Eau Claire C.A.R.E.s (Community Allies & Resources Expo)- This Sunday, October 27th @ Oakwood Mall!

Join us October 27th from 11 am to 6 pm to learn more about the services within the Eau Claire county that provide assistance to our friends and neighbors in need.

A number of agencies will be on site to answer your questions or provide you with details on what you can do to help. Go to www.oakwoodmall.com/events  for a list of the agencies.

Bring your gently used or new hats, mittens and coats for donation to One Warm Coat and/or any non-perishable food items for donation to Feed My People Food Bank. By donating you not only help our local friends and neighbors but you will feel good too!

 

The Community Table needs your help!

A message from the Director-

The Community Table can use your help- our weekends are quite open for serving teams! We understand that after the winter we had everyone wants to take as much advantage of good weather as possible. Water skiing, pontooning, picnincing, hiking, etc really just doesn't stack up to chopping vegetables, preparing food and serving it right? We will serve a meal regardless of whether there is a team or not, it might be a brown bag lunch, but we know there are too many folks that this is the only meal they have available. Tami, our Kitchen Operations Manager is really good at putting together menus according to the group we have serving.
All of us move in circles that might possibly consider putting together a group, please mention it to church groups, civic groups, neighborhood and family groups that you think might be interested. If you can't put together a group but would be able to help as an individual, please e-mail me, Rachel@thecommunitytable.org

Here are dates that we have available:

June 28, 29 and 30
July 5, 6, 7, 19, 21, 26 and 27
August4, 9,10,16,18,23,24,25,30 and 31

For Fridays we need volunteers for food preparation at 3 p.m., the meal is served 5-6:15 and clean up is finished by 7 p.m.
For Saturdays, we need volunteers for food preparation at 9 a.m., the meal is served 11:30-1 p.m. and clean up is finished by 2 p.m.
For Sundays, we need volunteers for food preparation at 1 p.m., the meal is served 3-4 p.m. and clean up is finished by 5 p.m.

Thanks for your consideration and help!

Thank You Walmart!

For a second year in a row Walmart on Gateway Drive (near Kohl's) has donated an AMAZING amount of winter gear to the ECASD Homeless Program. This year's donation added up to over $5300 retail and will be dispersed to our homeless students next fall, along with many other area agencies including Beacon House, Bolton Refuge and The Community Table. THANK YOU AGAIN to Walmart for their donation to our community!

Twin Bed needed for 9 year old!

Please contact the homeless program if you have an unstained/non-ripped complete twin bed set for donation to a 9 year old ECASD student who recently became housed again. Thank you for your help! Dani Claesges (715) 852-3044.

A HUGE Thank You to First Presbyterian Church Congregation!!!!

For a second year in a row, the congregation at First Presbyterian Church have come together and not only sponsored over 40 individual homeless students for this winter season with necessary winter gear (coats, boots, snow pants, gloves, hats, scarves, and more), they also donated a very large amount of hygiene products for boys and girls, young to young adult.

Thank you so very much to the people involved and for taking the initiative to ask what our homeless students really needed; it is evident that you are all very caring individuals. Our students, families, and the program staff thank you for all you've done, and appreciate your generosity much more than can be expressed.

Jamie Radabaugh, Lisa Nielsen and Paster Eric Nielsen

Once Upon A Prom 2013

Once Upon a Prom is getting ready for its second year. This event is for local girls who cannot afford to attend prom. Last year we had 59 girls attend, and this year we are anticipating double! We are hoping that ECASD employees may be interested in helping with this endeavor. Once Upon a Prom will be held April 5 – 6 at Hillcrest Country Club in Altoona. Each girl will receive a dress, shoes, handbag, jewelry, a hair and makeup lesson and a goody bag. Girls will also have a personal shopper to help them choose the perfect items. In order to qualify for this event, each girl must complete six hours of any community service of her choosing. We are looking for donations of dresses, shoes, jewelry, purses, unused makeup, etc. Donations may be dropped off at the following locations:

NOW--Boys & Girls Club, 201 East Lake St., Eau Claire and Boys & Girls Club, 21 East Grand Ave., Chippewa Falls

March 4-16--Bravo Spa and Salon, 1120 122nd St., Chippewa Falls

March 18 – 30--Westconsin Credit Union (any location) - drop off in the lobby

March 1 – 30--Eau Claire North, Eau Claire Memorial, Eau Claire Regis, Altoona, and Durand High School during normal operating hours at the front office. Volunteers are also needed to help at the event. Go to www.onceuponaprom.com for more information or contact Liz Poteete at lizpot1987@gmail.com for more information.

Peace Lutheran 6th Grade Confirmation Class Donates Warmth

A warm THANK YOU to Peace Lutheran Church's 6th grade confirmation class for their wonderful donation of blankets for some of our homeless students. The class learned about our ECASD homeless student population and made tie blankets to bring a bit of joy to some of our students' lives. It was a wonderful way to make a difference in our community!

Amazing Grace at First Lutheran Church

The Amazing Grace group at First Lutheran Church sponsored 7 homeless families (18 students in total) with winter outerwear and wrapped all the items up just in time for Christmas.
Thank you to the group for taking such time and care to make sure all needs were filled and outfits were complete and matching.

Junior League Donates PJs and Book sets

Thank you Junior League for your wonderful donation of pj's and books. They were just in time for Christmas and the lucky recipients we're very excited to have a new book AND new pajamas!

Edina Realty Gives Christmas to a Homeless Family

 The entire Edina Realty staff came together to give one ECASD homeless family a wonderful Christmas. Their generousity was amazing and brought smiles and awe to a wonderful mom and her kids. Thank you Edina Realty staff for your giving spirit!

Washer & Dryer Needed for Newly Housed Family

A single mom who has recently come out of homelessness is in need of a working washer and dryer. If you're able to help, please contact Randy Richter at Meadowview Elementary 715-852-4000.

Eau Claire School Library Friends Donate New Books!

The Eau Claire School Library Friends group purchased and donated 100 new books for our homeless students just in time for Christmas. Books ranged from infant to adult, and many homeless families enjoyed the gifts. Thank you to the many generous group supporters and members for giving to the ECASD Homeless students and parents this Christmas season! (The Eau Claire School Library Friends can be found at http://www.facebook.com/#!/EauClaireSchoolLibraryFriends?fref=ts)

MOMS Club South Teaches Generosity

This Fall, MOMS Club South held two donation drives with their members to collect new and used winter outerwear and blankets. They brought these items to their scheduled playdates and the children saw first-hand what it means to give generously. The ECASD Homeless program received 11 coats, 5 snowpants, 9 pairs of boots, 1 pair of shoes, and 21 blankets. Thank you to all the families for your donations and for helping our homeless students.

 

The Bridge Church wraps up warmth for Christmas!

The Bridge Church in Eau Claire sponsored 20 homeless students for Christmas with gifts of hats, gloves, boots, snowpants and coats. Their gifts were loved and appreciated by 20 lucky homeless students! Thank you to the church for giving the gift of warmth this Christmas season :)

Thank you Xcel staff for the donation drive!

Thank you to all the Xcel staff who donated their coats, clothing, and other items to the ECASD Homeless Program- we appreciate everyone's generosity and time spent organizing this!

Thank you to these people for sponsoring a homeless student for Christmas

Thank you to Mary Olsen, Patty Durkop, Ian & Laura Dozier, and Chippewa Valley Church groups for sponsoring homeless students this Christmas! Your kindness made their Christmas complete!

Eau Claire Energy Cooperative brings brightness to a family's Christmas

Thank you to the many employees, board members, and family members of Eau Claire Energy Cooperative who came together to donate a very generous amount of gifts and gift cards to an ECASD homeless family this Christmas.

 

Thank you for another year of family generosity!

Thank you to Carol & Keith Blomquist, The Ponty Family, Randy Blomquist, and Brad & Nita Blomquist for yet another year of generous sponsorship of a homeless family for Christmas!

North Girls' Basketball Teams Sponsor Christmas!

Thank you to North High School's Girls' Basketball teams for sponsoring two homeless families for Christmas!

Thank you for the donations!

Before we recognize a few groups, businesses, and individuals who made a difference for a few of our families at Christmas, we would like to make sure we thank EVERYONE who has donated items to the homeless program this fall.

Whether it was school supplies, a pair of shoes, or clothing items for our homeless students- EVERY DONATION is greatly appreciated and always ends up in the hands of a student in need.

THANK YOU! from our staff, the students, and their families!