8/9/2019 Year End 2009 Letter to Editor

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 You know it’s been said that “it takes a village to raise a child,” and while it may becliché to state again, it certainly is true when it comes to fulfilling the mission of FreedomHouse here in Green Bay. Freedom House is the only homeless shelter in Brown Countythat serves all types of families with children, the fastest growing segment of thehomeless population. Since our humble beginning in 1992, we’ve served more than1,800 children so we’ve seen what it takes to raise children successfully and to helpthem and their families break the cycle of homelessness.

 This past year was a difficult one, as it was for so many. We found ourselves facingfewer donations (some months 30-40% less) at a time when the needs we meet wereincreasing rapidly. As an organization that subsists 95% on donations, we needed to dosomething and do it fast! So, we eliminated four staff positions and those of us left took a10, 15 or 20% cut in pay – without complaint! Then, those duties performed by the staff we cut were reapportioned among the remaining staff in order to continue meeting thedaily needs of our families. Throughout this difficult process, we experienced atremendous outpouring of love and support from the community and for that we aregrateful. You can’t imagine the positive impact that support has had on us and thepeople we serve.

One person in the community offered to match all donations by year end, up to $70,000for a total income to Freedom House of $140,000. That offer came at a time when ourbank account was down to bare minimum and we weren’t sure how we’d cover the bills.But the community, our “village” responded and we met that challenge. You have ourdeepest thanks and appreciation.

Again, our community came through for us when a family event we thought was going tobe a fundraiser turned into a way for us to give back to the community that had so richlyblessed us. Our recent “Hope for the Hopeless” water park and pizza party held at

 Tundra Lodge, gave 50 area homeless families an afternoon of family fun they’ve neverbefore experienced, and with enough folks joining in from the community, we were ableto cover the costs and not cut into our limited operational funds. Again, we thank

everyone who participated for your generosity and support.

Unfortunately, during the staff transitions that occurred during the third and fourthquarters of 2009, some administrative tasks unintentionally fell through the cracks. Forthat we are truly sorry. It is not something we are trying to excuse by any means; we justwant the community to know we recognize our mistake and thank you again for yourpatience while we worked out the solution. It was part technology and part human error,but we believe the problem has been corrected. If you donated to Freedom House lastyear and did not get a receipt from us for tax purposes, please let us know and we willget one to you as soon as possible. Please call us at 432-4646 and ask for Andra.

Although our challenge is great, our approach is simple and made possible by the

generous support of the community in which we operate: we invest in parents and givehope to children. We’ve discovered through the years that when we treat the people weserve like the success stories we know they can become, they simply amaze everyonethey encounter and through it all we teach the community’s “takers” to become its mostsincere “givers.” We’ve found that what families need most is to feel valued and lovedand that’s how this community makes them feel. Thank you for your love. Thank you foryour generosity. Thank you for your support and caring. Know that you have changedlives in this place we call our village.

Humbly and with a grateful heart,Robyn Davis

8/9/2019 Year End 2009 Letter to Editor

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President, Freedom House