A year-end message from WayForward Executive Director Ellen Carlson
At WayForward, we believe that when everyone has access to key building blocks for stability, we can transform our community into the kind of place we want it to be.
This year has presented many challenges to this vision of our community. When I sat down to write this letter last year, our food pantry was providing the equivalent of 54,000 meals per month. Now we’re distributing 115,000 per month. We see the same pressure on our housing stability programs, setting a record for the amount of financial assistance we provided in November.
When I look ahead I see no sign of the demand plateauing.
Numbers like these can be overwhelming. But I’m sharing them with you because they tell us a lot about what is happening in our community. And these numbers represent the experiences of people in our community: people who are standing in line outside in the cold two hours before our food pantry opens and people who are sitting in our lobby waiting to meet with case managers to discuss housing assistance.
Experts report the rise in demand is due to the end of pandemic-era support, general inflation and the steep increase in housing costs in our community, which causes people to focus even more of their income on paying rent. We have never turned anyone away from getting food, but we have had to put some limits on the amount of food people can take. We worry about how we and other local food pantries can continue to ensure that everyone in our community has access to nutritious food.
It is hard to hear these things. But this challenging moment also includes milestones to celebrate.
In the week prior to Thanksgiving, about 3,000 people received food from our pantry, including additional ingredients needed to make holiday meals for their families. We are on track to distribute the equivalent of more than one million pounds of food this year.
More than 600 households received financial assistance last year. As the Madison area continues to experience some of the highest rent increases in the country, this support allowed families to avoid eviction and stay in their homes, where they can eat dinner together and have a place for kids to do homework at night. In addition, the first participants have graduated from our Connections program, which means over the last year they have transitioned from doubled-up housing into homes of their own and no longer need financial assistance.
Your support is how we have continued to meet the need up to this point and stay focused on our mission. You ensure that families have access to nutritious food, including the nearly 3,000 people who received food for holiday meals. Your support also meant more than 600 students started the school year with backpacks loaded with the supplies they needed and 1,700 people received gift cards to help stretch their dollars a little farther this holiday season.
Every day, I am grateful for our volunteers, who have grown in numbers and put in more hours this year than last year. They adapt to our changing needs and adjust their to-do lists to tackle what is needed. We see so much patience and generosity as they work to help ensure people have critical access to food. I’m also thankful for the people in our community who recognize the impact of our work and serve as powerful advocates for WayForward and the people we serve. We will continue to need your strong voices in the year to come so our neighbors can go to bed at night knowing local food pantries – the last safety net for the most basic of all needs – will still be able to serve them.
There are a number of ways you can still make a tax deductible financial donation this year. Donations of your time and food can also make an immediate difference, including buying items directly from our wish list listed on our website, to help us continue to offer a variety of options to the people who visit our pantry.
By joining forces to provide our time, expertise, and resources, we can provide more people access to nutritious food and stable housing.
For Stephanie Lemancik and Rebecca Johnson, volunteering in WayForward’s garden was the seed for a strong, intergenerational friendship.
The two scientists first got to know each other as members of a “Green Committee” at their company, Thermo Fisher Scientific, which has been a longtime supporter of WayForward through food drives. They started volunteering for WayForward’s garden five years ago as part of the group, sparked by Johnson’s idea to garden to help others.
Over time, the group got smaller and just the two of them remained. Lemancik and Johnson have volunteered every week of gardening season since they began in 2018, except for days when the weather is too hot or severe to safely get out there. Both say they bonded over their love of volunteering and enjoyment of learning more about gardening along the way.
“I never considered myself to be a green thumb,” says Lemancik (at left in photo), who credits Dan Johnson, WayForward’s lead garden volunteer, for his mentoring and coaching. “We meet at the garden and he gives us our marching orders.”
The work is still challenging on some days, but both women say it’s worth it.
“I think back to when we’re focused on watering those little pepper plants back in July, and it’s like 90 degrees and we’re miserable,” Lemancik says. “And then we see these tiny plants growing up and producing so much food. When you look back over the course of the months and how much things have grown and changed, it’s such a beautiful journey.”
“It’s just such an important initiative to support the people in our community, even if we never meet them personally,” she says.
Johnson (at right in photo) says the beauty of WayForward’s garden – and what it produces to provide people in our community access to nutritious food – is part of what keeps her coming back season after season.
“I think it’s our duty in life to give to others and this is a perfect example of where our hard work actually can improve someone else’s health,” Johnson says. “That brings a huge amount of joy and happiness and satisfaction.”
Lou Ann Wagner has always volunteered and believes in giving back to her community
As a single mom working full time and supporting her three young children, she made sure to set enough aside to buy holiday gifts for people who had less than she had. “She carved out money to do that when we didn’t have much,” says her oldest daughter, Jennifer Murphy.
Lou Ann’s connection to WayForward (formerly Middleton Outreach Ministry) goes all the way back to when the family moved to Middleton in 1981 and joined St. Bernard Catholic Church. Jennifer recalls her mother doing a number of jobs in support of WayForward’s work, including years of stopping on her way home from work to do an hour of volunteer data entry. She has continued to support the organization’s mission over the years.
But Lou Ann’s volunteer service and her life came to a halt in August 2022, when she fell off a ladder at home and suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Her injury was life-threatening, requiring extensive interventions, rehabilitation and therapies. As her recovery progressed, Lou Ann’s desire to help others kicked back in. Even though she wasn’t really “allowed” to be on her computer without support, she would not be deterred.
“I signed myself up to volunteer” she said, after remembering her log-in and password to WayForward’s volunteer site. Since she wasn’t yet cleared to drive herself, Jennifer found herself recruited to volunteer with her. For the last year, the duo has been part of the “clean team” – Lou Ann vacuuming and tidying up the Clothing Center and Jennifer sweeping and mopping in the food pantry and the lobby of the building.
“This work is a reminder of how many unseen roles matter to WayForward,” Jennifer says. “Even ‘invisible’ jobs can be so valuable. If I am someone walking into this space and it’s clean, that means something.”
Both women consider their time volunteering as a key part of Lou Ann’s recovery from her injuries. “I’m feeling really good,” says Lou Ann, who no longer needs a ride from her daughter because she can once again drive herself to WayForward.
“This means a lot to us because we see how long she’s been giving back here,” Jennifer says.
“It is right in our backyard,” Lou Ann says.
“And people need help.” Jennifer adds.
Their time volunteering together adds to Lou Ann’s legacy of helping others and they hope others feel inspired to do the same. “There’s so many ways to be helpful,” Jennifer says.
WayForward volunteer Lynn Metz has helped collect, organize and distribute backpacks and school supplies to hundreds of students over the last decade.
As the lead volunteer for the Back to School program, Metz spends a lot of her summer thinking about the first day of school and what it means for kids to have what they need when they walk into their classrooms.
“There’s more need out there in our small community than people realize,” Metz says. “This brings to light the fact that kids need support to start off on the right foot.”
The massive organizational effort comes together with financial support and donations from individuals, churches and businesses. “The community is amazing,” Metz says. “We have a company that’s packing first grade backpacks, we have another company that’s packing kindergarten backpacks. I love the involvement.”
For Metz, the highlight is the day students arrive to pick out their backpacks. “No one that comes in has any idea how much work was involved in the program. Everything is organized by grade, and the backpacks are just sitting there ready to go,” she says. “I love seeing that.”
To support this year’s Back to School Program, visit our seasonal support page.
A crew of volunteers from Springs Window Fashions signed up for painting duty to give our food barrels a makeover ahead of our name change to WayForward Resources in May.
Springs has a strong history as a community partner and their role in this transition was fitting.
Some of WayForward’s donation barrels originally came from Springs — many years ago they received them with product deliveries and they later repurposed them as food barrels for company food drives.
Want to organize a food drive? Visit our drives page!
Jim Levin, a retired infectious disease physician, learned about WayForward from his daughter, who had volunteered in the past. He was looking for something to do with some of his spare time after retiring last January and started volunteering in the fall as a senior program volunteer driver. In a few cases, he has been able to share his medical expertise, offering insights to seniors heading to doctor appointments to help them better understand their condition or what questions to consider asking.
What keeps you coming back?
The gratitude of the clients you are helping drive to medical appointments, the grocery store or to pick up laundry. I enjoy the conversations we get to have on the way.
What has surprised you about volunteering at WayForward?
How well run the operation is and the caring people that work WayForward.
What would you tell a friend who is considering volunteering?
I would tell them that I am happy volunteering for WayForward and impressed with the day-to-day operations
In April, WayForward will celebrate Global Volunteer Month to honor those who give their time and talents to build food security and housing stability in our community. Over the last year, more than 1,000 volunteers have given their time to support our programs. Meet Jonathan Morkved, one of our newer volunteers, who gives his time to support our food pantry. Jonathan started volunteering in the fall. He picks up food rescue items from two local food retailers on Mondays and Fridays on his way to work, stopping at WayForward to weigh in and help stock the food he rescues.
What keeps you coming back?
I really enjoy working with the other volunteers and I believe in WayForward’s mission of ending community hunger. I love rescuing food from local retailers that would otherwise be wasted. It gives me a great sense of purpose and belonging in the community.
What has surprised you about volunteering at WayForward?
I was really surprised by the organization of the program and the open/timely communication to the volunteers. The weekly emails help keep everyone up to date and on the same page to any changes or updates to the program.
What would you tell a friend who is considering volunteering?
I would tell everyone to just sign up for one shift to volunteer inside of the food pantry. You will get a great sense of the support, kindness and inclusivity that is what WayForward is all about. You will feel so warm and welcomed that you will want to come back for more. It almost feels like a family!
On Thursday, June 2, MOM was delighted to return to Lakeview Park in Middleton for the first Volunteer Appreciation Picnic since 2019. Volunteers, their guests, and MOM staff enjoyed a relaxed evening in the newly renovated park shelter that included a delicious Middleton BBQ and “Moose” catered picnic, an assortment of yard games (Giant Jenga, Kerplunk!, Connect 4, Bean Bag Toss, and Bocce), and time to mix and mingle with each other. A brief program of appreciation concluded with a special message from MOM Executive Director, Ellen Carlson. We are grateful to volunteers who make our work possible.