MILWAUKEE — In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, the Courage MKE house is filled with holiday cheer from stockings hung with care to a living room tree all aglow.
For Co-Founder and Executive Director Brad Schlaikowski, it's the best time of year because it's a chance to create new, positive holiday memories for residents of the house.
"When you talk about the magic of the holidays, it's not about the package that we get, it's about the smile that we're giving someone," Schlaikowski said.
Schlaikowski and his husband started Courage MKE in 2019. It's the only group home in Wisconsin specifically for LGBTQ+ youth. The kids who live at the house are often on the receiving end of holiday giving.
"Our residents that live here come to us from the social welfare system," Schlaikowski explained.
Schlaikowski said he's incredibly grateful for the support Courage MKE has received over the years and he also wants the kids who live at the house to know the power of giving.
"Of all the life lessons we're teaching our residents I think that's one of the most important ones here," Schlaikowski said.
Every quarter the kids at the house take part in a community service project. For the last four years, residents have been a part of the Courage MKE Holiday Helpers Drive.
The drive starts in early November when Courage residents and staff head out into the neighborhood and pass out 300 fliers to their neighbors.
"A letter asking each family to write all their children under the age of 18 and ask for three Christmas wishes," Schlaikowski explained.
This year, 30 families returned that flier to Courage MKE. The staff puts all of that info into a spreadsheet and asks Courage MKE supporters and the community to donate items or money to help make those Christmas wishes come true. You can donate by clicking here.
December 19 is when the magic really happens.
"Our residents will pack up all the gifts that were dropped off from our Courage family and go door-to-door and deliver them to the families," Schlaikowski said.
For the residents at Courage MKE, the experience is transformative.
"The last two years we've had residents that didn't want us to even put up a Christmas tree here. The holidays can be triggers for a lot of folks for a lot of different reasons. And we went to deliver the last two years and we got back to the house and those residents said, 'Can we put up our Christmas tree?'"
Schlaikowski also mentioned that the kids at Courage MKE also have Christmas wishes that need to be fulfilled. If you're interested in helping out in that way you can send an email to info@CourageMKE.org
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