NEW DOWNTOWN LOCATION: THE GATHERING ON STATE STREET

THE GATHERING ON STATE STREET

Capuchin Community Services - St. Ben’s Meal, 924 W. State Street

The move is complete.  The Gathering at St. James is now The Gathering on State Street.  Coakley Brothers packed and moved equipment, food, pots & pans, carts, prep tables and more on Friday and Saturday, March 24/25.  It took a semi and two delivery trucks.  Gathering staff, board members and volunteers spent Saturday afternoon cleaning, organizing and stocking the new site.

Our first Breakfast on State Street was Monday morning, March 27, with 178 guests.  We were greeted with bouquets of flowers from our friends and new landlords at Capuchin Community Services, St. Ben’s Community Meal – Br. Rob, Dean, Mike and Mark.

The move was celebrated on Tuesday with a fire brigade style passing of the remaining pots, pans and food items from St. James to St. Ben’s with the help of 100 Brookfield Central Key Club members and 50 other volunteers.

It has been a stressful AND GLORIOUS process, this move.  Our Capital Campaign goal to raise $50,000 formoving, equipment and renovation expenses was met by April 1.  Donations of money were matched by donations of supplies, time, expertise, creativity and skill. 

The space at The Gathering on State Street is much bigger than that at St. James, so we could use more volunteers each morning than we have in the past.  If you and a friend or two would like to join us some morning, please know that we welcome walk ins.  Be at the State Street location, 924 W. State, at 7:00 a.m. and be able to stay until 10:00.  If you have 4 or more volunteers, please call The Gathering office (414-272-4122) to get on the schedule.

We are blessed!  People in community feeding the hungry came together,

and I am confident will continue to do so.

THANK YOU ALL!

BREAKING NEWS! THE GATHERING IS MOVING OUR DOWNTOWN MEAL SITE.

BREAKING NEWS! THE GATHERING IS MOVING OUR DOWNTOWN MEAL SITE. 

THE GATHERING AT ST. JAMES WILL BECOME THE GATHERING ON STATE STREET

A big move is in store for The Gathering this year.  We will be moving our downtown programs from St. James Episcopal Church on 8th & Wisconsin to St. Ben’s Community Meal Site at 9th & State.  Target time for the move is mid-to late March of this year.  This is not a merger with St. Ben’s; just a change of location and of landlord.  The Gathering will continue to cook and serve breakfast Monday through Friday and Saturday lunch at the same times and in the same way.  We are currently working with St. Ben’s on storage and additional kitchen space and will soon begin discussing the BIG 3 – policies, procedures and programming. 

The impetus behind this move is the potential sale of the St. James’ building.  Because we did not know whether or not The Gathering would be allowed to continue in that space once the building sold, we made the decision to seek a new location and to proceed with the move in our own time.  Both St. Ben’s and The Gathering come from faith-based perspectives and focus on providing meals to those in need with respect and dignity.  Hospitality is the backbone of both of our programs and we serve many of the same guests.  

As you may know The Gathering began at St. James Episcopal Church in 1982 as a ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee with a Saturday lunch and Monday through Friday breakfast, primarily to complement the Sunday through Friday dinner served at St. Ben’s.  During these thirty-five years, hundreds of thousands of God’s people, both guests and volunteers, have walked through those doors seeking food and warmth and a human bond and have walked out satisfied.  It is with great sadness that we leave that space; yet we are filled with joy for the good work accomplished there.  

Please Note:  The move has no direct impact on our other three meal locations or office location.

We anticipate the physical move, renovation, and equipment purchases to cost $50,000.  To accomplish this move without impacting our day to day operations, we are conducting a Capital Campaign to cover those costs.  That’s where you come in. By contributing to this Capital Campaign you will help continue to provide Milwaukee’s hungry and homeless a hot breakfast and Saturday lunch for as long as the need exists.        You can give online by clicking here, by mailing a check to The Gathering Capital Campaign, 804 E. Juneau Avenue, Milwaukee, WI  53202, or by calling our office at 414-272-4122. If you have questions please call Ginny Schrag, Executive Director, at 414-272-4122 or email vrschrag@thegatheringwis.org.