Bank partners with TLC for unique fundraiser
By Ed Nadolski
Editor in Chief
Erin Anderson realizes Burlington’s Transitional Living Center doesn’t build homes in a traditional brick and mortar manner. But in a figurative sense, she said, the local non-profit agency helps build the home environments that sustain families.
“They help people get back on their feet,” said Anderson, the marketing director for Fox River State Bank. “So, in a sense, they’re building homes.”
That’s the line of thinking Anderson took when she was charged with coming up with a fundraiser to help the local agency continue it’s mission to assist the homeless.
The result is “Live Outside the Box,” a campaign in which success will be measured by the incremental construction of a cardboard “house” outside the bank at 241 E. Jefferson Street.
“We tried to come up with an idea to make it more fun (than a traditional fundraising campaign),” Anderson said.
So, on a blustery Monday morning in late January, Anderson and TLC Director Cristen Chaffee stood outside the front entrance of the bank lashing together cardboard appliance boxes that will form the base of the house.
For each $250 the campaign generates, Anderson and Chaffee will add another feature to the house – whether it’s a roof, window, door, chimney or a coat of paint.
There are 20 different planned features that can be added to the house as long as the money keeps coming in.
“As this cardboard box becomes a house, you are helping TLC sustain a warm, safe place for families while they rebuild their lives and eventually find a true home of their own,” Anderson wrote in the marketing flier for the campaign.
Anderson’s goal is to generate at least $5,000 and take advantage of an anonymous offer to match donations up to that amount – meaning the campaign has the potential to raise $10,000.
Chaffee said TLC was able to forge a partnership with Fox River State Bank through its president, Keith Pollek, who is also a member of TLC’s board of directors.
“It’s amazing,” she said of the fundraising relationship. “I think it will really show how we can help people build a home.
“It’s what we do – help people become self-sufficient.”
TLC provides emergency and short-term housing – on average about three months – for women, children and families in crisis. The agency’s 14-bed guest house and Morrow House duplex provide a variety of living arrangements, depending on the makeup of each individual or family.
The facilities can accommodate between 15 to 20 people and have been running at or near capacity in recent years, serving between 90 and 100 people annually. About 60 percent of the people TLC helps are children. It costs roughly $125 per night to provide the necessities to keep the shelters running.
The goal of the agency is to link clients with the social services they need to become self sufficient, according to Chaffee. Those may include education, financial mentoring, transportation, health and vocational services.
Chaffee said that while the number of people served by the agency has remained steady due to the capacity of the facilities, the challenges the clients are facing have increased due to the state of the economy and other factors.
That puts a greater strain on TLC to meet those needs.
According to TLC board Vice President Tracy Short, the agency recently filled two vacant case managers positions – one full time and one part time – with professionals who have backgrounds in social work.
“The reason we’re going with that level of professionalism is the needs of the clients,” Short said, noting that the knowledgeable staff is sorely needed to adequately address the needs of clients, many of whom are dealing with mental illness, health issues or drug and alcohol problems.
That, in turn, places a premium on TLC to raise the money needed to continue to fund those positions. Chaffee said the new campaign should help get that message out.
“We want people to know what we’re doing and we want the community to be able to support that,” she said.
How you can help
Donations to the “Live Outside the Box” fundraiser can be made to TLC at Fox River State Bank, 241 E. Jefferson St., Burlington, and will be accepted through Feb. 29.
TLC is a certified non-profit agency, which means all donations are tax deductible.
To learn more about the Transitional Living Center, call (262) 767-1478 or visit the agency’s web page at tlcburlington.com.
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