Mardi Gras 2025

Board Members in Mardi Gras Photo Booth

Our 3rd Annual Mardi Gras fundraiser went off without a hitch! Everyone had a wonderful time that night. Participation from our volunteers, supporters and donors assisted The Gathering’s mission to alleviate hunger and address the root causes and related problems associated with hunger. We raised over $35,000 for Mardi Gras. Thank you for your contributions, time and support.

We have an incredible community of guests, staff and donors that came out in force to raise awareness and funds to assist us in tackling food insecurity. We appreciate you and applaud your efforts. We would like to thank everyone from the volunteers to the staff and the wonderful attendees that made this night special. The funds raised from this event will benefit our meal guests and all those we serve that are facing food insecurity. Please enjoy some of the photo’s from the festivities.

This year’s honorees are as listed:

Greg Johnson - Individual Champion

Mary & Rick Thickens – Distinctive Trailblazers  

All Saints Book Sale & Cook Team – Church Advocate

Catholic Community Foundation – Foundation Guardian

The Gathering of Southeast Wisconsin would like to thank the time to acknowledge our wonderful sponsors that made Mardi Gras 2025 possible.

Thank You to our Sponsors!

Royal Sponsorship:

Bader Philanthropies

Flambeaux Sponsorship:

Kathleen M. & Randall H. Dean Fund, Komatsu Mining

Doubloons Sponsorship:

Christ Church, Penny Cruise, Town Bank, Hupy & Abraham,

Thickens Family, Phyllis E. Klein Charitable Fund

Beaded Sponsorship:

Cindy & Evert Berndt, Jim & Nicole Hermann, Richard Schreiner & Alison Graf, Mel & Dave Johnson Jerry & Elaine Mainman, Gruber Law Office and LeighAnn & Michael Hanrahan

Beverage Sponsorship:

LeighAnn & Michael Hanrahan & Phyllis E. Klein Charitable Fund

We would like to acknowledge the donors listed:

Everyone at their tables

VOLUNTEER HIGHLIGHTS #2

JOANNE WEINTRAUB

Joanne is a dedicated volunteer who shows up rain, shine, sleet, or snow at 7 am almost daily at our Running Rebels meal site. She goes above and beyond by doing her part not only as a volunteer but as a Good Samaritan. She takes the extra step to recycle all of our cardboard boxes, as well as donating our vegetable compost to local gardens. Joanne's warmth, energy, and sense of humor is felt by all who come in contact with her. We are grateful for the role Joanne plays as a volunteer and advocate for us at The Gathering! We appreciate you, Joanne!

HaMM O'RYE COOK GROUP

In 2011 mother and son volunteers at The Gathering, Lisa Murray and Ian Martin, asked the rest of their family to become a Saturday lunch cook team. They invited their parents, grandparents, spouses, brothers, sister and cousins to form the team named HaMM on Rye based on the combination of their last names, Hirsch, Martin, and Murray and their devotion to cooking healthy and hearty food. Over the years there have been three generations and as many as 13 members, cutting chickens, forming salmon patties, initiating an assembly line for lasagna construction, and having a good time being together and feeding their community. There were even enough members to cook at all three sites simultaneously when the pandemic limited the volunteers who could come out. A new member was added by marriage to Ian in 2019, Jennifer O'Brien, and so the name has changed to HaMM O' Rye, and the joy of serving others and cooking together continues.

People in picture: from left to right- Regina Hirsch, Rita Hirsch, Nick Hirsch, Lisa Murray, Ian Martin, Jennifer O'Brien

TEAM MTV

Team MVT was formed in the aftermath of COVID 19 - Valecia Watson; pictured on the right, with Tinesse Clark of Team MVT at Mardi Gras 2024.

Valecia had been on the King Solomon cook team for many, many years - the pandemic had forced that team to retire. However,  Valecia was bound and determined to continue her service - so she formed Team MVT. Team MVT cooks, coordinates and serves the 4th Saturday of every month.

The joy and energy this team brings to the table warms one's heart. We thank you for your continued service to The Gathering, Team MVT!

VOLUNTEER HIGHLIGHTS #1

MEG EDWARDS

Meg goes above and beyond when volunteering at The Gathering. She has been volunteering at our Running Rebels mealsite 3 days a week since the start of pandemic. Meg sees when something needs to be done and she just does it. For example she steps up and takes the lead cook role when we are low on staff. Her spirit of giving and warm heart make her a joy to be around. Meg provides a ride to and from work for Mr. Ford every time she comes to volunteer at our Running Rebels meal site. The team that work along side her describe her a a leader, hard-working, kind and generous person. Thank you Meg for all this years of support, you mean a lot to us!

JILL KORTEBEIN

Jill started volunteering with her church and family and then came back as a regular during the pandemic. Because she volunteered so often and was such a natural leader, we asked her to train to be a coordinator. She has coordinated every month since then. This year, she volunteered all five Saturdays in September either as a coordinator or as part of a serving team when there was a need. She has volunteered at all three of our meal sites. She is cheerful, funny, highly organized and a gentle and inspiring leader.

MARIAN BYERS

We want to shine a spotlight on a remarkable volunteer whose dedication and compassion have made a significant impact at The Gathering. Marian Byers, has been a huge part of our mission to feed the homeless and hungry, generously offering her time and energy.
Marian helps with preparation of nutritious meals in the early hours of the morning, ensuring that every plate is filled with care and love, and distributing meals with genuine empathy. Her commitment to serving others shines brightly here at The Gathering. We appreciate Marian greatly! Thank you so very much.

MONNETE HARMON

Monette Harmon started volunteering with The Gathering in 2020, right as the pandemic was forcing us indoors. She has volunteered regularly at our Ascension site, and has organized toiletry drives and giveaways every year since joining us. This year she included hats, gloves, socks and clothes in her massive Thanksgiving giveaway at our Ascension mealsite. She is full of love and exuberant care for our guests. Just recently she started taking left over meals to the tent cities on Fond du Lac Avenue and at the Holt Avenue Park and Ride.
Thanks so much for your kind assistace!! 

GIVING TUESDAY 2023

Giving Tuesday 2023 was a huge success! We raised over $22,000 with the help of our board and a $7,500 matching gift from Komatsu. We would like to thank Indeed Brewery for hosting our event and donating a percentage of their daily sales to The Gathering. We would also like to thank everyone who joined us and showed support to our community and mission. We can’t wait to see you all again next year!

NEW PARTNERSHIP: MILWAUKEE BUCKS AND PICK N SAVE

The Bucks and Pick 'n Save tipped off their 6th Annual fight against food insecurity on Monday, February 26 by donating, $15,000 in Pick 'n Save gift cards to The Gathering at a press conference prior to dinner distribution at our Ascension mealsite. These gift cards were made available through Kroeger's ZERO HUNGER/ZERO WASTE initiative.

The gift cards will empower our meal guests with access to healthy food. Guests will be able to grocery shop for themselves with dignity utilizing these gift cards!

Volunteers from the Bucks staff, Pick 'n Save and Metro Market teams, along with the Milwaukee Bucks most recent acquisition; Ryan Rollins, had the opportunity to prepare for and serve our meal guests.

Pick 'n Save had experts on-hand to share information on employment opportunities, prescription drug access, and how to utilize grocery delivery provided by Kroeger Delivery, through utilization of thier SNAP/EBT benefits. 

Pick 'n Save donated the supplies for and prepared 150 bag lunches that were distributed along with the 241 hot meals  served on Monday.

The Bucks donated and distributed 150 Bucks branded lightweight down jackets to each meal guest. Bango entertained folks as they entered the building and the Milwaukee Bucks very own DJ Shawna kept the event lively.

The Gathering is honored and proud to be in a partnership with the The Milwaukee Bucks and Pick 'n Save, 2 businesses who really understand the need to provide access to those who are experiencing food insecurity!
 

Thank you, thank you, thank you! 

MARDI GRAS 2024

A great big thank you goes out to all of our sponsors and guests that made our 2nd Annual Mardi Gras  – bigger and better than our first Mardi Gras! Beads and masks were plentiful, the Wine Pull and Balloon Pop along with the Raffle and Silent Auction kept everyone engaged - making new friends and reconnecting with old ones. A good time was had by all!

To say that our 2nd Annual Mardi Gras was a success is an understatement – our number of registrations went up from 104 in 2023 to 147 in 2024 – that’s a 40% increase! And we doubled our projected revenue proceeds – including our MOVE Appeal, we raised over $40,000 – which is a record for us😊

This year we had 2 Royal Sponsors; Komatsu Mining & Bader Philanthropies, 6 Flambeau Sponsors; Kathryn & Randy Dean Charitable Fund, Phyllis E. Klein Charitable Fund, Elaine & Gerry Mainman, Modern Woodman and 2 from St Paul Episcopal Church, 7 Doubloon Sponsors; Mel & David Johnson, Elaine & Gerry Mainman, Cindy & Evert Berndt, John Hickey, Milwaukee Admirals, Direct Supply, Clement Leasing (Mary & Ross Read) and Steren McDonalds, and 4 Beaded Sponsors; Brice Cohey Consulting, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Town Bank and Carla Washington.

Andrea Williams did a bang-up job as our Emcee once again, Baked Dreams food was just as yummy as last year, Edible Impressions cookies were as tasty as they were beautiful, Shutterbug’s photo booth kept the party hopping and Felipe Rodriguez’s acoustic guitar music added much to the ambiance of the evening.

This year’s awardees include; Distinctive Trailblazer - Jeff Steren of Steren McDonalds who has been donating food from 9 of his stores twice a week for over 30 years, Individual Champions – Elaine & Gerry Mainman – who for over 28 years have contributed financially to our programs, and they served The Gathering's very first lunch at St James on January 9, 1982, Foundation Guardian – Lux Foundation who has provided us with grant funds for over 28 year with each year providing us with an increase in financial support, and Corporate Advocate – Direct Supply who has taken care of us with both financial and with material/supply support for nearly 8 years!

And to each of you reading this article –be sure to  save the date for Mardi Gras 2025 –

MARCH 4, 2025!!! You don’t want to miss this fete`!

 
With Peace & Gratitude,
Lyn Hildenbrand
Executive Director