Fox Cities Project Promise Poverty Coalition

Fox Cities Project Promise Poverty Coalition

Zion Lutheran Church

December 10, 2008

7:40 a.m.

Meeting minutes

Call to Order:

The Fox Cities Project Promise Poverty Coalition meeting was called to order at 7:40 a.m. by Jon Stellmacher, Co-Chairperson.

Invocation:

Jennifer Wanke began with a Prayer for the Poor in Our Community and followed with a focus on courage in integrity, a choice in each person’s life. She ended the invocation with…“Never place a period where God has placed a comma”.

Approval of Minutes:

A motion by Barb Uehling and seconded by Will Bloedow to accept the minutes of the September 10, 2008 meeting as printed was approved.

Treasurer’s Report:

Debra Cronmiller, treasurer, reported a current membership as 157 and a balance of $700.

Committee Reports:

Jon announced the resignation of Bill Guilbeault as chair of the Analysis & Information Committee due to his increased work load with the Warming Shelter, St. Vincent de Paul and his business. Jon then introduced Jennifer Lehner, new chair of the Analysis & Information Committee.
Analysis & Information: Jennifer Lehner, chair, reported the committee was working on creating a poverty score card. Initially the focus would be “food” and data would be gathered and trends identified. Coalition members interested in joining the committee should contact Jennifer at 920-739-3542 or jlehner@bemybig.com.
Awareness &Education: Kelly Butzlaff, co-chair, reported the committee had developed a power point presentation and short quiz to be used by volunteers from the PPPC Speakers Bureau as they begin their work in 2009. Training sessions, approximately one-hour in duration, are scheduled for Thursday, February 5^th at 5:00 p.m. and Friday, February 6^that 7:30 a.m. at United Way Fox Cities, 1455 Midway Road, Menasha. Interested PPPC members are encouraged to volunteer and attend one of these sessions by contacting Mary Wisnet at mary.wisnet@unitedwayfoxcities.org or 920-735-5461. Kelly shared a recent personal experience she had while presenting at a local church. She discovered that of the approximately one-hundred participants in her sessions few expressed knowledge about the Project Promise Poverty Coalition. Our work in the area of awareness and education must continue.

Action & Impact: Andrew Konkel, chair, shared the concern expressed by some committee members who were seeking a “focus” for the organization. Andrew said a unifying theme would be possible in the future once the root cause analysis work was further along. In the meantime the following projects are in the planning stages.

The Interfaith Focus on Poverty Week is tentatively scheduled for October 2009. A sub-committee is planning this event.
The Literacy and Poverty issue will be addressed at the next committee meeting.
The Continuum of Care Schematic work moved to a sub-committee chaired by Debra. The final document will serve as a guide for services, from emergency to self-sufficiency, for those living in poverty.
A Volunteer & Resources Fair is being considered for 2009 to communicate the need for volunteers in addressing poverty issues in the Fox Cities.
A Legislative Lunch/Dinner is being considered for 2009 as a way to foster communication amongst citizens and legislative leaders and raise awareness about poverty and policy.
The Action & Impact committee members will also assist with the root cause analysis work.

Miscellaneous Reports, Updates and Issues:

Nicole Harrison reported the Candidates’ Forum, designed to focus on poverty, was not held because we were unable to get both candidates to commit to the same date. While we were unsuccessful in this venture, the model and the knowledge gathered in planning for the forum will be helpful as we look to host a legislative lunch/dinner in the future.
Jennifer Wanke reported on the PPPC Literacy Project which was one of three finalists in the Downtown Rotary search for projects for 2009. While our project did not receive the most votes (approximately 1/3 of the Rotary members were in attendance and voting), the Rotary continues to express interest in our project and may be contacting us in the future.

Action Items:

PPPC Community Event: Rev. Roger Bertschausen moved and Rev. Will Bloedow seconded a motion for securing sponsors and paying expenditures for the January 16, 2009 PPPC Community Event.

Kelly Butzlaff reported organizations and businesses have been willing to help with the event. The PAC is hosting the event and is one of the sponsors. The governor has been asked to speak but alternates are also being considered in the event he cannot attend. Presentations will be given on root cause analysis, the progress of each of the committees, and the program will culminate in a “call to action” as more volunteers are required to address the issues of poverty in the Fox Cities. Kelly stressed this event is not a fundraiser. The motion was approved.

Goals for 2009: Debra Cronmiller distributed the PPPC goals for 2009. Rev. Bloedow moved and Rev. Bertschausen seconded a motion to approve the goals for 2009. Debra reviewed the eight goals. In response to an inquiry, there is no plan to call a statewide meeting of all communities creating poverty initiatives because there are annual conferences currently being held related to poverty. The Goals for 2009 were approved.

Other Communications/Updates/Announcements:

Sandi Moore announced the Interfaith Poverty Week sub-committee meeting on Sunday, December 14th at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church at 4:30 p.m. This is the second meeting of the group, and she encouraged others to join the group.
Andrew Konkel reported the Action & Impact Committee’s next meeting is December 16^th at 9:30 a.m. at the Public Library but all subsequent meetings will be held on the fourth Thursday of each month at 9:00 a.m. He encouraged others to join the committee.
John Wollner said the results of Thrivent’s $125,000 matching contributions goal for the Salvation Army would be announced later in the day.
Debra Cronmiller stated the Community Foundation has designated December 18^th as a matching funds date. Contributions must be made at the Community Foundation. To learn more about the guidelines for giving, contact the Community Foundation.
Debra announced the Warming Shelter was operating but floating between the “host” churches. PPPC was asked to post the Warming Shelter phone number and URL on its website. 2-1-1 is aware of the rotating schedule of the Warming Shelter.
Clarification was requested on the root cause analysis work. Some Analysis & Information members wonder how they will know when their work is completed. While the short answer is…”when poverty is eradicated”, Jon Stellmacher answered that in real terms the work is ongoing. He added we need to gather more data and dig deeper to seek out causes as opposed to symptoms. Jennifer Wanke and Jon are looking for a co-chair with experience in root cause analysis to assist Jennifer Lehner and the Analysis & Information Committee.
Jon encouraged coalition members to send announcements of events judged to be of interest to everyone to Joelle Jahner, CAP Services, or Executive Steering Committee members. Joelle will distribute the announcements via email.