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Helping the homeless

Two named to Mission of Hope House Board

By Scott Bellile


Two men experienced with helping the homeless have joined the Mission of Hope House Board.

Thomas Jadin and Richard Gamble were named to the MOHH Board on Jan. 31. Each served Appleton’s homeless population for years before coming to MOHH.

Jadin was a member of the Fox Valley Warming Shelter’s board for eight years while Gamble volunteered at the shelter for five years.

The board oversees the functions of the MOHH, a nonprofit Waupaca County resource homeless shelter officially established in New London in 2015. MOHH will provide its clients not just a bed but also education. An opening date has not been set.

Jadin
Jadin said serving the Fox Valley Warming Shelter was “eye-opening” enough that when he moved from Appleton to Waupaca, he wanted to continue helping the homeless. He believes nobody, especially one suffering from mental illness, should have to live on the streets.

Jadin said he enjoys compiling computer data and will track finances, donations, grants and volunteer information for MOHH.

His goal is to see the MOHH take a proactive approach to homelessness prevention by empowering the community.

He has a wife, two children, a granddaughter and a golden retriever. In his free time, Jadin enjoys redoing the family lake home, skiing and playing the clarinet.

Gamble
Gamble, who is serving as the MOHH Board’s vice president, moved from Appleton to rural New London five years ago and became interested in the MOHH after getting a tour of the shelter in progress.

“Right from the beginning I’ve really been drawn into it,” Gamble said. “It’s really an amazing story and it’s an amazing thing for the community to have this homeless shelter and the resources it brings. And then the other side of it is how the community’s supported it in a really short time.”

With a finance and management background, Gamble said he hopes to help the board with recruitment, making business connections and staying organized.

His goal is to see the shelter less needed five years from now.

Gamble has a wife, four children and four grandchildren. He enjoys road biking, cross country skiing, snowshoeing and gardening in his free time.

New leaders, new ideas
MOHH founder and Board President Lori Prahl said it is useful to change up organizational leadership to bring in new ideas and talent.

“What’s drew me into both of them is that passion for giving back, the passion for being involved with community and to passing it forward, and I think for everyone, that brings value to your own life and your community,” Prahl said of Jadin and Gamble.

The next steps for the board are to get the shelter running, raise money to hire staff, create policies for the shelter and recruit more volunteers.

The rest of the MOHH Board is comprised of Prahl, Lori Chestnut, Jessica Brown, Karen Duch, Rachel Neely and Yvonne Prinsen.

Gamble and Jadin fill two of the three seats that opened up after board members Jennifer Leopold, Laura Marker and Sarah Binder stepped down.

One vacancy remains. To apply for the vacant seat, contact Prahl at 920-249-4705 or [email protected].

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