By Muriel Nelson
Lifeline Food Pantry volunteers and other community members joined together on August 28 to honor Diean Schramski and Gordon Weber as they retire from the Lifeline Food Pantry. Diean and Gordon have given over 40 years combined service to meeting community food needs through this food bank.
Gordon recalls some of his efforts to turn what was a boys locker room in the former high school building into a workable food pantry. He was instrumental in either removing or covering over the now unnecessary plumbing and also removing cement aprons from the shower room. The goal was to make the area not only functional as a food pantry but also welcoming to clients. With time and significant effort, that objective was achieved. Gordon has enjoyed putting up seasonal decorations throughout the years too. He felt it was very important to provide customers and their children with an enjoyable atmosphere. He seemed to always have a toy or two hidden away for his young clients to make their visit even more positive.
Diean and Gordon reminisced about their years working together. They take pride in their many achievements at Lifeline Food Pantry. They admitted each was a ‘Type A’ personality. While they felt that attribute enabled them to be good leaders, it also required some compromise from time to time. They stood for what they believed would be best for the food pantry; if they made a wrong decision, they’d change it.
Diean and Gordon are very appreciative of all the volunteers who worked at the food pantry through the years. They feel blessed by the generosity of the community and all it has given to Lifeline Food Pantry, from financial support to wonderful volunteers and much more.
When asked about their future plans, Diean said she was going to take some time to enjoy her family who she dearly loves. She said, “They’re nice people. Even if they weren’t my family, I’d love them”. Gordon wants to give a bit more time to his hobby farm and its huge garden and yard. He also plans to continue his volunteer work with his church and spend more time with Christmas crafting.
Diane Viau and Kim Patterson are now sharing the leadership and management responsibilities of the Lifeline Food Pantry. Each has several years of experience at the food shelf and like Diean and Gordon, have so much appreciation for the many volunteers who help there, from unloading the truck to stocking shelves to assisting clients.
They are also grateful for the continued support from the local community in the form of food drives, monetary donations, produce from local gardens and orchards and grants. These different forms of assistance ensure that food pantry clients’ needs will be met.
And, like their predecessors, Diane and Kim urge anyone who cannot afford to buy food to come to the food pantry. Whether the need is short term ( e.g., between jobs, unable to work because of an illness) or a long term one, Kim says, “Just come!” An appointment is not necessary.
The Lifeline Food Pantry is located in the Clear Lake Area Community Center at 560 5th St. Enter from the South Parking Lot. The food pantry is open on Wednesday 1:00-5:00 pm and Thursday 10:00 am-2:00 pm. Phone number - 715-263-3846. Mailing address - P.O. Box 86, Clear Lake, WI 54005. Find them on Facebook here.
Comments