I tell ya, I was sweating.
On the last Friday in October, I got word from our partners at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin that our fundraising total for the annual Stock the Shelves campaign was simmering at about $36,000.
A lot of money, sure, but well short of goal and just over half of the $66,000 our partners — the Greater Fox Cities Chapter of Credit Unions and Mike and Mary Salsieder — put forward as a match.
We published our last planned article on that Sunday, and as the remaining days of the month threatened to slip by, I asked Greg Borowski, executive editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, to write a column, asking readers one last time to participate in this year’s campaign.
“The generosity out there is overwhelming,” he wrote. “But the need is staggering. Please help us help our communities.”
And ya’ll — you came through.
Taima Kern, editor of The Post-Crescent
In those last few days, you nearly doubled what we raised in the first three weeks combined.
We ended the month with $70,633.74 in donations from readers across the state.
Add those totals together, and we’re at $136,633.74. Now multiply that by four, as each dollar we collected will help pay for four meals, and we’ve got our final number: 546,534 meals.
More than half a million meals.
Now that’s great news.
“Everyone on our team is thrilled to hear these numbers and is grateful for the support from our readers,” said Borowski, who also oversees the Green Bay and Appleton newsrooms. “We know the money will be put to good use, right in our communities. At the same time, we know the need is not seasonal. We’ll continue to write stories about efforts to combat hunger, and hope our readers will continue their support as well.”
In our Wednesday edition, you’ll find a page thanking each and every one of the nearly-400 donors (or pairs of donors, as several donations are attributed to married duos) whose names we know, as well as a general thank-you to the 104 donors who chose to withhold their names, but not their kindness.
Greg Borowski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. News Department.
We also had more than 65 donations made in tribute to someone (or several someones) special. I’m so honored that you chose our campaign as your way to remember them. I want you to know that I read every name, out loud, and sent my thanks into the air, to find them wherever they are.
Some people even gave more than once.
All told, we recorded 581 individual donations.
If gathered together, they’d only fill up 0.7% of the seats at Lambeau Field. But the people benefitting from their kindness would fill up the stadium nearly seven times over.
“This year’s Stock the Shelves funds will be used to purchase turkeys to distribute to our neighbors in need this Thanksgiving season,” said Liz Wollenberg, chief systems and strategy officer for Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. “We will leverage our relationships with food vendors and manufacturers to secure the best price and stretch donor dollars even farther to make a large impact for families this holiday.”
It’s important to remember, however, that while we can help put a turkey on a table this month, we are in no way “solving” food insecurity for our communities. It takes consistent work, from everyone, to make an ongoing difference.
“The Greater Fox Cities Chapter of Credit Unions chooses to join forces with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin each year because we believe that food insecurity is not just a statistic — it’s a reality that affects our community members daily,” said Lynn Hopfensperger, on behalf of the chapter.
“We are passionate about fundraising for this cause because everyone deserves access to healthy food, especially during the holidays. We recognize our responsibility to help combat this pressing issue locally. The match we provide reflects our commitment to amplifying our impact, ensuring that every dollar raised translates into meaningful support for those in need.”
Stock the Shelves logo
Additionally, staff from our newsrooms in Milwaukee, Green Bay and Appleton will take a day to volunteer at the Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin food banks next month, adding our hours to the tens of thousands of hours put in by volunteers across the 35 counties they serve (the organization tracked nearly 50,000 volunteer hours last year).
We are so blessed to be able to help focus resources on making a difference — thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for entrusting us with your kindness.
Taima Kern is editor of The Post-Crescent in Appleton, one of 11 daily papers which make up the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. Reach her at [email protected] or 920-993-7104.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Wisconsin readers, newspapers help raise enough money for 546,000 meals
