SHARE Host Site Histories

SHARE began 25 years ago in Ashwaubenon. The first site was Nativity Church and later we moved to the Ashwaubenon Community Center. Our St. Vincent de Paul Society members from Nativity are still the core volunteers today. I have been coordinator for 23 years. Other volunteers have varied, at times including students and community groups.

Over the years we have developed an efficient system for picking and checking orders. We’ve never missed a SHARE Day due to weather. The packaging, labeling and fresh produce have spread participation over more age and health groups.

Over our history, there are good, funny and sorrowful memories among our families. SHARE has seemed to lift the good and sorrowful events. We’ve enjoyed our association with SHARE.

Catawba
by Host Site Coordinator Cathy Peterson

We started in 1988 with a program based in St. Paul, and we joined SHARE Wisconsin in 1994. My husband Walt and I coordinated the site until he passed away in 2007. Now our son, Mike, his wife and their three children help each month. We originally began the SHARE program to help low-income families, and that’s still one of our goals. Also, we aim to provide good food easily to those who are less mobile. We serve about 30 families every month, including a couple of families who have been with us since we started! We have several dedicated volunteers who help with distribution every month. Serving people with dignity and respect is an important reason we have families come back each month.

Sheila Faye Shaw started our site around 1992. She believed it would be a good way to serve the community. Since that time, there have been four other coordinators.
We serve 25-30 families every month. Our volunteers are faithful, quick and hardworking. Everyone works as a team as we laugh, joke together and share each others’ blessings and problems.

John began picking up our food load at the warehouse almost at the beginning. Jim helps now when the load is large or we are out of town. Nancy sets up our packing line and double-checks each order, with help from Connie during busy months. Larry helps load the van and handles the paperwork when Jean is gone. Barb, Robin, Dennis and Sue are indispensible, and John R. and Kathy help when available. We try to learn families’ names so we can call people by name as they come in.

SHARE started in Colby in late 1988. Steve and Jane Hanson, owners of Sparetime Lanes, and Cecil Kornick were the original founders. At the beginning we used the bowling alley as our pick-up location and we worked with an organization in St. Paul, Minnesota to get our food. Then we started working with SHARE in Butler and began picking up our site’s food in Wisconsin Dells. Our count grew to over 200 packages a month.

The Hansons had to leave and that is when we moved our site to the VFW in Colby. Since then, the site has been led in turn by Jerry and Sally Heinal, Steve and Maureen Hutzinger and Carlene Sehike, and Peggy Erickson.

I took over in 2009. At the time, I knew very little about it even though I would order my BIG Value Package every month. We are growing each month. It is very interesting—well worth your time and money.

A mother-daughter team, Leona Fitzsimmons and Ellen Crosby, started our site in 1985. They were joined by Viola Francomb, Barb Judkins and Marge Peters. In 1993, Bill and Carol Calow became coordinators. When Bill passed away in 1995, I took over as coordinator with Daphne Milestone as head of distribution.

We hold our pick-up at the Town Hall. Our distribution team is Barb Eicher, Penny Walter, Rich and Virginia Vosberg, Larry Milestone, Doug Walter, and Sam and Cody Walter. We love what we are doing. We serve between 45-50 families each month, and they are like family. Everyone enjoys getting good, nutritious food for less. One of our members, Winifred Schwartz, makes mittens for children in Milwaukee.

One of our best memories is when one of our kids won SHARE’s Y.E.S. scholarship. Stacy Milestone Kammes was the lucky winner, and we were so proud of her. She has her master’s degree now and is back in our community, married with two little girls and a very responsible job. And SHARE helped her do it.

One funny story was the day that the semi couldn’t get to the Town Hall because of snow. So our guys took their pick-up trucks to the semi, unloaded the food and brought it back. No matter what needs to be done, we do it!

The Endeavor SHARE host site began in April 2008. We usually have 30 or more orders every month, which is pretty good for a small community of 640 people. The community doesn’t have a regular grocery store and SHARE allows folks who aren’t able to drive much to come and get great food at a great price. Our SHARE site also serves families in several neighboring communities. We have members coming from 35 or more miles away to pick up their orders.

We have a pretty steady volunteer team that works really well together. For the holidays, we distribute meals to people in our surrounding community through a Christmas Campaign. Donations come in from members, churches and others just wanting to help. We are very blessed to be able to serve the area through SHARE, and we enjoy our growing family of members.

Germantown
by Host Site Coordinator Sister Delores Theine, OSF

Germantown SHARE was started at St. Boniface around 1990 by Fr. Leonard Andre, Kenneth Wolf and myself. We worked together with Jackson’s SHARE site to assemble the food packages and distribute them. Eventually the two sites did their own distributions. Germantown SHARE serves about 25 families each month. A team of six volunteers—Tom Josten, Bob Zischke, Tom and Elizabeth, Clara Theine and Carol Brown—have been faithful volunteers in assembling orders for pick-up by 7:30am on SHARE Day. We have become a community of fun, loving people and efficient workers. We show care and concern for each other, as our members are greeted with a friendly “Hello!” and a helping hand.

Gwinn/Forsyth
by Host Site Coordinator Edna Hocking

SHARE started in Gwinn about 20 years ago when a few residents found out about the program in Ishpeming and decided they would like to have the program here. Bob Lawrence was the first coordinator and Herm was the treasurer. The helpers were Mary Ghiringhelli, Laura Dozzi, Angeline Peterson, Evelyn Keskimaki and me.

Several volunteers passed away, so I came on as coordinator. Lucille Koski was the treasurer and we had several helpers. We now have a very dependable team who unload the truck, fill the orders and help to carry the items out. They include Bob Salvate as treasurer, Duane Boldau, Michael Disch, Nancy & Charles Frassetta, Julie & Rodney Shaw, Ed & Carol Livermore, Robin Godfrey, John Kobut, Antoinette Willette and Beverly Salvate. They are all very dedicated, wonderful people who enjoy SHARE and like to help others. We serve about 35 families every month, and we often donate food packages to St. Vincent de Paul.

Harrisville/Westfield Area SHARE
by Host Site Coordinator Maxine Field

Linda Goucher and Noreen Stock started our SHARE site in 1992, and distribution originally took place at Harrisville Town Hall. My husband Joe and I became coordinators in May of 1999. Later, the site moved to the Westfield Village Hall. We serve between 35 and 45 families each month. Our site has a very friendly atmosphere and we have ten volunteers who come every month and are willing to help with whatever is needed. Our SHARE site is special to us because of the size of the community, the friendly people, and all of the helping hands. It has been a very enjoyable experience and it’s a great feeling to help and serve the community.

Ishpeming SHARE
by Host Site Coordinator Maureen LaWent

Our site started in Negaunee, a nearby community here in the Upper Peninsula. Joyce Trudell was one of the first leaders at the site, which most likely was started to serve local miners’ families. Here in Ishpeming we continue to provide groceries to those who would otherwise have to rely on convenience stores or long drives to surrounding cities. These days we typically serve 25-30 families every month. People like the good food quality, SHARE’s Promise, and the affordable fresh produce. Many say they could not afford to eat fresh produce without SHARE. We have a core group of indispensable volunteers, including Michelle and Dick Tyynismaa, Alan Lane, Marilyn Meyer, Sue Holmgren, Patsy Conrad, Sue Ellen Smallridge and Jill Fries. Also, we have the help of Bergie, the janitor at the VFW. Our area has a lot of poverty and unemployment, so we raise funds to help feed families in need through our partners, the Salvation Army and St. Vincent de Paul Society.

Janesville SHARE
by Regional Coordinators Delores & Ron Thomas

Since 1986, Janesville SHARE has been an expression of volunteers committed to their community. Charley & Tressia Larson and others decided to start the site. They got the word out and Charley drove his van to Milwaukee to pick up the food. The site grew fast and soon two pick-up trucks were needed. Later, our site joined with other area sites to rent a semi; now our site is part of a regular SHARE semi route. Janesville has had many dedicated host site coordinators through the years, including Linda Stevenson, Eugene and Nancy Dampier, Delores Thomas, Melody and Aaron Kegel, and, currently, Bethany Diehl. The site has been hosted by The Rock Assembly of God Church and the Union Labor Temple, and it is now at City of Hope Church. For the holidays, we ask the community for donations to purchase food packages for the less fortunate. We take pride in how our site reflects SHARE’s mission of bringing us together for food and community.

Kaukauna SHARE
by Assistant Host Site Coordinator Ann Brandt

Kathy and Tom Schroder started our SHARE site. Originally, Tom drove all the way to Butler to pick up our food on SHARE Day; now we are on a semi route. After several years, Janet Linder joined me and my husband Jerry to take the lead. After four years, Jodie Leedle and Mary Ann and John Loderbauer joined our leadership. We serve over 40 families every month, with 6-8 regular volunteers. I am involved with SHARE because I like eating healthy and staying on budget, and I enjoy helping others do the same. Our volunteers are happy and willing to help, unloading the truck, counting items and packing produce bags. They are all wonderful. Katie and Gordy bring their grandchildren to shuttle the wagon back inside and entertain the other kids. Volunteer Ellie Wolf donates handmade cookies, hats and scarves. We are thankful for all the volunteers who make SHARE possible!

Kenosha County
by St. Mary Kenosha Host Site Coordinator Deacon Ron Lesjak

The Kenosha Interfaith Network Committee decided that three SHARE host sites would start up in October 1985: Immanuel United Methodist, Second Baptist and Latin American Center. I started looking for a way to bring food from Milwaukee to Kenosha without cost, and the local U-Haul dealer agreed to donate the use of several trucks for that first distribution.

The next month, I met with four trucking companies in the Kenosha County area who offered their semi-trailer trucks to transport the food each month. David Nelson, Rich Nelson, Jeff Nelson, Tom Nelson and Scotty Kutzler were the owners who pitched in. With over 1,000 packages to distribute, we needed their help!

Kenosha increased to nine SHARE sites within the next few years, with large agencies joining our efforts including Salvation Army, the St. Vincent de Paul Store, the Shalom Center, the local food pantry and the soup kitchen. The outlying county had two sites that were later merged into the Westosha Community Center SHARE site.

Local transportation companies have continued to offer a donated truck to bring the food to Kenosha SHARE sites every month. Super Valu Transportation and Birchwood Transport Company have both offered to transport three loads during the year. Bane Nelson and Nelson Transfer donate two loads each year, while KIX, Inc. and Otto Nelson and Sons offer one load per year. Each and every one of them has been a blessing to our communities. In 1991, Laminated Products, Inc. offered their warehouse as a location for area SHARE sites to pick up their bulk loads. In recent years we have even supported SHARE sites in northern Illinois.

Kewaunee SHARE
by Assistant Host Site Coordinator Ann Brandt

Thanks to the insight of Judy O., the Kewaunee SHARE site started in 1990. We have had only four host site leaders since. Pat J. took over from Judy, and now the two of us have been leading the site for about six years.

We would like to recognize our volunteers who make SHARE Day run smoothly every month. There are a few volunteers who seem to have been here from the start: Barb, Ron, Andy, Marie and Carla. Some of our other volunteers include Adele, Diane, Robin and Christine.

We would like to extend a big thank-you to our site, Grace Lutheran Church. We feel so welcome here! We would also like to thank the organizations who help the less fortune of our area by making donations: the Kewaunee Secret Santas, Kewaunee Rotary and anonymous donors.

We are a small community, so knowing the ups and downs of our members’ lives makes us feel like family. We enjoy the personal touch of being able to greet our members by name. Each and every month you can hear the sound of laughter at our site. It starts when we hear the words, “The truck’s here!” Our truck driver is so helpful and always has a smile on his face.

Here’s what one of our members has to say about our site: “SHARE has enabled me to feed my family nutritious meals at a savings we can enjoy. SHARE also has given my special needs son a sense of being needed. He loves to help unload the truck, put labels on food packages and have others say ‘Hi!’ to him. Thank you for the opportunity to be able to make good food choices at a great savings!”

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