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Donation dollars stretch further with help of special matching grant

Keeping up with growing demand Editor's note: The Time is Now to Help was founded by a local businessman who knew extreme poverty as a child. With the help of donations from the community, The Time is Now is able to help local residents in need.

Dear W.C.,

We just received the wonderful news that the Richard Driehaus Charitable Lead Trust has granted The Time Is Now to Help a $30,000 matching grant. This matching grant will begin immediately.

There could not have been a better time to announce this generous opportunity, due to the overwhelming number of requests for assistance The Time Is Now to Help is receiving.

We are very thankful to be offered this grant and humbled by the amount of assistance it will mean to the many people struggling in poverty in our area.

Please consider donating at this time, since every dollar you donate will be matched by the Richard Driehaus matching grant. Thank you for caring and sharing.

Dear W.C.,

I am a single mother who is ashamed to say I am having financial problems. In summer, my children no longer receive their free breakfast and lunch at school. Due to our financial position, they qualified for free lunch and breakfast at school this year. I’m sorry to admit these were the only two full meals they had to eat all day.

During summer, I have to buy food, and we are living without gas, since it was disconnected. We bathe in cold water and have no gas with which to cook.

The recession has hit us hard, just like so many others. I have applied for assistance, but they seem to be as overwhelmed as we are. It could take months or years to receive any. I would not ask for help if I thought there was any other way to help my children. They are the ones suffering the most.

A struggling mom

Dear readers,

There are so many people who are barely getting by. Some are living without utilities. This means no hot water for baths or showers, no gas or electric for cooking, no refrigerators in which to store your meager amount of food, no lights, no air conditioning for senior citizens or the handicapped.

Yes, many fellow Americans are still in need of food. Our neighbors are proud — too proud — to walk around with a sign saying they are hungry or need our assistance. I know firsthand; when I was a child, my own mother was too proud to tell anyone our electricity was off, and she would never ask for help, even when food was scarce.

The Time Is Now to Help is the voice for these neighbors of ours who are suffering in silence, behind closed doors. I have more than 300 requests for assistance from people who desperately need our help. Please consider caring and sharing at this special time by donating during our matching grant. Every one of those dollars will be used for food, utility assistance, housing assistance, transportation for work, clothing, household necessities and more.

Remember that 50 percent to 60 percent of students are on the free and reduced meal programs at schools in our area. When school is out, these same children — children of God — are suffering without enough food or doing without utilities in order to eat.

As our government struggles to recover, we cannot wait. It is up to us, the people of America, to make the difference. Our fellow creations desperately need our help to survive. Please help. Please care and share.

— Health and happiness, God bless everyone, W.C.

Make checks payable to: The Time Is Now to Help, P.O. Box 70, Pell Lake, WI 53157. The Time Is Now to Help is a federally recognized 501(c)3 charitable organization licensed in Wisconsin and Illinois. You will receive a tax deductible, itemized thank-you receipt showing exactly what every penny of your donation provided for the poverty stricken.

In addition, we have been offered a wonderful fundraising opportunity by Gage Lake Geneva Cruise Line. They are offering a cocktail cruise every Thursday evening to benefit The Time Is Now to Help.

The cruise boards at 6:15 p.m. Thursdays and returns at 8 p.m. It features a highlight tour of the lakeshore estates, entertainment and a complimentary boarding beverage.

When calling for reservations, you need to mention the code “TIN” and The Time Is Now will receive $10 of each ticket sale. Call (262) 248-6206 for reservations.

A very special thank-you to: Paul Ziegler, Badger FFA, teacher Tom Sheeley and students of the Badger High School automotive class, Delavan Service League, DJ Flitcroft, Martin O’Brien, William and Kimberly Basford, Muriel Lake, Jon Reavis, Lillian Rudolf, Tom and Joyce Roche, Frank Huml Jr., Jack and Nancy Hartung, Albert and Ellen Burnell, Shawn and Donna McLafferty and Don Mehring. A memorial has been given by Dorothy Butek in memory of her parents, Adeline and Richard Baumstark, and her uncle, John Baumstark.

In addition, thank you to W.C. Family Resource Center/Food Pantry volunteers, all of you who support The Time Is Now to Help donation boxes, and the businesses that allow our donation boxes. Anyone who would like a Time Is Now donation box in your business, please call (262) 249-7000.