[Lekooks] Your Input is Requested Please - Time Sensitive

[Gina Magnus]

Good Afternoon All,

I want to thank those who have responded for your very well thought out
comments and opinions.  The responses have been predominantly positive with
some fence-sitters and a few wondering if we have the capacity as
individuals and as a congregation.   I  am also pleased to report that many
have committed to helping with food and resources and that is where the
"rubber meets the road", that's the important part.  I still would love to
hear from more people and am open to comments via text, phone, or email
through tomorrow mid-day.

Just a few clarifications:
*  *No money will be taken from the LCUUC budget for this project*.  IF we
go forward with this and people want to donate money to help specifically
with FP, we will work with Gail and the Finance Comm to determine how to
make that happen.  Perhaps a one-time special Sunday collection?
*  Can we support our commitment to Hope Center and this project? I cannot
answer that question  with 100% confidence, but my strong suspicion is, Yes
we can.
*  My apologies for going through the LeKooks platform for this question,
but time is of the essence in getting the conversation going.  FP wants an
answer tomorrow.
*  Can we partner with another church or group? Yes, that is a possibility
and it may have to happen, but I know that the preference is that we all
stay committed to one evening/month.
*  Deciding on a menu will be easier as staff at FP will be giving us a
food category for our meal and I will create a SIgn Up Genius for the
various components of the meal.

I really appreciate your responses and will circle back with Rev Matt to
finalize a direction and let all of you know.

Thanks,
gina

On Mon, Oct 16, 2023 at 10:57 AM Gina Magnus <gmarksonmagnus at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Good Morning All,
>
> I will try to keep this as brief as possible while trying to give you the
> information you need to help with this decision regarding our participation
> in the "new" version of Family Promise.  I am very proud of our
> congregation for being the first church to sign on with the program in 2014
> and for our continued support of the program as the model changed in
> response to the pandemic. The staff at Family Promise has proposed a
> dramatically different model for the upcoming winter/spring months.  For
> the sake of brevity, I will bullet point the rest of the information.
>
> *  Family Promise of Waukesha County (FP)  has partnered with Hebron House
> in Waukesha to manage the Emergency Overflow Shelter (EOS) for families and
> singles experiencing homelessness in Waukesha County from Nov '23 - March
> '24.
> *  The EOS is located at 1210 Sentry Dr. and can house up to 35 people.
> *  Families and Singles will be placed in the EOS only after* every other*
> available shelter bed is full.
> *  We have been asked to provide a meal once a month for the shelter (5
> times).  Our day is currently the third Thursday of the month.  The census
> will change and is weather dependent, but we should plan on feeding 35
> people.  We will have census data prior to our host date, but again, it can
> change quickly.
>
> Pros:
> *  This is a very vulnerable group of people who will benefit greatly from
> having a safe place to stay and meals provided.
> *  Trained staff from HebronHouse and FP will be onsite daily.
> *  No training is required to provide the meal.  Only trained volunteers
> will be able to stay and serve the food.
> *  It is a 5 month commitment at this time and if enough people sign on to
> provide food or $$, I believe it is doable.
>
> Cons:
> *  Feeding 35 people will be expensive and take some organizing.
> *  This is an atypical volunteer experience in that we will not have many
> opportunities to build relationships with other volunteers or our guests at
> the EOS.
> *  This is radically different from the model of FP that we signed on to
> in 2014. (con or simply the truth?)
>
> I met with Rev. Matt and Phil Smith yesterday and we decided that the best
> thing to do is to pose the question to all of you. *I would like you to
> respond as to whether or not you think we should sign on to provide a meal
> once a month for 35 people for 5 months*.  *IF you think we should,
> please also let me know if you are willing to commit to providing
> meals/food or $$ to support the effort. * I am willing to continue to
> coordinate our volunteers and the meals, but
> *I cannot do this without significant help from all of you.  *
>
> FP is looking for our answer by midweek this week.  I appreciate all input
> on this matter.
>
> Thank you, and as always I am so grateful to this congregation for the
> support that you have provided for FP over the last 10 years.
>
> gina markson magnus
> 262-424-7640
>
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