Brittney - CESA 7
In August 2016, Brittney, at CESA 7 in Green Bay, reached out to coworkers requesting donations of children’s books. She hosted a table for CESA 7 at a community event, the 4th Annual Feed the Homeless and Community Barbecue, and wanted to give out books to children at the event. She received $1,046 worth of donated books! After the event, she delivered the remaining books to food pantries in the area that serve children. This is a great example of the work of our VISTAs. Brittney was visible in the community spreading the word about homelessness for CESA 7, as well as benefiting children and food pantries that serve homeless children with the books.
Daniel - CESA 1
Daniel, a 2015-2016 VISTA at CESA 1 in Pewaukee, started a mentoring program for students experiencing homelessness in the West Allis-West Milwaukee (WAWM) School District starting in the 2016-2017 school year. The mentoring program began at the West Allis-West Milwaukee Learning Center, the district alternative High School, and later expanded to Horace Mann Elementary School. To assist with recruiting mentors, Daniel was instrumental in assisting WAWM and Marquette Midnight Run in the development of their High School Learning Achievement Mentoring Project, which supplied the 14 high school mentors. Grade school mentors were recruited through a volunteer fair and a Marquette University newsletters advertising the mentoring program.
Shelby - CESA 10
“I organized a Poverty Simulation that brought in about 90 people from school districts, colleges, local organizations, and service providers to better understand the daily strain put on families experiencing poverty. I sent information out to UW-Eau Claire, school districts, local organizations, and talked about it at the local homeless services provider meetings. I was able to recruit volunteers from many different organizations, including CESA 10 staff. This was a great event to bring awareness of the impacts of poverty and homelessness to people in our area of the state.” -Shelby Schuppe, CESA 10, Chippewa Falls