Volunteer Spotlight: East Troy High School National Honors Society

The National Honors Society (NHS) at East Troy High School has been volunteering with the Gathering for over 15 years, and in the words of student Krystal Jacobs, “We have a great experience every time!” East Troy High is one of many high schools that volunteers with the Gathering, but, unlike many other schools, East Troy students travel over 30 miles to make it to the Gathering’s dinner program. The commute may be limiting for many, but for East Troy National Honors Society students—it is a welcome challenge.

Jacobs explained that in order to transport 15 students to volunteer, they needed to get their own bus. The NHS students rallied together and fundraised to afford the bus. These fundraisers included creative opportunities such as: Duct Tape A Teacher, where students paid for the opportunity to duct tape their teachers to a wall (an idea they found on Pinterest), selling carnations for Valentine’s Day and doing their own version of eharmony for students. The students successfully raised the money to rent a bus and were able to volunteer on February 22nd. 

Fifteen NHS members signed up to volunteer. The students cleaned and set up tables, wrapped silverware, prepared food and worked the food line.

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“The most meaningful thing, hands down, for all of us, was seeing and hearing how grateful the people were for their meal. There is nowhere else where you can see someone so happy for our volunteer work. Definitely put a smile on our faces as well!”

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The NHS members had a great time volunteering. They even adopted nicknames for their fellow students based on what they were serving in line, like Peaches, Cookie, Beans, and Dressing.

The students were especially touched by their interaction with the Gathering’s guests. “We met a guy, Monte. He checked the name on our hats and wanted to be polite and address us by our first names. He was very thankful for what we were doing at The Gathering.”

Like Monte, the Gathering community is also thankful for what East Troy High School and other students do to travel to a meal site and volunteer. We look forward to seeing Peaches, Cookie, Beans, Dressing, Napkins, Coffee, and all other East Troy NHS students when they come volunteer again in March. Who knows, maybe Ed the chef will let us duct tape him to the wall!

Looking Down the Dirt Road with Jeanne

Jeanne (second from the right) with fellow volunteers at the dinner program

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“I got involved with the Gathering because I was homeless, because I lost my job and I couldn’t pay my rent. And that’s basically the long and short of it. I came in one day and asked the coordinator downtown if she needed any help and the rest was pretty much Gathering history.”

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Jeanne explained this story to me when asked how she first got involved with the Gathering. She is indeed a part of Gathering history, as she has been volunteering for the Gathering’s meal programs for about ten years.

Jeanne understands the issues that contribute to hunger and homelessness, having spent plenty of time at the Gathering and in Milwaukee. When sitting down with me, Jeanne discussed the Great Depression, the history of Milwaukee, labor issues, urban sprawl, globalization, deindustrialization and the rust belt, the education system, employment issues and more.

“We never looked down the dirt road to see that the corporations and manufacturing jobs were not going to be here. I knew a lot of people that used to have decent, good paying jobs. But now we need to reinvent ourselves—because the industrial day is gone.”

Jeanne is adept at recognizing a lot of the structural and systemic issues that contribute to poverty, hunger and homelessness in Milwaukee. Her lived experiences as well as her self-education have taught her what is needed to turn things around for many disadvantaged individuals:

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“Change doesn’t ever come from the top down, it comes from the bottom up. Maybe the time will come when somebody will get inspired to go out and say, ‘Enough! No more.’ People shouldn’t have to live like this. They shouldn’t have to suffer like this. We can do better.”

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For Jeanne, and others involved in the Gathering community, the Gathering offers opportunities to do better. Even opportunities to influence change.

“Look at all the people that come here. Where do you find people like this? I don’t know of anywhere else where you might be able to go and meet all of the different kinds of people that come here. We’re like one big adopted dysfunctional family…Maybe [The Gathering] is an idea showing what cooperation could be like. Maybe even showing an idea of what things could be like. If you leave the baggage at the door and everybody comes here and everybody gets together. Who knows? You’ve seen what people do here. We just come in and do whatever. Everybody has a job, everyone has pretty much done every job. Everybody comes in here and does whatever needs to be done. The work gets done. We have fun doing it. But we realize the most important thing is not that we have fun, but the work we do, the most important thing is that people get fed. And that’s basically where it starts. A person comes in here, they’re hungry, and we feed ‘em. You’re going to get so much more back when you do that. I can sit here and preach to the choir but there is nothing like experiencing it for yourself.”

Jeanne’s communal view of the Gathering and the work being done is shared by others who volunteer with her at the Gathering’s dinner program. Some dinner volunteers have even tossed around the idea of opening their own restaurant. Jeanne’s ideas, communal vision, education and articulate hope for the future represent one piece of the puzzle that is needed to end hunger and homelessness.

Volunteer Spotlight: Marquette University High School

MU high faculty discuss Milwaukee issues

When I walked into the St. James breakfast site one morning this past February, Marquette University High School’s Urban Plunge Retreat faculty members were gathered around. They were talking with George, the Gathering’s Breakfast Program Coordinator, about some of the causes of poverty in Milwaukee, such as barriers to employment, education, affordable housing, incarceration and more. All of the faculty members were contributing their own knowledge, expertise and curiosity to the conversation. You could tell right away that the group was invested, not only in the education of their students, but also in the well-being of their city.

Marquette University High School students have volunteered with the Gathering 334 times since they began in 2001. The core volunteering group comes from the sophomore class, which is required to get twelve hours of community service a semester. Sophomores choose to volunteer with The Gathering’s breakfast program or other service organizations around Milwaukee. After initially volunteering, some students continue the experience, even after graduation.

The students aren’t the only ones committed to service. Marquette High School faculty decided to do an urban immersion retreat this year, including visiting the service sites where students volunteer. “Everybody wanted to come and see what our students do here, to see what it is all about,” explained one faculty member. After a discussion about Milwaukee’s social issues, the group volunteered the following day to prepare, serve and clean up the Gathering’s breakfast.

We are so thankful for the students who choose the Gathering as their volunteer site. We are also thankful that they have teachers, administrators, leaders and role models who not only value service, but actively participate. We hope this partnership continues for many more years.

Numbers are up at Mt. Carmel Lutheran Church

A Mt. Carmel chef hard at work

Nearly 3 years after Mt. Carmel Lutheran Church began its collaboration with the Gathering to serve lunch on the fourth saturday of each month, the meal is going strong. “Our numbers are up, and they are staying up,” Dani Ovanin, the youth ministry coordinator and meal program liaison, explains. They have consistently served between 50-55 guests per meal. With the recent close of a senior meal center in the neighborhood, the meal may even expand to serve more in the community.

Not only has the number of guests increased, but so has the number of volunteers. Mt. Carmel youth help prepare and serve meals as well as Marquette High school students, who seize the opportunity to gain some experience. We are so thankful for Mt. Carmel’s service and their commitment to feeding the hungry in their west side neighborhood.

Mt Carmel volunteers distribute desserts

The Gathering Guest Volunteers

Robert (rightmost) and Stephanie (middle) serve in the breakfast line

Guest volunteers are Gathering guests who cross the serving line to also donate their time as volunteers. These individuals provide valuable insight, energy, dedication, compassion and expertise to the Gathering community. They offer something that nobody else can—experience at the table and behind the scenes. Over the past few months, I have had the privilege of sitting down with a number of guest volunteers to hear their stories. They have some pretty amazing words that capture the communal spirit of the Gathering better than I ever could.

“It’s a place where individuals can come, sit down, eat a good meal, enjoy themselves, fellowship with each other and just have a nice time. Be thankful and grateful for those they know and those they care for and to just be with each other. Eat a good meal and everything.” - Stephanie, Breakfast volunteer

“A lot of people don’t understand how homelessness is. People don’t know how hard it is. You can lose your job, all your money, just like that, it happens...I used to be homeless just like the guests. I feel like I need to give something back because I understand what it’s like.” - Robert, Breakfast volunteer

“See, I used to come here [to the Gathering’s breakfast site] back in the 80s before I started working again. I like it here for the simple reason that from the first time I started coming over here until now, Don’t matter who they have running it or who they have working it - they always have the same mentality that they had back then. And that mentality is to treat people... ...with dignity and remind them that they’re not an animal and that things get better. When you treat people with respect, and stuff like that, they tend to not think that they know better than anybody else, That they’re all the same, Everybody goes through certain things. That’s the way it was back then and it still holds true now the way they do it.” - Ray, Breakfast volunteer.

“Look at all the people that come here [to the Gathering’s dinner site]. I don’t know of anywhere else where you might be able to go and meet all of the different kinds of people that come here. We’re like one big adopted dysfunctional family. Maybe [the Gathering] is an idea, showing what cooperation could be like. If you leave the baggage at the door and everybody comes here and everybody gets together, who knows? You’ve seen what people do here...everybody comes and does whatever needs to be done. We realize the most important thing is that people get fed. And that’s basically where it starts. A person comes in, they’re hungry, and we feed ‘em. You’re going to get so much more back when you do that. I can sit here and preach to the choir but there is nothing like experiencing it for yourself” - Jeanne, Dinner volunteer

The Gathering’s guest volunteers are an amazing group of people. The stories they share and the dedication they bring to the table is incredible. Don’t believe us? Then follow Jeanne’s advice and come experience it for yourself.

Volunteer Spotlight: Ray Pryor

For Ray Pryor, not volunteering with the Gathering was never an option. Ray has always been a hard worker and prides himself on his ethic and work commitment. As long as Ray eats meals at the Gathering, he will volunteer his time, energy and expertise to give back.

Ray and regular UWM volunteer Elena pause after a busy breakfast meal

Ray was laid off. Once his unemployment ran out, he struggled to keep his head above water while dealing with homelessness. In order to stay busy, Ray has volunteered with the Gathering’s breakfast program Monday-Friday for almost a year.

“[Volunteering] gave me something to do ‘cause I just got laid off. I didn’t feel like I just wanted to walk around all day not doing anything, so this gave me something to do in the morning. I come every day. Every day. Most of the time it does take my mind off of a lot of stuff. So, it’s good for now. I appreciate the people. Networking and stuff. Cause y’all do get a lot of really good volunteers that are really nice.”

Aside from volunteering, Ray spends a lot of time on the job hunt, making phone calls, doing research and applying for various positions. Over the past 20 years he has held jobs in Waukesha, Portage, the Dells and Milwaukee.

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Despite his work ethic and commitment, Ray explained that, “karma gets bad and you end up back where you started.”

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For those of us who have not experienced homelessness, getting laid off and ending up on the streets may seem impossible. Ray demonstrates that because of globalization and the job market, it is not as distant as you think.

“You work for a job for 16 years. Then the company decides, we’re giving you employees too much money and we’re paying the state too much money. We’re gonna move down to Mexico. And you’re like 45 … 48 … now you try to get another job before your unemployment runs out, but a lot of companies they want the young kids and stuff like that, they’re looking at your age. So you study, you’re knocking on doors, all of a sudden, unemployment runs out, you can’t get an extension, you lose everything. So you’re stuck, out here, in the middle of winter and hoping that there’s an old folks site that they will let you go to and get out of the cold. Now I gotta get off the cotton-pickin’ streets before winter time comes because if I don’t, I’m sleeping outside until the temperature is so unbearable that they will let me in because they got an overflow site.”

Thankfully, Ray is hard-working and focused. He is able to stay strong and positive to set his mind on volunteering at many different places, applying for jobs, and surrounding himself with positive friends and people who support him.

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“You have to keep your head on straight. Cause if you don’t you end up out here for 20 or 30 years and wonder what happened to your life.”

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The Gathering helps him be positive and focused. He feels comfortable and supported at the Gathering.

“I like it over here [at the St. James’ breakfast site]. I really do. See, I used to come here back in the 80s before I started working again. I didn’t volunteer then but I had a buddy that worked here. And … I like it here for the simple reason that from the first time I started coming over here until now, don’t matter who they have running it or who they have working it - they always have the same mentality that they had back then. And that mentality is to treat people with dignity and remind them that they’re not an animal and that things get better. When you treat people with respect, and stuff like that, they tend to not think that they know better than anybody else. We’re all the same, Everybody goes through certain things. That’s the way it was back then and it still holds true to now.”

It is the dedication and strong example of guest volunteers that keeps the Gathering focused on promoting dignity and respect. It is the consistent commitment of all volunteers that keeps the Gathering’s mission alive. And, in the end, it is individuals like Ray who set an example for others experiencing hardship. This network of individuals makes ending hunger and homelessness a real possibility.