A Letter from Executive Director, Antonio Butts

Dear Friends,

Jeff knew he wanted to work with his hands. He came from a family of builders. He couldn’t see his dream or realize his vision because he was isolated, unemployed, and nearly homeless. In the Lindsay Heights community, a common barrier for men seeking long-term employment is a lack of social support. When Jeff joined the Men’s Wellness Group at Walnut Way, it was his first step towards becoming well. Through the course of two years, Jeff engaged in programs at Walnut Way that focus on supporting community members through the building blocks of Wellness, Work, and Wealth.

Wellness

Jeff connected with other men in the neighborhood, making new friends and learning how to care for himself. He took advantage of fatherhood resources and reconnected with his young daughter.

Work
Then, Jeff turned to Walnut Way partner’s Milwaukee JobsWorks for help with skills assessment, creating a resume, networking, and applying for work. This led to a full-time job with Walnut Way’s Blue Skies Landscaping.

Wealth
With experience and ongoing mentorship from Milwaukee JobsWork, Jeff found a new position as a concrete finisher making twice his previous salary. He bought a car and rented a home, with plans to buy his own home soon. Jeff is now sharing his wealth of skills and gifts with others. He co-founded Walnut Way’s Boys2Leaders Project and is looking forward to helping the homeless population and those affected by mental illness.

This is how you transform a community. Individual by individual. Block by block. Since Walnut Way’s founding in 2000, this has always been our approach. Every one of our programs and partnerships is filtered through the lens of wellness, work, and wealth.

Through it all, our most important partner has always been you. We are so grateful for your support – as a volunteer, neighbor, partner, and donor.

As we move into 2018, Walnut Way is asking you to consider making a generous gift this holiday season. Your gift will let us continue offering impactful programs and partnerships to the Lindsay Heights community and serving as a beacon of hope to other communities struggling with similar challenges.

Here are a few ways your gift can help:

Every gift of $150 pays for an evening’s worth of meals and activities at one of Walnut Way’s monthly Neighbor Night events, where neighbors gather together to cook, learn, and celebrate each other….all of which leads to more stable communities.
$1,000 pays for a month of Women’s Healing Circles, a safe space for women of color to gain skills in self-care like meditation, relaxation and breathing techniques, energy balance, movement, integrative medicine, and more to help them face life’s challenges.
$3,000 provides the support and training for one Growing Youth Leadership intern, which engages local teens in urban agriculture, education, leadership development, and job training.
Four $5,000 gifts pay for an excavator for Blue Skies Landscaping to tackle large scale projects.
Every $10,000 gift places us closer to reaching our goal of $4 million for Phase II of The Commons. We have raised nearly $3 million and are close to launching construction and completing the catalytic transformation of the bustling corner of N. 16th and W. North Ave.

This holiday season, we are asking for your continued partnership and financial support. Please donate on-line at www.walnutway.org/donate or return the enclosed pledge card to our office. You are welcome to indicate whether you’d like your donation to support programming, Phase II of The Commons, or be unrestricted (support wherever it is most needed).

Thank you for your generous support and partnership. Together – you, us, and Lindsay Heights residents and stakeholders – are transforming the economic, environmental, and social landscape of our community.

We invite you to see how you helped support our mission in our 2016-July 2017 Report by clicking here.

Sincerely,

Antonio Butts

Executive Director, Walnut Way