District Cabinet Meeting - Sunday, October 11, 2020
Restoring Hope Transplant House Report

There has been a high level of activity at the house making preparations for the start of the expansion project. Many thanks to all of our Lion volunteers who have participated in work projects the past two weekends. We are excited to get past the Middleton Plan Commission meeting next week, Tuesday, Sept. 22nd. We should be able to get the necessary permits to begin construction shortly thereafter. We would greatly appreciate all the clubs continued financial support. With the decreased activity in family and patient stays due to covid, we need your help now more than ever. If you could accelerate your giving both in dollars and timing it would be a tremendous help. We have signed the lease on the temporary house that we will use to house our guests during the construction period. The rent for this is $2400.00 per month which is causing a drain on our cash flow. It is our hope that all the Lions of Wisconsin will be able to help offset this extra expense to some degree. Following is a list of activity highlights from the current week. Thank you all so very much for your continued support.

Respectfully Submitted,
PDG Bob Faliveno

While last Saturday was a rainy, dreary day here in Madison, it was another great day for Lions volunteers led by Tammy and her group. With the help of their groups sturdy trailer and some strong volunteers, we were able to move some big items including several shelving units from RHTH to our rental so that we can more efficiently store the many items we have to move. Pics of that group are attached. We are always so grateful for their help and friendship!

Flyer and invites were mailed out early this week to all of our RHTH neighbors regarding construction. That info is attached. Our Neighborhood Meeting is scheduled for this coming Sunday evening.

Water Resources Management Commission approved of our desired storm water management approach last night for Restoring Hope's construction plans.

Our meeting with the Middleton Planning Commission for permits is still a go for next week on Tuesday, September, 22nd.

Our construction team NCIRoberts will be onsite with bidders on Tuesday as well.

We had an incredible RHTH Hero step up quietly and donate the $2,450 for October at our rental property where we will be moving and storing all of our RHTH belongings and using as our operational base in the upcoming months during construction. What a huge blessing!

In a disappointing pandemic related development on several levels, UW Hospital closed the entire hospital off to caregivers this week after a Covid-19 spike. Sad to see for our families who have loved-ones still in the hospital. 2 of these families have loved-ones in very serious condition with life-threatening complications and they can no longer see them face to face for the foreseeable future. On the Tuesday this went into effect, all of our families checked out and headed for home. A significant development for both our families and this house as that is another significant revenue loss for RHTH due to COVID-19.

With that revenue loss in mind, it was wonderful to have our friends at Central Wisconsin Gift of Life host a fundraiser event on our behalf last Saturday with a dedication and virtual 5k. They are such great champions of the house that recognized our many fundraiser losses due to the pandemic and worked very hard to organize and host a responsible event that helped to raise some critical money to help offset some of our operating expenses. Some pics of their event are attached. We are always so grateful to kind-hearted people who always seem to rise above it all! Also nice to see some of our longtime Lions and heart recipient guests participate in the event.

This Sunday, we also have a young man who will be riding his bicycle from Plover to RHTH in honor of his upcoming September 30th transplant day where he will be donating a kidney to a friend in need. We are excited about this event as Mark is generating awareness for the importance of organ donation, raising funds for RHTH and coming down for his pre-transplant visit at the hospital. Next year, he's planning on cycling from Wisconsin to Louisiana to visit his kidney recipient. We look forward to meeting Mark on Sunday.not a better gift than to give the Gift of Life!

Organizing a script and interview subjects for an upcoming promo video on RHTH that will be done in the coming weeks. This will be a great tool to share on social media, our website and in news appearances. We are really looking forward to working with John Urban and Co. on this production.

One of our area Lions members donated a lawnmower to RHTH for us to use at the house and our rental. What a generous gift and significant savings! It's been so heartwarming to see so many Lions really embrace this house and our families especially during the very worst of this pandemic!

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