stories of these local people living unhoused and tells of agencies and services that are working to help those experiencing homelessness.
Bobbi’s engagement in social justice efforts is a heartfelt one. “I run on a belief that, if humans, particularly those privileged, are shown or can gain a better understanding, they will want to do good and contribute more toward the wellbeing of others – to be part of making that difference,” she says. “While my belief is not necessarily true in reality, it is in me to always hope for it.”
Bobbi’s love of the Driftless helps keep her hopeful as well.
“The Driftless Region is a wonderfully spiritual place to live. I feel blessed to know it has been my home since birth in Northeast Iowa and now in Southwest Wisconsin,” she says. “Of all places on earth, this has always been the most satisfying and enriching place for me to return. It is a deep joy to live here.”
As for her next adventure, for Bobbi, it’s just one of self-reflection. “I am on an adventure right now, one of finding my own self and what I need from my world. I have had an external outlook much of my life, regarding others and what I can do to be most helpful. So, nurturing a self-focus is a real adventure and time of discovery.” She adds, “I long for more kayaking and sleeping outdoors, so we’ll see!”
Ryan and Allie Palmer have been “building” things together for 30 years. They met as teenagers, helping to build an orphanage on a mission trip to Africa. Ryan, originally from Missouri, and Allie, who grew up in Maple Grove, Minnesota, got married in 1998 and started building their life together. They called Washington state home during Ryan’s service in the Navy as a nuclear electrician, then later returned to Allie’s home state of Minnesota to raise their two children – Elliot, now 21, and Nadia, now 18 – and build successful careers: Allie as a “Jill of many trades” with a background as an interior finisher and handy(wo)man; Ryan as a real estate agent and commercial appraiser.
Ryan and Allie Palmer at Paddle On Coffee & Maker Emporium. / Photo by Renee Bergstrom
A decade ago, they discovered Minnesota’s bluff country as biking and kayaking tourists. “There’s so much to do and enjoy here beyond the trail and river,” says Allie. “Fun outdoor activities, the arts and theater, the restaurants. Ryan is a talented musician and stone sculptor, too, so the area’s art and music opportunities fit him like a glove. We decided to buy something where we wanted to be.”
After relocating to Lanesboro three years ago, they took community building to new heights.
“First we bought the former Red Hotel and renovated it into the Root River Inn & Suites,” says Ryan. “In 2023, we opened Paddle On Coffee & Maker Emporium, a combined coffee shop and handcrafted marketplace that gives local artists a platform to showcase and share their creativity.”
Spend some time in Paddle On and you quickly learn the Palmers care about much more than commerce – for them it’s all about community. On Sunday mornings, there’s a brunch and Bible Study. Mondays offer special discounts for medical and military personnel. Their website promotes a fun mix of monthly small-group gatherings like Fiber Fun, Puzzling Fridays, Crafters Workspace, Fillmore County Entrepreneurs Peer Group, Talking Philosophy, and more.
A variety of community groups gather in the back room at Paddle On Coffee. / Photo by Renee Bergstrom
Group size doesn’t matter. Some may have as few as two or three attendees, others comfortably fill the big back room. “We’re willing to try things to see what sticks,” says Allie. “Not everything does, but we always welcome ideas for new groups.” Just as special are countless spontaneous connections that happen as people drop in for coffee and end up chatting with friends old and new.
Ryan and Allie aren’t eager to call themselves community builders, though. “We’re more like community ‘instigators,’” says Allie. “We see ourselves empowering others to build the communities they want in our space. Our role is to listen, ask questions, discover needs, and encourage ideas. The slogan for our coffeehouse is “at the confluence of conversation & connection.” That describes what we want to happen here – providing a place for deeper connections.”
Paddle On is located in downtown Lanesboro, MN. / Photo by Steve Harris
They do this because they enjoy people, but also because they know what it’s like to sometimes struggle to find your place in a community. “We’ve traveled and moved a lot; we know what it feels like to be people ‘on the outside,’ to not fit in or have a ‘place,’” Allie says. “That can even happen for people in small towns who have lived there for years but still feel alone. We want to create places where people feel welcome and comfortable.”
A perfect example of these efforts was on display at Paddle On last New Year’s Eve. “We invited people to an ‘early’ celebration instead of ‘let’s make it to midnight,’” Allie says. “We called it ‘I Like My Sleep New Years Eve Party.’ We figured it would be easier for families and people of all ages to join in. But we weren’t sure if people would come.”
Allie Palmer (right) recently joined the board of the Lanesboro Area Chamber of Commerce led by Executive Director Joe Goetzke (left). / Photo by Steve Harris
Show up they did. From late morning on, the coffee shop was filled with dozens of people playing Bingo, Scrabble, Pictionary, crafting, listening to music, hanging with old friends and making new ones. People just being together. A disco ball fell at noon, with help from a fishing pole and celebratory countdown. “It was a fun mix of people,” said Allie, “all connecting, laughing and playing together, a nice way to start the new year.”
Instigating new projects takes commitment and creativity. Hard work, too. Running multiple hospitality businesses – the Palmers recently assumed management and did a design refresh of the rooms at the former Iron Horse Inn – can be a lot of pressure. Allie and Ryan have implemented some personal strategies to handle it all.
“We’re intentional about taking one day off every week,” says Ryan. “We schedule longer times away when possible but also find that taking a break for a few hours for a walk or bike ride can be just as refreshing.”
Allie agrees. “We’ve learned what recharges us. For me it’s putting my feet up to watch a sunset. When we get tired, we also do the parts of our jobs we really enjoy, like spending extra time visiting with guests or working the Paddle On counter.” Ryan, still a realtor, gets jazzed working with clients. “I love talking with people contemplating a move to Lanesboro or starting a new business here. That’s fun for me.”
“We don’t look at what we do as ‘jobs,’” Allie continues. “It’s all about relationships; that’s where we find our energy.”
Steve Harris (www.steveharrisauthor.com), a freelance writer and author of two books (“Lanesboro, Minnesota” and “Dads Like Us”), thinks few places in Lanesboro (on earth?) are more comfortable than sitting in front of Paddle On’s fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate.
