Summer 2013

“Our M ission: Responding to God’s love , WAFER p rovides food and wor ks to e limina te hunger ”
“....hunger for one is a problem for all.” Billy Tatum
“50 Million Americans—1 in 4
children—don’t know where their
next meal is coming from. A Place
at the Table, a movie released this
year, tells the powerful stories of
three Americans, who maintain
their dignity even as they struggle
just to eat. In a riveting journey
that will change forever how you
think about the hungry, A Place at
the Table shows how the issue
could be solved forever, once the
American public decides—as they
have in the past—that ending hunger is in the best interests of us
all.”
Board of Directors
Taylor Haley, President
Mike Voss, Vice-President
Lee Bluske, Treasurer
Don Smith, Secretary
Sally Friend
Nell Noack
Jerry Saterbak
Judy Siefert
Rev. Mark Solyst
Dorothy Stroschein
Though this video tells the story of
three everyday Americans from a
different city, these three stories
are the stories of all those dealing
with food insecurities. This story
could be your neighbor, the child
down the street, or the elderly man
out for a walk. This is everyday
life for many and yet we each have
the power to do something about it.
Administrative Staff
Erin Waldhart
Executive Director
Susan Clements
Operations Manager
For more information you can
visit: http://www.magpictures.com/
aplaceatthetable/
#sthash.5HeyM7XG.dpuf
In this Issue:
·
·
From the Director
WXOW Summer Ad
Campaign
2
·
·
·
·
·
Wish List
Gifts In Kind
Weekly Donors
3
·
·
Meet Angie
Food Collections
4
Volunteer Spotlight
Senior Share
5
Page 2
The first half of 2013 has been exciting at
WAFER! We have been very busy feeding
hungry families and yet we have made time to
explore some new ideas to do a better job. I
can’t wait to share all the details with you
once we have finalized the plans.
As I near my first year anniversary as Director
there are many things that I have reflected
upon. First, I am so grateful to have the opportunity to put my talents and passion to
good use, advocating for individuals and
families struggling with food insecurity. This
past year has provided growth for me personally, but also incredible growth for WAFER.
Secondly, watching and working alongside
staff and volunteers, who share the same passion as me, is such an unbelievable experience. Together, the volunteers, staff, and
board members work so incredibly hard making sure every need it met. Their hard work is
a testament to the commitment each one has
for our local communities and the people that
live in them.
Third, the saying, ‘It takes a village to raise a
child’ can be adapted to apply to this organization. ‘It takes a village to feed a family’,
but more like 1000’s of families in our case.
The “village” of generous donors, offereing
support financially or by giving food, make it
possible to provide ‘Food for those in need’.
One thing is abundantly clear; there are so
many people who care about what is happening to people in their own neighborhood. I am
so honored to be a part of the work we are all
doing.
Erin Waldhart, Executive Director
The busyness of summer, vacations, and long days spent
outdoors donations ten d to result in less donations coming
in to the food pantry. However, hunger knows no season, it
is present each day. In fact, families struggle just a bit more
during summer break since there are more mouths to feed
more often. Nearly 50% of local school children qualify
for free and reduced meals,
Awareness about hunger and WAFER’s needs are shared
through a commercial created by WXOW and supported by
these businesses:
Brown & Brown
Endodontic Specialties of La Crosse
Agri-Mark
Cass Street Pharmacy
Mayo Employees Credit Union
Marine Credit Union
Dairyland Power
Coulee Bank
Did You Know?
During the first half of 2013, WAFER…….
*
*
*
*
distributed 9196 food packages.
helped 386 new families.
gave out 666,600 pounds of food.
volunteers gave 4899 hours.
Page 3
Thank you
to our faithful
weekly donors!
Aldi
Kwik Trip
Linda’s Bakery
Panera
Sam’s Club
Starbuck’s
Target
Walmart
Thank you for your Gifts In Kind:
The Parenting Place
-for office dividers and a file cabinet
CBS Graphics
-for organizational business cards
Ann Brice
-for maintaining and updating our database
Kate Gerrard, Dan Schmitz, Channel One, and
Kwik Trip
-for providing freezer space
Kwik Trip, Viking Supply, Wisconsin Building Supply, and First Supply
-for providing a truck and a driver to collect and deliver
food collected at Rotary Lights.
Ryan Richardson, Copper Moon Marketing
-for donating City 10 discount cards
Wish List
In addition to food items, we could use:
· Can Openers
· Office Supplies (such as copy paper, tape, sheets to
print labels-Avery 8160, etc.
· Baby Formula, preferably GoodStart
To receive WAFER email updates simply contact us with your email address
or sign up electronically on our website: www.waferlacrosse.org/
newsandevents/newsletters
Z93 and ZCare Fundraiser
Thanks to Brittany Styles and Jen O’Brien who
organized and promoted the event!
You can make electronic donations on
our website or through these websites
(processing fees vary):
www1.networkforgood.org
www.justgive.org
Page 4
Thank you to the following organizations for
donating food from February through June.
Ace Hardware
Brice Cohey Consulting, Inc.
Channel One Food Bank
Chapter #23 Order of Eastern Star
Check into Cash
Christ Episcopal Church
Congregation Sons of Abraham
Coulee Region Kiwanis Club
DuraTech Industries
Ecopark Earth Fair
English Lutheran Church
First Baptist Church
First Congregational Church
First Congregational Church
First Presbyterian Church
First Presbyterian Church
Fishes & Loaves
Fowler & Hammer, Inc.
Gateway Area Boy Scouts
Good Shepherd Lutheran
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Goodwill Industries
Grandmas Gone Wild
Great Lakes Cheese
Gundersen Health System
Hedge Hog ATV
Holiday Express
t
e
e
M
Holmen Park & Recreation
Holy Trinity Catholic Church
JC Penny
La Crosse Concert Band
La Crosse Public Library
Lax Ch. Of Ashrae
Macy's
Marine Credit Union
Melrose Garden
National Association of Letter Carriers
Neighbor for Neighbor Food Pantry
North American Squirrel Assoc.
North Presbyterian Church
North Presbyterian Church
Olivet Lutheran Church
Onalaska Church of Christ
Onalaska Emergency Food Basket
Our Redeemer Lutheran Church
Our Savior's Lutheran Church
Our Saviors WELCA
Parenting Place
PEO Sisterhood Chapter CR
People's Food Cooperative, Inc.
Potato King
Quillin's IGA Island
English Lutheran Church
Red Balloon
e
i
g
An
Roncalli Newman Parish
Sara Lee Bakery
Southern Bluffs Elementary School
Sprint
St. James Catholic Church
St. John's United Church of Christ
St. Joseph Cathedral
St. Luke's United Methodist Church
St. Paul's Lutheran Church
Sunray Farm
The Company Store
The Cvikota Co.
Three River Waldorf School
Trinity Lutheran Church
Trinity United Church of Christ
Troop 414 - A
UWL
Villa St. Joseph
Walgreens
Warehouse Night Club
Wesley United Methodist Church
West Salem Middle School
Wettstein's
Willow Creek Ranch
Women of the Moose
WTC SHRM
Angela Garavalia, born with Spina Bifida, hasn’t let her disability affect the amount of involvement or positive impact
she can have within her community. Though she has struggled with many health challenges over the years, she never
struggles to bring her positive and caring attitude with her
when she volunteers. A volunteer-aholic, Angie “works”
three days a week for WAFER and two days a week for another non-profit in town. She is quick to tell others about
the positive experiences she has at WAFER. Angie “loves”
WAFER, the employees, the regular volunteers, and the
feeling of joy she receives by helping to make a difference
for others.
Angie is just one of the tremendous volunteers who give so
generously of their time day in and day out. Together, with
the board of directors and staff, we are making a difference
for 1000’s of families each month.
Page 5
Spotlight on VOLUNTEERS
Every month volunteers give more than 1000 hours to WAFER, valued at nearly $20,000. The day-to-day labor they provide gives client families a much more enjoyable visit. There are many things that need to be
done on a daily basis such as stocking shelves, repackaging food, unloading trucks, cleaning, filing, sorting,
labeling, picking up donations, working special events, and working directly with the clients. The regular volunteers are here because they want to be, enjoy their time here, and are a joy to be around. It would be wonderful to honor each and every volunteer we have, but the following were chosen as the top hour donors from
February through June.
Lo-Ken Chang (166 hours)
Tomee Genz (145 hours)
Sam Hill (127 hours)
Tiffany Buckner (93 hours)
Lou Wuensch (78 hours)
Thank you!
Behind the Scene; Senior Share
At the beginning of each month, volunteer Jim Baus is
very busy. Jim packs food boxes for each of the seniors
who participate in the Senior Share program. Participants
receive a box of canned goods, bread, eggs, a milk coupon, and frozen meat. Preferences and dietary restrictions
are taken into account when packing the food package.
Volunteers from WAFER and RSVP along with WAFER
staff deliver these food packages to a number of senior
housing units, meal sites, community halls, and individual
residences for the ~200 seniors who utilize this service.
How important is the Senior Share program? Extremely!
One morning in May, Operations Manager Susan
Clements, received a phone call from a 93 year-old man
still living in his own home. He called inquiring about the
program stating he hadn’t eaten in days and the cupboards
were empty. Susan packed him a box of food, including
the Senior Share application, and dropped it off at his
house on her way home from work. This story isn’t uncommon and yet it is the very reason that WAFER offers
a variety of programs in addition to food pantry services.
NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATION
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
LA CROSSE, WI
PERMIT NO. 103
WAFER
403 Causeway Blvd
La Crosse, WI 54603
608-782-6003
waferlacrosse.org
WAFER is a United Way agency