Waukesha County charitable groups need help before they can help others for Christmas

Christmas is supposed to be a season that's about giving, but what happens when charitable organizations themselves have to "get" in order to "give?"

The answer: a little pleading and a lot of hoping. At least in the case of two organizations tasked with finding resources for two essential needs: food and housing.

Friends With Food, a Waukesha County nonprofit which arose during the pandemic, and the Salvation Army of Waukesha County, a local chapter that's part of a national organizational structure dating back more than a century, share a common element in serving life needs.

Friends With Food steps more deeply into growing need

Rochelle Gamauf could clearly see what was happening in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted everything, not the least of which were food supplies and the resources to pay for them, sometimes at inflated prices.

As a licensed Realtor with NextHome, Gamauf, a Waukesha native, became aware of the need in part from a corporate team meeting with other agents, who were encouraged to reach out to past clients just to see how they were managing. Some were.

The effort blossomed, eventually reaching others who were struggling. Friends With Food, a self-described choice food pantry, emerged first from individual charitable efforts under its original name, SE WI Emergency Support Group, which reflected the times. After the worst of the pandemic passed, it was clear people's food needs didn't.

"At Friends with Food, 95% of our guests fall below the federal poverty limits," said Gamauf, who left her real estate career behind to serve as executive director of Friends With Food. "With the inflation of food prices, we are seeing so many families that have never visited a pantry before and now are in need."

Friends With Food, 713 N. Grandview Blvd. in Waukesha, isn't the only food pantry serving the county. One of the largest, the Food Pantry of Waukesha County, serves a reported 5,700 residents a month. But Friends With Food has found a pressing need among others. "At Friends With Food, we remove all barriers to food insecurity. We treat our guests like friends," Gamauf said.

The nonprofit, on a weekly basis, serves more than 380 families. About 35% are children. Another 11% are seniors. And the numbers are rising.

"Every month we see our numbers skyrocket," she said, noting a one-year increase through October of 223% in the number of families. "And the need for food rescue has increased, too. Last month we distributed over 96,000 pounds of food."

Enough of a volume to need a support structure for the fledgling organization.

The website includes handy links for making donations and volunteering, obviously key ongoing components. But during the holiday season, there's an added effort: A Santa With Friends fundraiser. This year's event — featuring a breakfast, games, crafts and, of course, Santa Claus — takes place from 8 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 2 at the former West Suburban Christian Academy building, 1721 Northview Road, Waukesha.

Gamauf said the organization is feeling extra pressure this year. The acquisition of a box truck to pick up groceries from food banks, which previously used COVID relief funds to deliver to Friends With Food, added to overhead costs.

"Our expenses have doubled to keep up with the supply," she said. "Our organization is in need of more funds to support our mission to provide good quality food to our local community."

But the organization and her personal motivating factor helps them push ahead.

"I like to say I change lives, give hope and a friend to be there for them," Gamauf said. "I have given up my career in real estate to help others. This is very rewarding and humbling. So many of our neighbors are suffering and they don't know where to go."

Salvation Army again needs bell ringers for kettle campaign

When recruiter Josh Pham began seeking volunteers and paid workers for the Salvation Army's annual holiday Red Kettle campaign in October, he faced a familiar challenge as in recent years, and in some ways worse.

The campaign, which features the trademark kettles accompanied by a bell ringer, has struggled mightily personnel-wise since 2020, notably extending beyond the pandemic crisis and into the labor shortage crisis of 2021. It was also a struggle in 2022, but 2023 has started out with an even steeper deficit of bell ringers.

Finding paid workers to work the longer shifts is critical, but that has been the most difficult personnel void to fill.

"By early November, we had about a half dozen," Pham said. One week into the campaign, the number had grown to 17: six part-time (eight to 24 hours weekly) and 11 full-time. "Those are my paid guys. Volunteers are probably about 50-60 persons but (they) take only 1- to 2-hour shifts on average."

Given that the organization positions kettles at 50 high-volume spots — supermarkets, discount department stores and home improvement centers included — there are a lot of hours to fill.

"The math is easy," said corps officer Major Timothy Nauta, who has headed the Salvation Army of Waukesha County since 2015. "With 50 Red Kettles, attended eight-to-10 hours per day by a bell ringer, for six days each week, from Nov. 10 through 3 p.m. Christmas Eve, we have over 15,000 hours to fill."

Why such a premium on bell ringers? Because they're the key to people focusing on and dropping donations into those red kettles, Salvation Army officials say. Unmanned red kettles tend to collect substantially fewer donations.

The cost of fewer donations is a shortfall of funding for the organization's mission, the most critical of which is the homeless shelter — a facility in downtown Waukesha that becomes particularly important as the weather cools at about the time the ringers begin shaking the shiny brass bells each November. It provides safe lodging for up to 32 homeless men per night year-round.

In addition to the shelter at 445 Madison St., the organization also offers a large food pantry, hot community meals and its Feed The Kids program. It also employs its mobile kitchen for emergencies, including fires and weather disasters; offers scholarships to a rural, lakeside residential camp; runs both women and youth ministries; operates a Christmastime Toy Shop for families in need; and offers weekly Christian education and worship services.

To fund it all, the organization aims to support its budget by raising $880,000, which largely depends on seasonal cash in red kettles. (Direct mail donations also contribute to the total.) The right number of bell ringers have made that possible in the past.

"We look for cheerful, community-minded volunteers whose motivation is to help others in need at Christmastime," Nauta said.

Those willing to ring can sign up online on Salvation Army's website.

Contact Jim Riccioli at (262) 446-6635 or  james.riccioli@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at  @jariccioli.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Waukesha County nonprofits seek funds during Christmas season