Quarterly News | April 2021 |
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FAST FACTS:
Welcome to the inaugural issue of the Backpack Bulletin — the quarterly newsletter from the Blessings in a Backpack Waukesha County Chapter! This email will keep YOU in touch with the impactful work we're doing in Waukesha to feed kids who might otherwise go hungry.
The Waukesha Chapter provided more than 64,000 hunger-free weekends since March 2020. According to Feeding America’s Map the Gap report, there are approximately 15,000 children under the age of 17 who are facing food-insecurity in Waukesha County.
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BOLT 4 BLESSINGS Virtual 4K YOUR Way!
May 15–25
Proudly presented by
Bank Five Nine
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WHAT'S AHEAD:
WOOHOO! It’s BAAACCK! Save the Date for this year’s live, in-person “Bridge the Gap” Gala on Thursday, October 14 from 5-9pm at the Brookfield Conference Center! Silent and Live auction items needed and Sponsorship opportunities available! Virtual component will also be open for those who aren’t able to join us in-person.
Our focus this year is growth — we have an ambitious goal to DOUBLE the number of children we’re currently serving and to provide over 120,000 hunger-free weekends during the 2021–22 school year! The need in our community is staggering and we want to help more children suffering with hunger. Together, we can END childhood hunger in Waukesha County!
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We need a combined 500 votes, comments, and shares by April 20 to win. Thank you for spreading the word — your votes will help us feed more kids!
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Since the launch of the official national chapter in Sept. 2020, Blessings in a Backpack of Waukesha County has added four new schools and established its first office at 2010 Springdale Rd., Waukesha 53186, thanks to our wonderful friends at Habitat for Humanity of Waukesha County for donating the space!
We’ve also established an Advisory Board to guide our strategic growth and mission support. Join us in welcoming President Rebecca Schwaab Melgares, JD; Vice President Diana Schmidt; Treasurer Lisa Hayes, CPA; and Secretary Amanda Busche.
Board Members-At-Large include Sarah Butz, Nick Heckenkamp, CPA, Jody Henkel, Traci Huntemann-Piatt, Norm Kukuk, Robyn Ludtke, Mick O'Brien, and Jeremy Schmidt.
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Managing Director Nancy Major outside the new Blessings Waukesha County office. |
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None of our work would be possible without our dedicated, selfless volunteers, sponsors, and school partners. It’s a pleasure to introduce a few of these exceptional human beings! |
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Diane Voit is a retired teacher, former member of the Waukesha School Board, actively involved in her church, St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Waukesha, and one of Blessings in a Backpack of Waukesha County’s passionate advocates. Recently, Diane worked with the Thrivent Financial Action Team to raise a grand total of $9,287.50 for our chapter in support of feeding the students at Whittier Elementary School!
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Principal Brandy Hart of Whittier Elementary School is one of our outstanding school partners and is an active participant in several initiatives to help raise awareness and much-needed funding for the Waukesha Chapter. When asked what the program means to her elementary students, she said, “As the principal at Whittier, I feel very honored to have the partnership with Blessings in a Backpack. Whittier staff is incredibly dedicated to caring for and educating the whole child — and basic needs must be met in order to start. When a child is feeling worried about where food may come from over a weekend, he or she may not be able to focus while at school. This is a potential barrier we can avoid by providing food for our kids because of this partnership. Staff, students, and families all appreciate the help from the community — we are one community and working together only makes us stronger.”
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Meet Chrissy Sebald, the chapter’s lead program volunteer! Chrissy is a busy, working mom of three, and still dedicates countless hours each week to managing our food logistics, inventory, storage, and distribution. She has been instrumental in developing the systems and teams of people needed to distribute weekend meals to over 2,200 children at 27 different schools throughout the county. We’re incredibly grateful for her dedication and exceptional organization and tracking skills!
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If you’re friends with us on Facebook, you’ll most likely recognize this beautiful real estate agent, Corienne Walek (aka: Coco Steele)! Corienne manages our social media posts and has grown our followers by leaps and bounds since August 2020, from approximately 300+ followers to 1,244 and counting! She’s an avid and active volunteer for the chapter and has been a weekly food distribution volunteer and serves the chapter in several ongoing initiatives.
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For our volunteers, every week is volunteer week! But on April 18–22, National Volunteer Week, Blessings in a Backpack will be shining the spotlight on the individuals who feed kids in their communities on the weekends!
We invite you to send a friendly note to show your appreciation to all of our incredible Blessings Waukesha County volunteers. Click here to get started!
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Reflects giving from July 1, 2020 to February 28, 2021.
Waukesha County Chapter Lead Partners
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$15,000 to $24,999
Melitta S. and Joan M. Pick Charitable Trust
$10,000 to $14,999
Oconomowoc Area Foundation
Craig And Mary Schiefelbein Foundation
$5,000 to $9,999
Bank Five Nine
Richard and Karen Bertrand
Hausmann-Johnson Insurance, Inc./Diana Schmidt
The Leist Group, LLC
Our Savior's Evangelical Lutheran Church
James and Judy Schwaab
St. Luke's Lutheran Church of Waukesha
Myra M. & Robert L. Vandehey Foundation
$2,500 to$4,999
Greater Delafield Community Fund, Inc.
Greater Milw. Assoc. of Realtors-Youth Fdn.
Our Savior's Evangelical Lutheran Church
Timothy and Kim Rymer
Waukesha Rotary Club Charitable Fund, Inc.
$1,000 to $2,499
Anonymous
William Asher
Linda and David Adamski
Cooperating Churches of Sussex, Inc.
CTaccess
Felss Rotaform LLC
Friends of Nashotah
Tim and Jody Henkel
Jeff Huppert
Information and Computing Services, Inc.
Johnson and Sons Paving
Dr. Jerrold and Sonja Koch
Rebecca Schwaab Melgares
Menasha Corporation Foundation
William Mielke Family Foundation Fund
Tonya and Joseph Nienhaus
Prohealth Care, Inc.
Larry Stimpfle
St. Leonard Congregation
Superior Support Resources, Inc.
Waukesha County Center For Growth, Inc.
Waukesha State Bank
Christine and Tony Wolf
Nate Zastrow
$500 to $999
AM Construction Services, Inc.
Answerport, Inc.
Blaze Landscape Contracting
Blessed Savior Lutheran Church
Kim Brown
Brian Ehlke
Regina and Rigo Estrada
Kevin Fiess
First Presbyterian Church
Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast-Troop 20104
Lisa Hayes
Ellen and Steven Kellogg
Connor Kelly
Lake Country Womans Club
Nancy Major
MSI General Corporation
New Berlin Grading, Inc.
Peter J. Schraufnagel
Spartan Kids Foundation
James S. Tidey
Kris Timmer
Thomas and Mary Tully
Mary and Tyson Vaughan
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