Celebrate Our Volunteers!

by Kasia Drake Hames

On the evening of May 3, 2013, nearly 150 members of the Gathering community came together to celebrate the work of our loyal and dedicated volunteers. This year’s volunteer recognition event took place at the Mercy Hill Gallery inside the Hide House, an old warehouse in Bay View which has been renovated into gallery and artist spaces. A diverse group of volunteers, staff and Board members enjoyed socializing over a taco bar and fresh fruit kabobs. Everyone also had the opportunity to get silly in the photo booth (complete with props) offered by Single Frame Photo Productions. There were some great pictures taken that evening!

The event culminated in the Awards Ceremony, where we honored our dedicated volunteers who celebrated service milestones and those who provided exceptional service in 2012. This was also the first year in the Gathering’s history in which volunteers were awarded for 30 years of service - Rick and Mary Thickens celebrated this honor, as they have been with the Gathering since its inception in 1982! After the Awards Ceremony, volunteers enjoyed tasty gourmet cupcakes and coffee as the evening came to a close. It is always inspiring to see the caring, committed individuals and groups who give of their time and resources to support the Gathering’s mission and guests. If you are a volunteer who was not able to attend this year’s event, THANK YOU for all that you do! The Gathering could not accomplish our mission and serve so many guests without dedicated workers like you. A special Thank You to all Board members, staff and volunteers who assisted at the event!

Thanks to Johnson Controls, Inc. and the Synergy Group

Board Member and Johnson Controls employee Tara accepts the award for JCI's 250+ times of service with the Gathering in 2012

Johnson Controls employee Shane Morrison recently joined the Gathering Board of Directors. He has since taken on a leadership role with the golf event, participated in board meetings and events and has gone above and beyond the call of duty facilitating a fundraiser at Johnson Controls. The fundraiser was led by the Synergy group at JCI, a group of emerging leaders who are active in the community. Shane suggested that the group solicit donations for the Gathering. They did so through a bake sale, donating a portion of nacho bar sales and selling “jeans day” tickets for those who want to dress down at work. Around 15-20 individuals volunteered and raised a total of $2,106.08 for the Gathering. When asked why Shane and the Synergy group got involved, he told us, “There is a lot of pride you can take in helping the community and people who are struggling and just need a meal. We—the Synergy group—are trying to bring the next generation into that opportunity.” JCI has been involved with the Gathering for years and, in 2012, reached a service milestone of 200+ times volunteering with The Gathering. The partnership between JCI and the Gathering is strong and the dedication of individuals like Shane and the Synergy group strengthens this partnership.

Givers Honor Roll

The Gathering Board of Directors Thanks The Following Generous Supporters Giving $250 Or More Between February 16, 2013 and May 10, 2013.

Contributions of $5,000-$9,999: EFSP Phase XXX Allocation • Dr. Bronner’s Family Foundation Stackner Family Foundation

Contributions of $2,500-$4,999 Hunger Relief Fund

Contributions of $1,000-2,499 One anonymous donor • Christ Church Episcopal - Whitefish Bay Gathering Memorial Fund - Greater Milwaukee Foundation GE Foundation • Johnson Controls • Joy Global St. Joseph Catholic Church - Wauwatosa • Twin Disc • John Zacher

Contributions of $500-$999: Three anonymous donors • Answerport Management and Technology Consultants Church of St. Jude the Apostle - Wauwatosa • David and Mel Johnson Gary and Maureen Shebesta • Robert and Kathleen Wene • Eugene and Carmen Witt

Contributions of $250-$499 One anonymous donor • Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church - Mequon Law Office of Eugene Detert • Anthony and Julianne Maggiore St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Church-Cedarburg • Trade Press Media Group

We have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all donor names. If we have missed you or spelled your name incorrectly, please let us know.

Service As A Family

Mary and Rick Thickens were among the group from St. Christopher’s Church that was organized to volunteer at the St. James site on the first anniversary of the Gathering’s opening, late January 1983. Rick and Mary quickly became regular volunteers. “We went a couple of times and it did not take long for us to get hooked” Mary explains. Over the years, Rick and Mary have served as volunteers, board members, lead, floor and kitchen coordinators, cooks, produce preservers and just about any volunteer role they could fill. When their children, Laura and Richard, were six and nine years old, they became a part of the family business of volunteering with the Gathering as well. Laura explains that when she started volunteering with the Gathering at age six, her regular spot was on the serving line handing out sugar packets, cookies and plenty of smiles. Over the years Laura has filled in as a kitchen/floor coordinator and has served on the board for close to ten years. Laura is the Gathering’s current board secretary. For Mary, Rick and their children, the Gathering has become an:

“integral part of our family culture, and that is cool.” Rick explains, “Our children may not have had much choice in whether or not to participate when they were young. I am proud that they have chosen to continue that participation as adults. In the not too distant future, the third generation of our family will be passing out sugar packets to guests. That, too is cool.”

For this dedicated family, the Gathering holds many special moments and memories. Mary explained a significant moment from her past related to the Gathering:

“My daughter (when she was around 10 or 11) and I went to a street level coffee shop at Grand Avenue for some hot chocolate because it was a very cold day. Several of our Gathering guests came inside briefly to get warm, and my daughter said good morning to each and called them by name. I realized that to her these were not ‘homeless people,’ but individual people whom she knew from her Saturdays at the Gathering.”

Laura also shared a memory related to being a mother:

“Not long after I had my first child, I was volunteering at the Saturday lunch program. A woman came through the line with her two young children so I offered to help her carry their trays. As I walked with them to the table I couldn’t help but see this family through my new maternal perspective. With all the many worries that come with being a mom, I can’t even imagine how hard it must be to have food security be one of those concerns, and at that moment I felt so humbled and fortunate to be part of an organization that allowed this mother to know she could provide a warm, healthy meal for her children even when she didn’t have the means to make it herself. This was almost six years ago now, but it was such an impactful experience for me that I can still remember exactly what they all looked like and where they sat that day.”

Rick also explained friendships he formed with guests, including guest-turned-staff Gary Giedlinski, who taught Rick how to cook. In addition, Rick shared an interesting story of the day he created a meal out of 50 pounds of donated emu necks. With the help of other volunteers, he was able to boil the meat off the bone and add it to the daily dish. When all was said and done, it tasted just like turkey!

From sugar packets and smiles to emu necks and board meetings, the versatile Thickens family has been a blessing to the Gathering. We are grateful for Richard, Rick, Laura, Mary and Jason for their years of dedicated, compassionate service.

Hats Off To Darrel

There are many interesting ways to contribute to the Gathering. One of the most interesting recent contributions came from Darrel Bybee. Darrel became involved with the Gathering through his church, Our Lords United Methodist Church. Through Our Lord’s, Darrel has volunteered at the Gathering’s meal programs at least fifty times in the past fifteen years. In addition to volunteering and monthly financial contributions, Darrel has also been donating countless hats to the Gathering’s guests from his vast collection. He began collecting hats in 1977 and now has over 3500 hats.  Over time, the collection has changed and grown immensely. Darrel explains that early on, a few of the hats were “road kills”—hats that were literally found on the side of the road. In the past thirty five years, Darrel has purchased only four or five hats at rummage sales. The vast majority of Darrel’s hats have been given to him.

With such a beautiful collection, why would he give it away?

“The collection has gotten so big I can no longer display all of them. What a better way to display them then by giving them to the Gathering’s guests and have them wear and display the hats?”

Darrel has already donated over 500 hats to the Gathering’s guests and will continue to donate. He explains, “I have really had a ball with the collection and am so glad it can bring happiness to others now.”

The hats have indeed brought happiness to the Gathering’s guests and Darrel is proud to be able to provide this gift. Sharing his hat collection is about more than just keeping heads warm—it is about acknowledging the individuality of The Gathering’s guests and sharing his love. As Darrel puts it,  “Every hat has a unique story and now the story just keeps going.”

The Gathering's Easter Meal

On Saturday, March 30, 468 Gathering guests were served a special Easter Meal at our three Saturday lunch sites. After hours of preparing ham with pineapple, sweet potatoes, yams, assorted dessert trays and green bean casseroles, the cooks, coordinators and volunteers at the Gathering’s three Saturday meal sites were ready to do what they do best: feed the Gathering’s community!

Volunteers preparing dessert tray at St. James

The volunteer cooks arrived around seven in the morning to start preparing the food. There were three cook teams, one at each site. A couple of the teams had Gathering veterans who had been volunteering for decades but there were also some relatively new cooks. After the cooks prepared the food and had it all waiting to go in the warmers/ovens, the volunteer coordinators sprung into action. Coordinators make sure things are running smoothly and that all volunteers from the serving group have a role during the meal.

Volunteer Cooks preparing green bean casserole at the South Side

One such coordinator is Ellie Moseley. Ellie has been coordinating with the Gathering for over fifteen years along with her husband, Harry. Ellie and Harry got involved when they moved to Milwaukee. They used to volunteer at a soup kitchen in Indianapolis and they wanted to find another opportunity to do similar work. Ellie explained that one of her favorite parts of the Gathering is getting to interact with the guests. “Everyone is so nice. There is one woman who comes regularly and wraps her arms around me and gives me a big hug.” Together, guests and volunteers can create an encouraging sense of community at the Gathering.

Volunteers "suit up" at the South Side Site

Serving group volunteers begin showing up around 9:45, “suit up” with gloves, aprons, hats/hair nets, and set about wrapping silverware, pouring drinks, buttering bread, making salad, preparing dessert trays, and setting places for the guests. Thanks to Greater Spring Hill, St. Boniface and St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Grafton, the Gathering’s Easter meals ran smoothly with the help of 45 total volunteers! After all the preparation the meal was served from 11:30 to 12:30. The Gathering was able to serve 468 guests, 46 of whom were children.  Included in the Easter meal were treat bags donated by the different volunteer groups.

Beautiful Easter treat bags, thanks St. Boniface!

Thanks to the commitment of 8 cooks, 8 coordinators, 45 volunteers and a community of guests, the Easter meal was a big success. The meal was a special experience with guests eating and laughing side by side. Ellie explained the importance of this holiday fellowship when she said, “Any holiday is more elaborate, a bigger crowd. We work to make it as joyful as possible. We are really here to feed people’s spirits, not just their bodies.”