The Labor Council Brings New Hope to the Hope Center
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United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County

The Labor Council Brings New Hope to the Hope Center

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June 1, 2016

Written by Ralph Zick, Executive Director Hope Center

If you can imagine the stress that can happen on walls, floors and hallways after a long winter, then you can see why the Hope Center in Waukesha was in need of a little refreshing.

On Saturday May 7th our wish for repair was granted and we were blessed to have a group of union painters and dry wall specialists from the Labor Council spend their day making our dining area look “new” again. 

The Hope Center operates a Day Center for homeless individuals to come and eat a nutritious breakfast and lunch seven days a week including holidays. Throughout the winter months (November through April) our nonprofit provides a safe place for them to keep warm, eat a great meal and socialize.

Due to the fact that we are open continuously the ability to revitalize a room is not readily possible. We are grateful to Tom and his crew of volunteers who were so gracious and willing to give up a Saturday for our guests to do “their magic”, and that is what they did.

Not only did they make the room and hallways look wonderful they came with large pails of paint they donated to the project. This expense saved us a lot of money which we can now
use towards providing additional meals and comfort items for those in need.

Throughout the year over (1,100) guests come to Hope Center to stay. We try to make their space as comfortable as possible after spending their nights out in the cold and fierce weather that we all have come to experience in Wisconsin.

Our staff at Hope Center so very much appreciated the volunteers who gave time to make the facility comfortable and pleasing to our guests. Most homeless individuals do not have the comforts of home like most of us do. A new coat of paint proved to be just what they needed. The Monday following the revitalization project at Hope Center we heard very positive comments, such as “WOW this is great” and “They do care for us here” but also “Now we need to be more careful on how we treat the walls.” 

Thank you United Way and Labor Council volunteers for putting this project together, for brightening up of our facility and for giving our guests a beautiful place to call home.

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