May 2024 // A Community Newsletter | |
Dear friends and neighbors, | |
As the final days of the school year approach, I'm reminded of a story shared by one of our elementary program teachers, Ms. Nicole. | |
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In Gold House, while Ms. Carol led a group through a new spring roll recipe and Ms. Nicole taught some friends how to play chess, two kids — one second grade and one third — quietly got the circuit board kit down from the shelf. Suddenly, everyone hears, "You have to come see this!" from a corner of the room. The circuit board duo had surprised everyone with the kit's lightbulb fully lit using a cup of water as the conductor!
I love this story because it shows that when everyone is supported and given the chance to be curious and persistent in what they enjoy, they'll find a way to bright results. Isn't this amazing?
As we gear up for summer (and for Goodman programs, that's the busiest time of year!), I hope you'll find ways to support the people in your life so we can all keep shining bright.
Be the Good, Madison.
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Letesha Nelson
President & Executive Director
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OUR PROGRAMS
Food, Dancing & Fun
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Our Older Adult Program hosted their annual Meet & Mingle event, and once again, it was a party that wasn't to be missed!
Sixty attendees from across the Madison community enjoyed food from La Taguara, drinks by Goodman bartenders and music by DJ Diego. The dance floor was packed for most of the night, and there was certainly a round or two of the electric slide. The night ended with six door prize winners and lots of compliments from the attendees.
Thank you to Madison Investments for sponsoring this event!
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What Will the Future Hold? | |
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Goodman is 70 years old, and in honor of that milestone, we asked a few of our elementary students to think about what the next 70 years will look like. From the silly (rocket-boosted chairs) to the serious (a real need to address environmental issues), the kids proved once again how thoughtful they are and gave us hope for the future stewards of our community.
Shout-out to Big Dreamers United, who filmed the interviews and edited the video. Goodman's own Corporate Giving Manager Meghan made the stop-motion animation, with the help of our Digital Marketing Specialist August.
Watch the video here.
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Hatching Chicks in Gold House | |
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For the past few weeks, our elementary students in Gold House have been working with Ducks in a Row Farm out of Arena to incubate and hatch 22 fertilized chicken eggs!
The students first learned about the parts of an egg, as well as what they needed to observe to be successful "mother hens." Once the eggs arrived, the kids got to work. They check the temperature and humidity of the incubator each day and record their observations in a special ChickQuest farmer notebook.
The class was anxious to meet the baby chicks, and they were surprised on Tuesday afternoon! The chicks had hatched overnight on Monday. Well done, mother hens of Gold House!
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Over spring break, a group of middle schoolers chose to spend a whole lot of time at Goodman: They participated in our lock-in!
LOFT staff organized a Brassworks lock-in on the first night of spring break to celebrate the kids' hard work this year. The group went grocery shopping together for their taco dinner, decorated T-shirts, got their nails done, did a classic game of hide-and-seek throughout the whole building and watched scary movies.
It was a memorable bonding experience for all!
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WORK AT GCC
Come work with us!
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Make an impact on your community while feeling great about the work you do. The Goodman Center has some of the best benefits in town — no joke. In addition to an in-house minimum wage of $20 per hour and an incredible health care plan (better than what some much bigger businesses in town offer, we've been told by our staff), Goodman offers retirement matching, more than five weeks of paid time off in your first year, free child care for kids in preschool and attending Lowell or Emerson elementary schools, and more.
Check out our current open positions and apply today:
- Director of Communications & Annual Giving
- Elementary Programs Lead Teacher
- Program Kitchen Cook (LTE)
- Catering Assistant Chef
- Middle School Enrichment Coordinator
- Middle/High School Summer Program Coordinator (LTE)
Check out all positions and apply today!
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COMMUNITY PARTNERS
7,000 Pounds of Food!
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Two weekends ago, our food pantry participated in two food drives that were a HUGE success: Stamp Out Hunger through the Southside Madison Post Office and UW residence hall move-out. In total, these two drives resulted in 7,000 pounds of food collected for our pantry!
The food came unsorted in bins and boxes. Lucky for us, our friends at Fetch were ready to lend a helping hand. A group of Fetch volunteers helped us weigh, sort and organize this huge amount of food, along with our regular Monday volunteer crew. We wouldn't have gotten through the 7,000 pounds as quickly as we did without them.
We know 7,000 pounds of food sounds like a lot – and it is an amazing amount of food. But we bet you didn't know we have more than 15,000 pounds of food that goes out of our pantry each week, which means much of those 7,000 pounds are already gone.
If you'd like to make a donation to our pantry, check out ways to give at goodmancenter.org/pantry.
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Thank you, Girl Scout Troop 8267 for donating cookies to our pantry! These are always a favorite treat of customers. The troop has been donating cookies for the last several years. | |
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We recently hosted a group of volunteers from American Family Insurance who helped us get the center ready for summer!
The industrious group did some seasonal updates to the grounds, pulling weeds and refreshing flower beds. They also gave our pergola a fresh coat of paint, making it look good as new.
Thank you for your help! We're excited for summer.
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EASTSIDE NEWS CENTENNIAL
ESN Promoted Wartime Community
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Looking back at the 1940s in Marshall Browne's East Side News, it was interesting to note how World War II was making an impact on the homefront and the publication. While ESN did not cover the war's events weekly, it did have funeral announcements and briefs about servicemen and women's promotions, and its content demonstrated the effort east-siders were making during the war.
Read the full article about this era of East Side News on our blog.
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AT THE CENTER
Book Your Bridal Shower
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Wedding season is coming up, but before the wedding is the bridal shower! The hospitality team at Goodman wants to make your event as seamless as possible, and they're excited to offer Bridal Shower Packages. Celebrate your loved one's upcoming nuptials in our flexible, welcoming space. Choose from one of our curated shower packages, which give you the base to build a unique and creative event that's as special as the guest of honor.
Learn more and get started planning your event.
Photo by Nikki N Photography
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FOOD PROGRAMS
Fritz Food Pantry
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Thank you for all you do to support your community! We're all stronger when everyone has the resources they need to be successful ❤️ | |
GOODMAN COMMUNITY CENTER
214 Waubesa Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53704
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