Volunteers Of Lake Country coordinate an Emergency Food Drive for the Pewaukee Food Pantry

After reading an article in the Living Lake Country Reporter on August 5th titled 'Pantry Donations dwindle in the summer months...Pewaukee Food Pantry asks for Help' the Volunteers of Lake Country knew if was information they could not ignore. They immediately targeted the Pewaukee pantry for boxes of fresh produce from the Garden for Good. Volunteers distributed 550 bags and flyers into 5 Pewaukee subdivisions asking for donations of needed food, and picked up the donations left on their porches the following Saturday. An unplanned Food Drive was organized for Friday August 21st. Volunteers passed out lists of needed items to the customers at the Pewaukee Pick N Save on Capitol Drive. In 6 hours, the generous customers filled 4 vehicles with needed items. The total number of items collected and delivered to the pantry....over 1800! The mini-drive collected more items than we ever have before! What were empty shelves a few days prior at the pantry...were now sagging with the weight of shared food!

July's Client of the Month

Nina and her 4 children had been living at Hebron House, a homeless shelter for several months. They moved into an apartment July 1st. Initially, the caseworker said she put 2 dressers on her wish list...then he stopped for a visit mid-July...and her living room was empty! He asked why she didn't ask for more...she said she was embarrassed she had so little...and didn't want to ask for too much! VLC delivered a couch, lamps, loveseat, and entertainment center, a cocktail and 2 end tables for the living room. A dining table and 4 chairs, dishes and silverware for the kitchen, 2 dressers, linens, and towels for the bed/bath. Nina was in tears with gratitude, and so were we that night. She sends her thanks & prayers to the kindness of strangers. The 8 donators and 5 deliverers who made this possible! A fresh start, and a new job on Monday....life is good~

Volunteers of Lake Country's 'Fill the Bus' collection for school supplies

A total of 74 volunteers worked 173 hours on Saturday July 25th, to collect school supplies and backpacks for children in need in Waukesha County! VLC staffed the Delafield Walgreens and the Pewaukee Wal-Mart and they recruited the Arrowhead Key Club to handle the collections at the Hartland Walgreens. Two of the Klements Famous Racing Sausages along with Recycle Raccoon, joined us for a day of fun, giving high fives to children and parents alike, and smiling for 100's of photos! Over 11,000 items were collected valued at well over $5,000.00!

Colleen Martin with the Backpack Coalition said, " The enormity of the fill the bus success thanks to the efforts of VLC is overwhelming!

Thank You....Thank You.... Thank You! Todd Cullen of InfiNET Web Design volunteered his time, and created this amazing website for the Volunteers of Lake Country. It was launched the beginning of August! Please check it out, and share it with your area friends and family! Talk about the 'kindness of strangers'...we have emailed, and phoned Todd along this journey...but we still have never met! http://www.volunteersoflakecountry.org/ We would also like to thank another VLC volunteer, Marc Wolfgram of MacCetera, whose company has been kind enough to host our new site as well!

Volunteers of Lake Country's Community Garden for Good

The month of May, 18 volunteers donated approximately 75 hours to till, and plant the garden! A weekly weed and water schedule has been set up, and volunteers are in place for the entire summer. Produce harvested from this garden, and extra produce donated from our volunteers home gardens is being collected and delivered to various pantries & agencies in Waukesha County.

VLC's Work Day at the Women's Center of Waukesha County

The Women's Center is a wonderful facility, with the most amazing staff. (though I wish it was not necessary to have such a place) 9 Volunteers logged 22 1/2 hours weeding, raking and mulching their grounds. We were in awe of the difference just a handful of people made in just a few short hours!
"I want to thank all of the wonderful people of Volunteers of Lake Country that came to The Women's Center on Saturday, June 13 to offer their time and service. All of your hard work is deeply appreciated. My fellow staff members commented on how much was done on Saturday. Your efforts made a big difference in cleaning up our landscaping. You all worked so hard on behalf of the women and children of "The Women's Center."
Sincerely,
Shelia

Volunteers of Lake Country's June Client

June's Client: Each month we help a Client from Health and Human Services with their 'wish list'. The generosity of this community has truly been over-whelming. We were again able to collect everything needed for June's Client! I feel like it is Christmas, every time I open the front door, and peak into the collection box! We collected baby gear, a bed & linens for mom, a crib, changing table, 2 dressers, kitchen items etc... A cargo van, and a Subaru totally filled with donations. The caseworker shared:
"When VLC left, Bev & I walked through her apt. When we entered her bedroom, she was overcome with tears. She informed me that for the first time her room was beautiful.. that she was looking forward to getting a good night’s rest. She had not slept in a bed in a long time". Thank you to the 15 donators and the 5 deliverers who made this possible.

June Food Drive

Volunteers of Lake Country kicked off June by running a food drive. 26 volunteers distributed 1,000 bags into subdivisions in our community and collected the donations the following weekend. There were also 2 volunteers on three 2-hour shifts that worked at the Village Square Pick N Save asking customers to consider donating items as well. 41 volunteer hours...more than 200 bags of groceries...over 1500 items...and $167.00 was collected and delivered to the Hartland Food Pantry, whose shelves were getting bare once again.

Volunteers of Lake Country's Client of the Month Project

May's Client: This has become a monthly project...receiving a family from Health & Human Services who needs a hand. May's Client was a hard working single mom, and her 15 year old son. They were beginning a fresh life, after living in an abusive situation. Furniture and gently used household items were shared again by those on our email list! We delivered donations of 2 living room chairs, and 2 tables, a bed, linens, towels, a computor desk, and 2 dressers. They brought such joy & pride to them both, and were very grateful for your help and generosity.

Spring Yard Clean Up for the Elderly in our Community

Interfaith is an organization that serves the elderly and disabled. They provided Volunteers of Lake Country with 3 women who are living independantly, but need help in the spring to get their yards in shape for the season. 13 Volunteers of Lake Country committed to 2 hours of work on Sat. May 16th. We split into 3 teams, and worked at the homes of 3 area residents, 2 in Hartland and 1 in Delafield. We raked the grass, gardens, and the beds, laid mulch, trimmed bushes and made new friends! The volunteers, and the clients enjoyed good company and a great feeling of accomplishment.

Volunteer of Lake Country at the Earth Day Spring Clean Up

On Saturday April 18th 2009, 150 volunteers came to Old World Wisconsin in Eagle Wisconsin to help with their spring clean up for their Earth Day Event. 16 of them were Volunteers of Lake Country. We brought work gloves, rakes and tarps on a beautiful spring day, and worked from 9-noon on their grounds, getting it ready for their season opening. At noon, we came in from the property, collapsed into the seats in the Clausing Barn, and Old World provided a chili lunch for us all as a thank you...and to give us the energy for our drive back home!

The first Client of the Month....April's Client

April's Client was a very proud and independent woman in her 50's, living on her own in an apartment in Waukesha. She was a stroke survivor, partially paralyzed on one side of her body. The caseworker shared that she slept on a blow up mattress on the floor, and the only other furniture she had was a lawn chair. She needed everything. It was an enormous undertaking for a 4 week project...but thanks to the generosity of those on our email list, who donated gently used household items, towels, linens, dishes, pots and pans, a dresser, kitchen table and 4 chairs, to a daughter who donated the beautiful headboard and bedding, to her mother who donated a new box spring and mattress, to a family who donated the matching couch and loveseat...who knew it would bring pride and dignity to her heart, and to a friend who donated a quilt made by her grandmother and aunt, wanting her to be wrapped in the love it was made and given with The empty apartment was transformed into a home with your generosity.

Drive for Baby Items for Healthy Families of Waukesha County

Amazing....28 of the 100 on this email list participated in the drive for baby items for Healthy Families! Whether you distributed fliers & bags to 1,000 homes, dropped collection boxes at area hospitals, dropped donations off on the porch, or attended the baby shower...what we accomplished collectively is difficult to describe! 3,000 diapers...cases & cases of formula... boxes & boxes of new baby clothing, wipes, baby wash, baby blankets etc...along with 8 large boxes of gently used items...2 SUV's full...amazing! You must see it to believe it! Thanks to all who participated...Healthy Families was incredibly grateful and shocked!!

Drive for the Hartland Food Pantry/Jan. 2009

16 people volunteered from our email list of 100 participated in our Food Drive. On Saturday January 10th 1,000 grocery bags, along with a flyer were hung on doors in various subdivisions letting the community know that we were collecting items for the Hartland Food Pantry. The following Saturday the volunteers returned to collect the full bags of groceries left on their porches! 153 bags were collected (15.3% participation) with 1139 items! Volunteers were also at the entrance, and exit of the Pic & Save on Hwy. 83 offering shoppers a chance to participate the food drive....another 100 bags and 514 items! The total items collected on Jan. 17th by our group was 1,653 along with $90.00 in cash donations! The pantry opened at 3:30 that afternoon, to allow us to unload. They were amazed...We were amazed! 5 cars & a mini van pulled in & we began to unload over 250 bags! We knew that 'We Made A Difference', and that this was only the beginning!