Edgerton Community Outreach

Auction Update

Emily — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:41:46 +0000

I hope Everyone has marked their calendars for Sunday September 12 for the Edgerton Outreach Auction. There are great items for both the Live and Silent Auction. Some current highlights include two four packs of Badger Football tickets, a 30 min plane ride, golf passes, hand crafted blankets, and many great Gift Baskets. Pink Houses is playing from 3pm-5pm. There is no charge for their concert. Pink Houses was scheduled to play this summer for Edgerton’s Concert in the Park series but the concert was rained out. Come listen to some wonderful local talent.

The live auction is from 1pm-3pm and the silent auction is 3pm-5pm. See you there. We are still collecting donations!!!!

Thank You Volunteers

Emily — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:25:00 +0000

Thank you to our new and old volunteers that have assisted throughout the month of July to tackle our giant pile of donations. During the summer months and even into the winter for the past year our incoming donations have been tremendous. This is a great problem to have, but it can be overwhelming to look at a pile that never seems to go down. Edgerton Outreach had looked at solutions to store excess donations. The best solution that has worked is increasing our volunteer base to sort through donations. Edgerton Outreach is always looking for more volunteers. Volunteers do not need to commit to any certain day of the week or any set number of hours per week. Edgerton Outreach utilizes volunteers in all aspects of the Thrift Store including; presorting donated items, marking the items for sale, putting the items out in the Thrift Store, cleaning and organizing in the Thrift Store, and cashiering. Please contact Edgerton Outreach if you would like to volunteer.

Very often I am asked what Edgerton Outreach does with items that we are not able to sell in our Thrift Store. Edgerton Outreach, per the suggestion of a member of the United Methodist Church, sends unusable clothing items to the Salvation Army. The Salvation Army resorts the donations. The items that they are able to use they sell in their Thrift Store to support their housing programs and feeding programs. Items that they are not able to utilize are sent out to be made into Green Insulation. It is our goal to send as little to the dump as possible.

Edgerton Outreach is very appreciative of the donations that we receive for our Thrift Store. Revenue from the Thrift Store funds all program areas including the food pantry, rental assistance, and other emergency assistance programs.

Pantry Shelves in Need of Stocking!

Emily — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 19:29:54 +0000

The demand for Food Pantry services steadily increases beginning in June each year and the high demand continues throughout the Holiday season. January through May the food pantry served on average 134 households. In July 2010 the pantry served 154 households, with 15 of those households requesting services for the first time. The summer season also is a time of year when donations of food items slow. High demand for service and lower levels of donations leads to empty pantry shelves.At the current time Edgerton Outreach is in need of all types of food items. This includes canned soups, canned tuna, tuna/hamburger helper, jelly, crackers, jiffy mixes, cereal, peanut butter, canned vegetables, dry pasta, and canned pasta items. Picking up a few of these items each time you grocery shop is a great way to support the pantry.

Another great way to support the pantry is by purchasing food from The Angel Food Ministries (www.angelfoodministries.com) or from Share (www.share.org). A person is able to purchase frozen meat items, fresh produce, and other items from either program and donate them directly to the pantry.

Edgerton Outreach Fundraising Auction 9/12/2010

Emily — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:03:18 +0000

Edgerton Outreach will be hosting a Fundraising Auction on Sunday September 12, 2010 at the Edgerton High School. The Live Auction is 1pm-3pm. The Silent Auction is 3pm-5pm with live entertainment provided by Pink Houses during the Silent Auction. Watch our website for an updated list of auction items. This fundraising event is held in response the ever growing demand for ECO’s services. Currently the Food Pantry is serving over 150 households each month. Donations tend to slow over the summer months and we are working hard to keep the pantry shelves stocked. At this time Edgerton Outreach has 20 families waiting to receive assistance through one our our rent programs. Many of the households receiving assistance through Edgerton Outreach have a source of income (paid employment, SSI, SSDI, unemployment compensation), but the income that these people receive is not sufficient to cover all of their living expenses.

Volunteers are needed to assist with set-up on Saturday 9/11/2010 beginning at noon and volunteers are also needed to assist with other tasks the day of the auction (9/12/2010).

Please mark your calendars for this fun day of fundraising to support those in need in our community.

School Supply Program

Emily — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:25:36 +0000

It is hard to believe that August is upon us and children will be returning to school shortly. Edgerton Community Outreach partners with local churches, local individuals, and our local American Family Insurance Agency to provide supplies for students in the Edgerton School District. This year the Edgerton Elementary PTA is providing basic supplies for all students at the Community Elementary School.Families needing assistance with school supplies can call the Outreach Office at 608-884-9593. Pick of backpacks is Wednesday 25, 2010 from 4pm-6pm at Central Lutheran Church.

Donations of backpacks, binders, loose-leaf paper, water color paints, kleenx, wet wipes, and any other school supplies can be dropped off at Edgerton Outreach or at the Dave Pierce American Family Insurance Agency in Edgerton. After all students are provided supplies, extras are given to each school to assist students and teachers throughout the year.

Knights of Columbus Golf Outing

Emily — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:27:49 +0000

On Saturday August 14, 2010 the Knights of Columbus will be hosting a Charity Golf Outing to benefit Edgerton Outreach, Camp Grey, and the Pregnancy Helpline of Janesville. The outing will be held at the Towne Country Club in Edgerton WI. Registration is at 7:30am, shot-gun start at8:00am, and lunch after golfing. The cost is $50 which includes golf, cart and meal.

Agencies in Rock County are experiencing high demand for all types of services. Competition for resources is fierce and when local groups advocate for and raise dollars for not-for-profit agencies we cannot say thank you enough!!!!!!

The contact person for this event is Paul Davis davisfour@charter.net. Please join me in this great event!!

A True Spirit of Giving

Emily — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:24:21 +0000

Every once in a while I am completely shocked to the point of being speechless. It doesn’t happen often, but this week I was pleasantly shocked. I had a former program participant drop of some donated food and this person handed me an envelope with a cash donation. This person donated back $1000. By no means does Edgerton Outreach expect anything back in return for our services.This particular person was forced to not work due to serious complications due to diabetes. He fought through the multiple year process to gain disability benefits. This person received back pay on their benefits and choose to donate some of that money back. It made me realize that if we all had that same spirit of giving the world would be a better place.

We appreciate all the support that we receive from our community. Donations of time, money, and food all help to support our mission.

Thank You Volunteers!!!!

Emily — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 20:32:26 +0000

Edgerton Outreach is one of many not-for-profit agencies that greatly relies on the labor of volunteers to make our agency a success. The Food Pantry shelves are stocked and food is distributed by two or three dedicated volunteers that give thirty hours of time each week. The Thrift Store is 95% staffed by volunteers. At least 10 women and men take one or more two hour shifts running the cash wrap station in the Thrift Store donating an additional 30 hours each week of donated labor. Our sorting crew consists of 20+ volunteers that tirelessly sort through bags of donated clothing and household goods adding at least 80 or more hours of donated time to our total. The toy department, book/craft department, and holiday room volunteers add an additional 30 hours of volunteer labor. The value of their combined donated time is $1240 per week or $64,480 annually. It is needless to say that Edgerton Outreach would not have the capacity to provide the large numbers of services to our community if the Thrift Store was not volunteer ran.

These figures to not account for the 150 people that help out at the Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve Community Meals, the volunteers that serve breakfast at Yahara, Community Elementary, or the Middle School during the school year, and those that ring bells for our annual Salvation Army Campaign. There are many more ways volunteers support our agency including our Board of Directors that assist in the oversight of our agency.

I can never say thanks enough to our volunteers for their hard work and dedication. Next time you shop at our Thrift Store please acknowledge our volunteers for the service that they are providing to our community.

July Bell Ringing Campaign

Emily — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 19:00:21 +0000

Volunteers are needed to ring bells for Edgerton Outreach’s Christmas in July Bell Ringing Campaign. Two hour time slots are available on Saturday’s from 8am-6pm throughout the month of July 2010. It is a great way for youth to get in needed volunteer hours for school or church requirements. Salvation Army budget dollars are utilized to assist persons who are working with transportation vouchers to ensure that they are able to make it to work. In a difficult economy it is important to keep those with a job employed. ECO is able to assist people when they first become employed to cover some of the gas expense until they begin receiving regular paychecks.

This fund also is used to pay for motel vouchers for homeless persons and to purchase food for the pantry when needed. Annually our Christmas Campaign raises $4500. Our funds are often exhausted by June each year. This summer campaign allows ECO to provide much needed services to more people.

Oaklawn Students Help out Food Pantry

Emily — Fri, 21 May 2010 19:55:39 +0000

On Sunday May 30th the students of Oaklawn Academy will be collecting non-perishable food items for the food pantry at Piggly Wiggly from 10:30am-4pm. They will also be collecting personal care items including shampoo, conditioner, deoderant, toliet paper, kleenx, dish soap, and laundry soap. Persons receiving Food Share Benefits cannot use their benefit to purchase personal care items.

The students from Oaklawn Academy also assisted in the Thrift Store this past winter. They were able to tour our facility and learn more about the programs offered by Edgerton Outreach. I enjoy working with youth of all ages. It is important to teach our youth the value of helping out those less fortunate.

Please stop out and support their efforts.