2016 INSPIRE BY EXAMPLE TEAM AWARD WINNER

The Gathering’s 25+ Years Saturday Lunch Leadership Team

GATHERING VOLUNTEERS ARE AWARDED  THE 2016 INSPIRE BY EXAMPLE TEAM AWARD
This year’s winner of the Nonprofit Center’s 2016 Inspire by Example Team Award is The Gathering’s 25+ Years Saturday Lunch Leadership Team.  These Gathering volunteers have consistently, for 25 years or more, cooked or coordinated the meal at one of our Saturday Lunch sites on at least a monthly basis.  Leadership volunteers perform jobs that would otherwise be done by paid staff.
The 25+ Saturday Lunch Leadership Team includes:
Four Saturday Cooking Crews:                                                                                                       St. Anne’s                                                                                                                                           King Solomon’s/Progressive Baptist                                                                                                  Bay Leaf Bruisers
 All Saints Cathedral                                                                                                                Between the four of them, these volunteer crews have cooked over 1,000 times – nearly 3 years of Saturdays; an estimated 204,800 meals; 3,200 hours of service.  All Gathering meals are cooked from scratch at each meal site.  The Gathering provides the equipment, supplies, food and menus.  The volunteer cooking crews provide the culinary expertise, creativity, commitment and passion.

Four Saturday Lunch Coordinators:                                                                                               Rick Thickens                                                                                                                                  Mary Thickens                                                                                                                                   Lisa Murray                                                                                                                                      Gregg Weirauch                                                                                                                          These coordinators have guided volunteer groups over 880 times – over 2 ½ years of Saturdays; 4,400 plus hours of service.  They are responsible for the entire meal program from set up to instructing and supervising the volunteer serving group to cleaning up and securing the meal site.  They are also responsible for creating and maintaining the atmosphere of hospitality essential to this work.

Here is the full list of all 2016 Inspire by Example Award winners:
Adult Award:  Jim Stanke; nominated by Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity
Youth Award:  J’Korevia Lawson; nominated by City on a Hill
Business Award:  GE Healthcare
Team Award:   25+ Years Saturday Lunch Leadership Team; nominated by The Gathering
Wile Volunteer Management Award:  Ana Kleppin; nominated by IndependenceFirst
Swigart Board Leadership Award:  Eric Isbister; nominated by Beyond Vision    
Award Winners will be recognized on April 7 at the Nonprofit Center’s 2016 Volunteer Celebration luncheon to be held at the Italian Community Center.  
WAY TO GO TEAM!!!

Coolbot Cooler Room Construction Almost Completed

You may have heard of a project the Gathering is doing thanks to a grant from the UWM Cultures and Communities Program Office. Through this grant, the Gathering is partnering with UWM professor Dr. Phillips and her undergraduate class entitled "Practical Approaches to a Sustainable Future." The class is growing their own produce in ten garden beds. They are learning the science behind creating sustainable human systems and food production. As an added bonus, the class will be working with the Gathering's Fresh Produce Preservation Project to learn how to safely preserve the produce they have grown. 

Already, the class has donated close to fifty pounds of produce to the Gathering's Fresh Produce Preservation Project.

Another perk of working together, is that the Gathering is constructing a Coolbot Cooler room (pictured above!). In a space donated by All Saint's Cathedral, construction has begun! The room is made out of studded wall panels with polystyrene foam insulated walls. Using a window a/c unit and some innovative technology known as a Coolbot, the insulated room will be able to get down to temperatures close to 30 degrees F. This room is perfect for storing produce while it is waiting to be preserved! It greatly increases the Gathering's ability to accept produce donations and is a huge asset to the Fresh Produce Preservation Project.

Construction on the room should be done by the end of this week, just in time for the UWM student's preservation session in early October. Stay tuned for more pictures and updates! Special thanks to all of our supporters who made this room possible, especially All Saint's Cathedral, the UWM Cultures and Communities Program Office as well as Dr. Phillips. Also, thanks to board member Jim Lerquin who did much of the room's physical construction! and Ron Khosla, creator of the Coolbot who has been crucial in answering our Coolbot questions.