April's Clients of the Month!

Oh what a month! We received requests from 10 Clients this month, and thanks to the amazing generosity of Lake Country, we were able to help them all! We delivered a glider to help to relieve the pain of a 14 year old boy, a file cabinet to keep medical information organized for a family with so many special needs, a crib, and an outpouring of new and gently used clothing and toys for 2 children (2 & 6) who can no longer live with their parents...but who have a family friend who has stepped forward to become their Foster Parent so they can be kept together. A brand new car seat was purchased and shared along with a stoller with a grandmother who is now raising her granddaughter, and beds, bedding, a kitchen table, couch and loveseat for a mom who is a 2 time cancer survivor, and is now battling heart disease. One story more difficult than the next...all of these clients were so grateful, all in disbelief that strangers would share such beautiful things with them...would shop for new clothes and toys for them! Thank you for making their lives a brighter!

VLC April Garden Work Days!

The VLC Garden is off to a great start, even though spring is not! 15 Volunteers learned a double digging method of preparing the garden and helped to ready the beds for planting. Another evening, 8 volunteers helped to plant early spring crops. Please check the Garden Blog at http://www.volcgarden.blogspot.com/ to be kept up to date on scheduled work dates, what is on the garden wish/need list, with questions, for location, or to volunteer to share an hour or two this summer.

Drive for Baby Items for Healthy Families of Waukesha County

50 volunteers braved the wonderful Wisconsin spring weather on Saturday March 26th sharing a 'wish list' of items needed for Healthy Families with customers at the Pewaukee Wal-Mart, Oconomowoc Pick N Save, and the Hartland Walgreens. Generous customers filled the carts....and VLC filled the shelves at Healthy Families with donations. Over 13,000 diapers were collected! Thanks to all of you who shared 2 hours of your time for making a difference!

Food Drive for the Hartland & Pewaukee Food Pantries and the Lake Area Free Clinic

These are the faces of Volunteers of Lake Country! They are your friends and your neighbors. They are single, they are couples, they are families. They are parents with their children and grandparents with their grand-children. They are youth groups (thanks to the Pewaukee HS Key Club) and community groups (thanks to Divine Redeemer Church and Pewaukee Kiwaniis!) They shared 2 hours of time on a Saturday, and they thanked US because they enjoyed it!! We staffed 3 stores...had 41 volunteers...and collected mountains of groceries for the Food Pantries just in time, as their shelves were close to empty, along with $700.00 in cash donations. Thank you to the volunteers and the generous people of Lake Country for making a

difference in the lives of others!

February's Client of the Month

Jim, who recently became the sole parent to his children James (6) and Julia (4) was VLC's February Client of the Month. Jim sent

a note:

Volunteers of Lake Country,

James, Julianna, and I would all like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for everything. The children really enjoy the bunk bed, toy chest, books and clothing. We are all very thankful for the couch, loveseat, coffee table, lamps, towels and welcome basket. It was very rewarding for us after all we have been through in last year. This should help us immensely, as we continue on our journey of life.

Sincerely,

Jim

Washer and Dryer Donations

VLC shared 3 sets of washers and dryers this last month! Two of the families were families we received from Human Services. One was the family where both the mom and dad are in the reserves. (The husband has served 2 tours in Iraq). This is the third set shared. This set, along with a beautiful dining table and chairs were shared by a VLC volunteer. VLC arranged a match with the Hebron House. They picked it up and are using them in the new overflow homeless shelter that they recently opened in Waukesha for the winter months.

January's Project- A Family Visitation Room Make Over

Our goal was to create a positive environment for 2 Family Visitation rooms at Human Services. These rooms are used for supervised visits for parents and their children who are living in Foster Care, or in the care of relatives. It is a place where families who are in crises can stay connected. VLC had some very different requests on the 'wish list' and to our amazement, volunteers came forward with children's tables and chairs, lobby chairs, a loveseat, bookshelves, children's toys and family games, area rugs and artwork. Your kindness and generosity made these rooms warm and cozy, and life a little bit better for the families.

January's Client

We delivered to Jamie, who had lost her job, her apartment and then everything she had which was in a storage locker and she didn't have the money to pay her bill. She has a new job, and new apartment and a new start. You shared a couch, 2 chairs, a kitchen set, bed, and chest of drawers along with dishes, pots and pans, kitchen utensils, kitchen and bath towels. She had been in an empty apartment for weeks prior to our delivery, so she was so excited, and so grateful for these gifts when they were delivered. Thank you!

One of VLC's December Families

Tia is a single mom with 2 sons (6 & 7). She is working a part time minimum wage job, but is a full time college student, hoping to make a better life for her family. We shared 2 twin beds and bedding for the boys, a desk and chair for her homework, a braided rug for under her kitchen table, a queen bed and dresser. She was so grateful for your gifts and asked us to send you her thanks!

One of our December Families

This 16 year old was sleeping in the living room on a blanket. We brought in a bed with drawers beneath his clothes and his space, along with bedding, a couch, table, lamp, entertainment center and 3-4 boxes of kitchen utensils, and small appliances. The caseworker shared, 'I do not have enough words to express how thankful I am, and I know that this family feels the same way. I hope that this thank you can be passed along to the donors and I hope that their generosity is multiplied in blessings and health. Thank you VLC'

Brownie Troop has a Book Drive for the VLC Free Library!

This 2nd Grade Brownie Troop collected over 350 books for the VLC Children's Free Library at the Hope Center. The girl's collected books at school, from neighbors and from friends. They made homemade signs and handed out empty grocery bags with notes to neighbors asking for the donation of books. Thank you VLC for the great opportunity for the girls to realized the importance of their favorite books, and how special it is to own your own books. The girls ran this project on their own and were very proud of the tower of books they had to donate!

Novembers Deliveries!

Shaun was a single dad, who just received custody of his 4 & 6 year old son and daughter. He is a UWM full time college student in accounting. His apartment was darling, and we loved him and his children! We brought in a bedroom set for dad, a bed and bedding for his son along with a lamp, mixer, coffee pot and vacuum.

November's Pewaukee Family

Stephanie was a single mom who is a full time student and works part time. She has 2 & 4 year old daughters and they live in Pewaukkee. Mom had saved for 2 toddler beds, and the quality was so poor they ended up breaking! We delivered these 2 beautiful wicker beds and bedding. We brought a kitchen set and a desk and chair for studying. Inta a apartment that the case-worker said was dark and depressing....we brouth the light of lamps, and a bag of new clothes was shared with each of the girls. In a minutes time the 2 year old had put on a new pair of footed Barbie pj' s and was prancing around the house with the tags still on! Before we got the kitchen table legs put on....she was fast asleep in her new bed!