As their 2011 Lenten mission project,
members of Capitol Drive Lutheran Church
in Milwaukee, WI, prepared meals for
Haitians affected by the 2010 earthquake.
Over the course of several Sundays, the
church cooked and shipped 25,000 meals
to the recovering country. Photo courtesy of
Capitol Drive Lutheran Church.
community, provided by a parish nurse and pastoral care
staff member.
SDC Head Start – housed on Capitol Drive’s premises,
this is a federally funded early childhood education
program operated by the City of Milwaukee’s Social
Development Commission. In addition to providing
education to low-income children aged three to five, Head
Start also provides daily meals, health screenings, and
access to other social services.
Sherman Park Gathering Place – a social, educational,
and spiritual program for older adults that meets twice
a week in an accessible church community room. The
Gathering Place offers health resources in conjunction
with the health ministry and provides access to a
computer lab for skills training.
TenderCare Child Care – a daycare program that
serves over 160 children ages six to twelve. In addition
to offering after-school and summer programming,
TenderCare has also partnered with a local public
school to provide enrichment programs and homework
assistance.
Third World Handcrafts Shoppe – a market for fair trade
products, supporting artisans in the developing world. It
showcases developing countries’ economic progress and
increases awareness of social, economic, and political
issues around the globe.
In total, these programs were valued at $184,209 per year
– far exceeding the national average of $144,000.
The Capitol Drive team had originally assumed that
charitable foundations would constitute the bulk of their
external funding. In reality, it discovered that most of the
funds raised came from individuals. Efforts to reach out to
former members or their geographically distant children
were especially fruitful. At the same time, organizations
and businesses were targeted as important sources of
funds.
Capitol Drive also acted to increase its visibility and
develop it as an asset to the community. With a sanctuary
that can hold 600 people, the church is an ideal location
for concerts, so it hosted a well-attended volunteer
performance of Handel’s Messiah, one out of a yearly
series in Milwaukee every December.
Using the impressive case statement developed as part
of the New Dollars training, Capitol Drive secured over
$45,000 in grants specifically for low-income outreach
programs. With their horizons expanded beyond their
immediate membership, church leaders were able to
generate enough money to support large-scale projects
like window and roof replacement.
As a result of its New Dollars experience, the leadership
of Capitol Drive Lutheran Church is creatively thinking
about new ways to further integrate the church into its
landscape and enhance its public image as an asset to the
community. Innovative outreach efforts have attracted
capital and support, providing the congregation with the
resources it needs to meet the challenge of preserving
its historic building and continue serving the wider
Milwaukee community.
Sacred Places • Fall 2011 • 6