First Bank, others unite to help needy
Man shares story of going from homelessness to volunteering
During the 2011 holiday season, First Bank Financial Centre (FBFC) donated a $1,500 to purchase more than 65 holiday meals, through the Wisconsin SHARE program, for those in need in the Oconomowoc area.
In November, FBFC teamed up with Ebert's Greenhouse, and both parties donated $1 to Oconomowoc Urgent Needs Fund (OUNF) for every pumpkin purchased at their greenhouse to use toward Thanksgiving meals. A total of $1,000 was raised to purchase 33 Thanksgiving meals. Ebert and bank employees helped assemble and distribute the meals at First Congregational Church.
Pleased with the success of the November initiative, FBFC donated an additional $1,000 during December, and 33 Christmas meals were purchased through the SHARE program and were distributed in the community.
SHARE is a nonprofit organization serving Wisconsin, northern Illinois, northeastern Minnesota, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. SHARE helps families save 30 to 50 percent on supermarket quality food and runs meal programs during the holidays. Through the efforts of its many volunteers and donations, SHARE enables communities to respond to the basic needs of its communities, and provides access to good, nutritious food.
One volunteer is Rico LaFuente. LaFuente has been involved with SHARE for about a year, both as a recipient, and as a volunteer. As with so many families, money has been tight in the LaFuente's Waukesha household, however, having once been homeless himself, LaFuente said he is incredibly thankful for organizations like SHARE, and takes great pride in giving back to his community, when he can, through programs like this.
In the early '80s, LaFuente was a delivery driver for a produce company in the Milwaukee area. It was during these deliveries he noticed the places around town where the homeless were being served, and even talked his boss into donating fresh produce to such facilities. Around this same time he ended a long-term relationship, leaving him with nothing. For a year and half, LaFuente utilized the services set up for the homeless that he had recently donated to.
LaFuente eventually got back on his feet and has been married to his wife Linda for 17 years. Together, they are raising their 8-year-old granddaughter, who also volunteers her time to help LaFuente give back to others. He currently works for the Head Start program through First Congregational Church in Oconomowoc preparing meals for the kids.
Said LaFuente, "When you know there's a need, you want to help out as much as possible. You never know when it will be you who needs the help."
For more information on the SHARE Program, or to make a donation, contact Barb Anderson at (262) 370-7881, or visit www.share wi.org.
E-mail Newsletter
Top stories from the Lake Country area. Tuesday afternoons and Thursday mornings.
Enter your e-mail address above and click "Sign Up Now!" to begin receiving your e-mail newsletter
Get the Newsletter!
If I could travel in time ...Judging is currently in progress with an anticipated publication date of June 3 for winning entries.
Lake Country residents share their views on news, happenings and current events.
LivingLakeCountry.com features more than a dozen community bloggers - a group of volunteer conversation leaders who are up on the latest topics and never short on an opinion. Just a few are pictured here. Check out the rest and see what they have to say!
View All Blogs
Discussion Guidelines
Do you want to become a Community Blogger? LivingLakeCountry.com welcomes your thoughts and opinions. Contact us for more information:
I want to blog
Posted Friday, May 18 |
|
Photo of the Week by Todd Ponath: ROCKIN' IT - Fred Eide, left, and his daughter Ashley, of Eide Painting and Sandblasting, use spray guns to paint the individual rock shapes on the underside of the I-94 overpass at Highway P in Oconomowoc Wednesday, May 16. Each "rock" is painted individually and then speckled with black paint to make it look like granite.
News or Feature Story of the Week by Andrea Budde: Bigfoot sighting in Eagle turns out to be less than meets the eye
Sports Story of the Week by JR Radcliffe: Netters win 'unofficial' titles conference
Page or layout design of the week by Lisa Leonard: Drop a line and relax
|
MORE: See full gallery
SUBMIT: Post Your Photos now
Do you have news or an event that you would like to share with the community? Whether it's a community organization, a business, a local school, or a notable neighbor, we'd love to hear about it!!
- Discover Composting
- Christ the King Church of Delafield Resumes Summer Service Schedule
- Greendale Schools June 1 Celebration of Education
- “Savvy Social Security Planning” Seminar to Detail Strategies for Maximizing Benefits
- U.S. Cellular Hosting Free Device Workshop
- Tour Our Very Special Gardens - free - June 25
- Host Daniela from Mexico at Oconomowoc HS
- Very Special Garden Tour - Free - June 23 and June 25
- Wisconsin Chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Hits Home Stretch of Annual Milwaukee Man & Woman of the Year Campaign
- Neuroscience Nurse Appreciation Ceremony
MORE: See the rest of Your Stories
SUBMIT: Post Your Story now
Information on Mukwonago Publications
We encourage your comments but will strive to remove discussion that contains personal attacks, racial slurs, profanity or other inappropriate material as outlined in our guidelines. We post-moderate comments on most content, but may choose to pre-moderate some comments so please be patient if you don't see yours appear right way. We also ask for your help by reporting comments you think are inappropriate.
Please login or register to post a comment.