Waupaca community rallies for good cause
By James Card
April 3 was the official opening of the Middleton House, a transitional lodging center to help women in need.
Supporters and staffers gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and toured the newly remodeled home.
There was a rally of community support in the form of donations to make the building free and clear of any debt.
“The cool thing about this, it was a $230,000 project and as of February it was fully funded. A quarter of the funding came from grants. The rest of it came from the community. It was exhilarating to see the amount of money that came in. It was mind blowing,” said Bob Adams, director of Foundations for Living.
He pointed out that it’s a brand-new house. The house was donated by Doug and Florence Middleton and it was in rough shape.
Everything was gutted, everything was replaced: plumbing, electrical, appliances, drywall, siding, insulation, flooring, and a handicap-accessible ramp to the side door.
Jim McCarthy headed up the construction process and also coordinated with Torborgs Lumber and Hansen Furniture and Appliance for help. Rebuild time from start to finish was 11 months.
The Middleton House is a program operated by Foundations for Living and they will start taking in women on May 1 for lodging, life-skill training and job hunting. The house can lodge up to six women.
The resource center will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays.
People can still help the mission of the Middleton House. On the Foundations for Living website (fflwaupaca.org), there is a wish list page for hygiene products, cleaning items and other day-to-day sundries.