GREEN BAY (NBC26) — A drive for Altrusa House, a place for families experiencing medical emergencies to stay free of charge, lasts through Nov. 29.
- Meet one woman who is staying at Altrusa House while her father recovers from an emergency surgery
- Household items are being collected for Altrusa House residents at the Festival Foods locations in De Pere and Suamico
- Altrusa House also accepts donations directly
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
One woman shares how a Green Bay nonprofit is helping her family when they need it most. The Altrusa House is a place where families experiencing medical emergencies can stay while their relatives get treatment. Angela Crawford has been staying at the Altrusa House for a few weeks.
The Arizona woman says it has been her home away from home as her father recovers from an emergency angioplasty at a hospital in Green Bay.
"When there are organizations like this that come in and offer so much love, support and help ... [it] has been really incredible," Crawford said. "[I am] extremely grateful for being able to be here. I don't know how [we] would have been able to be this close to the hospital without Altrusa Hospitality."
Staying at the house, including meals, snacks and laundry, is free. People need a referral from the hospital to get in, but guests can stay as long as they need to.
"You never realize that something like this is going to come up and I never thought it would a month ago," Crawford said.
She says her dad is improving and the support from staff and other residents has been incredibly helpful.
Altrusa House has partnered with Festival Foods in Suamico and De Pere for the first ever Harvest Comfort and Care drive.
The grocery stores are accepting donations of things like K-Cups, disposable coffee cups, diswasher pods and dish soap, paper products, 13-gallon garbage bags, laundry soap and pre-packaged snacks, chips and granola bars.
"A medical emergency can happen to anyone at any time and we don't expect it," Altrusa Hospitality Mission Advancement Manager Kristine Blum said. "That goes for people that live outside of Brown County, a lot of rural Wisconsin and the [Upper Peninsula] of Michigan."
That's why Blum says the service they provide is so important.
"You're already experiencing such a financial burden by having a medical emergency," she said. "So one of our missions here is 'How can we alleviate that financial burden?' By providing lodging, providing meals at no cost to any family that needs to stay here so that's one less stress or thing they need to worry about when they're already going through a difficult time."
The Harvest Comfort and Care drive benefiting Altrusa House lasts until Nov. 29, but donations can be accepted at the house on Mason Street any time.
