July Delivery- Parents Place

We were contact in July by Parents Place.   It is a family resource center for the Prevention and Protection of Abused Children.   They have an incredibly facility where parents can come for counseling,  parenting classes, and group meetings.  They were looking for some furnishings to warm up some of the meeting areas.  VLC shared the leather couch and loveseat, dining table, and some framed prints with them...thanks to you!   

Huge Delivery to VLC's June Family

Thanks to all of the donors for their generosity to the June Family.  We delivered last night.  Mom, her 3 & 16 year old daughters and 12 year old son had moved into their new apartment a few days prior....it was hard to tell because there was NOTHING in the apartment but a few clothes. VLC coordinated 2 trailers & 3 SUV's for this delivery and shared beds, and bedding a dresser, desk, computer, printer, toys, books, couch, futon, living room tables, lamps, TV, DVR, bookshelf, a shower curtain, and towels, kitchen table & chairs, dishes, silverware, coffee maker, crock pot, microwave, boxes of kitchen utensils, baking and casserole dishes etc.... It was truly one of our favorite deliveries ever! It was like Christmas on a 100 degree evening in July...   A delivery of love to a family who were both gracious and grateful.  They asked us to thank you all! 

June's Project- VLC's Garden for Good!

This month the VLC project of the month was for one of VLC's own projects!

A group of VLC volunteers shared 2 hours of time on Saturday June 23rd to help

weed, mulch and ready the garden for the coming hot summer months.

Thanks to the 10 volunteers who helped....to those who have signed up to weed

and water all summer,  and to those who have signed up to harvest and

deliver the produce to our area Food Pantries and Meal Sites!  Families who

are struggling in our community will have some 'perishables' at their meals....

salads and veggies for the 4th season in a row!! 

Deliveries to May Families

A trailer & 2 SUV's full of donations were shared with  two families and their 4 children coming together into 1 household. Twin beds, and bedding, couch and chair, end tables, computer desk, dishes, glasses, microwave, pots & pans, waterproof mattress pads, bath towels etc...  Thank you for your generosity this month!  They had just moved into the apartment and it was difficult to get any photos, but here are a few of the items we shared.

A mom with 4 children working full time had bedroom

and kitchen furniture for her family....but a caseworker

emailed that her living room was empty....the next day,

you guessed it....a VLC member contacted us with a

couch, loveseat and chair to share! Volunteers with a

trailer picked the items up at the donors and drop them

off at the clients home! Another very happy family!

The May family from Safe Babies Healthy Families (single mom working full time with 3 children) will be receiving the queen frame, towels, bedding for the 10 year old daughter along with handmade quilts for the 2 &  4 year olds! 

May's Project- Spring Yard Clean Up at the Women's Center

A short video presentation was shared with the VLC volunteers about the work  that the Women's Center does in our community before we  began the Spring Yard Clean Up on the grounds.  It was a powerful presentation that I think made us all feel  happy to be able to make things just a little nicer for the women and children that are staying at the Women's Center while  they get back on their feet.  A special thanks to the VLC volunteers who shared their morning weeding, planting, and mulching the beds around the Women's Center and the transitional homes.  I suspect that the volunteers had the same work waiting for them in their own yards, so it was very kind of them all to set aside the time and give a hand!  Everything looked so much nicer than when we had arrived.  



Aprils Family of the Month

Our April family was a mom and dad expecting a baby girl in May.  It was like Christmas on the front porch for the past 3 weeks....and soon became Babies R Us in the living room as you shared everything a new mom could possibly need for a little girl!  People went on shopping sprees in the infant department and purchase new baby clothing, diapers, lotions and potions and dropped them off to share.  A beautiful gently used crib, glider, changing table, and basinett.  A car seat, stroller, baby swing, mobile, bumpers, sheets, blankets, bibs, monitors, baby bottle, pack n play, kicking mat, play mat, exersaucer....the list goes on and on!

The family and caseworker were overwhelmed.  The caseworker shared that it was the most incredible Baby Shower ever!  She also shared "this is the most deserving couple ever...."

Those who emailed with any duplicate baby supplies decided to share their donations with a 2nd mom who was also expecting in May....so 2 families ended up being helped due to the amazing generosity of so many...

Aprils Project- Drive for the Homeless Shelters

Thanks to the amazing volunteers who shared two hours of time and staffed the Pewaukee Wal-Mart, and the Delafield Sentry on an incredibly cold and rainy Saturday!  The 25 volunteers did an amazing job!  6 cars full of food and toiletries were collected along with $450.00 in cash donations, all of which were shared with the Hebron House Homeless Shelters.  Individuals, families, teens, young children and their parents all pitched in passing out lists of most needed food and toiletries to customers as they entered....and collecting their bags full of donations as they left!  You are AMAZING.... 

When a Pick Up Truck is not quite big enough....

When A Pick Up Truck is not quite big enough.... use a Dump Truck!   A special thank you to the VLC behind the scenes volunteers!  Volunteers who have big SUV's, pick up trucks, dump trucks and trailers and who are willing to pick donations up occassionally and get them to the VLC storage locker in downtown Hartland for us.  If you have a pick up and are willing to help on occassion....let us know and we will add your name to the volunteer list!  

March's Project-Drive for Baby Items for Safe Babies Healthy Families

You signed up early and we were were able to set up and staff 3 locations for this drive. 37 volunteers each sharing 2 hours of time...totaling 82 hours of volunteerism. Store customers thanking VLC volunteers working the drive....VLC volunteers thanking VLC after they worked the drive, saying they had fun, and that the 2 hours of time so rewarding.6 SUV's full of baby supplies and gear. Almost 10,000 diapers! Fromwipes, formula, potions and lotions to babyclothing, car seat, pack n play, and stroller to $500.00 in cash!

From the Assistant Director: I just had to send my personal thank you for the amazing success the Volunteers of Lake Country had againthis year with the baby shower for us. I do believe it was the most that was ever collected! The diapers filled our "diaper" room at our donation center and the other items also filled the  shelves. It is a sight to behold. Thanks again for all that you do all year long but a special thanks for your special relationship with

Safe Babies Healthy Families.

From a caseworker:

Thank you to the VLC who organizedand worked at the "Baby Shower" event for Safe Babies

 Healthy Families. The amount of items collected is just amazing. Our families will greatly

benefit from all of these donations. Thank you for your continuing support in helping

us break the cycle of child abuse, neglect and poverty.

 

Deliveries to the March Families!

Mom, Dad and 3 Children: Dad was out of work for 6 months and the family's home was foreclosed on. The caseworker emailed us their list of needs and living room furniture was on it....the next day we received an email from a couple who had a beautiful living room set to share! The caseworker shared that this family had grandmas table but needed 6 chairs....the next day another wonderful couple emailed that they had 6 dining chairs but no table! Some things are just meant to be..

The 2nd March Family

Mom and 4 teen daughters: 4 teen girls sharing 1 small bedroom. What was shared with this family was 3 of the most beautiful beds ever! A white iron bunk, a white trundle bed with matching dresser and a 4 poster bed for mom! When we left, mom and one of her daughters were lying on moms bed giggling with joy at how lucky they are! The Beds, sheets, comforters, towels, dishes, silverware, pots and pans, and a kitchen set.

The 3rd March Family of the Month

A mom and her children, victims of domestic violence living in a transitional home at the Women's Center. Their wish was for a dining table and 6 chairs came in too late for the last newsletter but we were able to share it in the Living Lake Country Sunday Paper.   A  family contacted VLC with a  dining set to share,  and their  neighbor volunteered to repaint and reupholster it!  She completed the project in 2 weeks time, and we delivered it to their apartment last week.  It was beautful, and the family was very grateful to be able to sit down for meals and games together! 

Later in March we were contacted by 2 more caseworkers, and VLC shared 3 twin beds with one family for their 3 children, and a twin bed with a single adult that did not have one....

A Special Thanks to Some Special VLC Friends!

A very special thanks to Mike Bickler the owner of Stonewood Storage, who has donated a storage locker to VLC for the Family of the Month project every month for the past 3 years!  In March, when we collecting for 2 families who needed everything, and your generousity poured in, and we ran out of space, allowed us to move into the locker next door for a bit until we could deliver!   



Thanks as well to the LCUCC church who sent a team of volunteers to build new shelving to house the VLC Childrens Free Library at the Hope Center.  VLC is giving over 1,000 books to children EVERY month thanks to your donations!

 

 

 

Thanks to Amy at Lake Country Living, who has found room the first Sunday of every month for the past 3 + years to share our information and needs in the Newspaper so we can reach out to new volunteers...to new garages...to new basements!!

 A Thanks to the Arrowhead Key Club whose volunteers have pitched in to help at so many of the past VLC Drives!

And finally....A Thanks to YOU! 

*To the 35-40 people....who sign up to help with the Project of the Month. 

*To the 10-30 people who contact us with donations of furniture and household items to share with families.         Sharing incredibly beautiful things with courageous families who are starting all over after abuse, violence, abandonment, job loss, home and apartment loss etc...

*To another half dozen people who have pick up trucks, SUV's, or trailers and pick up bigger items at a donors homes and get them to the locker for us.

*To yet another 10-20 people who drop off requested items each month. Gently used items clean, bagged, or boxed, marked and ready to share, and to those who shop sales and purchase new towels, comforters etc....items that make families feel so special...