Annual Impact Report 2022

Board of Directors

Betsy Abramson, Retired

Connie Bakker, Chair, Resident

Jack Bolz, Resident

Dr. Barbara Bowers, Retired

Patrick Carroll, Treasurer, Wipfli

Tim Conroy, Capitol Lakes, Inc.

Dr. Diane Farsetta, Vice Chair, UW Madison School of Nursing

Natasha Killian, Capitol Lakes, Inc.

Norma Madsen, Resident

Dr. Tracy Schroepfer, UW Madison School of Social Work

Marjorie Tobias, Resident

Carol Toussaint, Resident

Kristi Vater, Secretary, Capitol Lakes, Inc.

Foundation Director: Lenee Kruse

Message from the Chair

Dear Friends,

This September I completed my first term as Chair of the Capitol Lakes Foundation Board. I am filled with gratitude for the many residents and supporters who made the last twelve months such a joy and success.

I was thrilled that this last year we had 6 people commit part of their estate to the Capitol Lakes Foundation to join me as Legacy Society members. We now have 32 total members who have given or committed over $1.1 million to ‘pay it forward’ to future residents and staff.

And I could not be more grateful to supporters like you who helped us raise nearly $287,000 to make Capitol Lakes a place where people want to live and work. The stories in this report would not have been possible without your generosity.

Thanks again for making my first year so incredibly rewarding. I’m looking forward to continuing our work together in the years to come.

Connie Bakker, Capitol Lakes Foundation Board Chair

Training the Next Generation

Thanks to your support, this year we strengthened partnerships to benefit residents while simultaneously training nursing students on the unique needs of older adults. During the 2022 spring semester four UW Madison School of Nursing students volunteered in our memory care unit three hours a week for ten weeks. “Being able to spend time with our residents living with dementia gives these students an important perspective,” says Victoria Scarpita, Capitol Lakes’ Memory Support Coordinator. “And by engaging with residents on activities they enjoy these students also create a lot of joy.”

“I am grateful to Capitol Lakes for continuing to partner with us. This is a benefit to our students.” Dr. Diane Farsetta, UW-Madison School of Nursing

Additional Tech Support for Residents is Godsend

Capitol Lakes resident, MJ Wiseman, still has her mother’s 1923 typewriter just in case she needs it.

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In terms of technology, I am on the cusp,” recounts Wiseman. “As with the majority of Capitol Lakes residents, I didn’t grow up with tech and mostly had to learn it on the fly as I progressed in my career. And of course as technology continues to advance I’m still learning.”

One recent transition included trading in her flip phone of 20 years for an iPhone, or as Wiseman describes it, “a computer that makes phone calls.” She decided on the iPhone at the urging of her friends who said she could use it in combination with her iPad. The only issue? The devices refused to communicate with each other. That’s when she decided to take advantage of the drop in IT help the Capitol Lakes Foundation provides free of charge to residents. Thanks to you, the Foundation is able to contract with Donald Rosby of DANEnet to assist residents with tech issues.

“Donald is a Godsend. He is so patient and calm. He knows how to ask the right questions to find a solution to your problem.” MJ Wiseman

Let’s Talk About It!

Benevolent Care Grant Increased

Because of your incredible generosity, we were able to increase the grant toward Benevolent Care at Capitol Lakes for the 6th year in a row! Benevolent Care tries to ensure that no resident needs to leave their home due to inability to pay.

Thanks to your support, we provided a grant to bring artists to campus who shared how they used the boarded up windows on State Street as their canvasses to print their longings for justice after the attack on George Floyd.

Making Capitol Lakes a Place

Active Minds are Happy Minds

Your support allowed us to honor a request from Assisted Living staff to purchase a unique activity kit for residents that engages all of the senses. For instance, one of the activities used scents to stir memories and prompted conversations about first cars and favorite automobiles.

The puzzles included were another favorite with residents. These puzzles not only stimulate the brain, but used as a group activity also provided opportunities to start conversations about fishing, favorite holiday traditions, and other topics.

Capitol Lakes Community Read

In 2022 a record 90 Capitol Lakes residents read “The Storied Life of AJ Fikry” by Gabrielle Zevin. Originally envisioned as a community program to combat the doldrums of February, the Omicron surge of January found residents once again mostly isolated in their apartments searching for ways to keep busy and active.

After restrictions were eased, the Foundation hosted opportunities for residents to come together to discuss the novel. A record 40 residents signed up to attend one of four book discussion groups.

I was grateful to our Foundation as well as local bookstore, Mystery to Me, for quickly moving up the dates for this program. I know our residents appreciated the distraction.

Tim Conroy, CL Executive Director

It was an enjoyable book particularly well suited to the pandemic partial 'shut down'.

Carola W., CL Resident

Where People Want to Live

Ping Pong

Returns!

After Covid tabled ping pong for two years, in March 2022 we dug the table out of storage and resumed games for interested residents each Friday afternoon. A core group of committed players come each week to serve up fun!

Exercise Through Isolation

Groundhog Day came early in 2022 with yet another Covid surge shutting down Capitol Lakes. At the suggestion of one of our residents, we organized a two week exercise challenge to encourage residents to keep moving. 46 residents accepted the challenge!

Over a dozen residents also logged into Zoom for at least one of three virtual check-in meetings. At the end of the challenge one lucky resident won a gift certificate for a one hour massage.

This inspired me to walk 10,000 steps/day!

Thanks for keeping us exercising! Marking it down on paper helped me get up & down the stairs a couple of times a day!

I increased the # of times I went to the Wellness Center

Making Capitol Lakes a Place

Student Loan Repayment Comes to Capitol Lakes Because of YOU!

In June we reached out to see if you would help us raise $20,000 to pilot a Student Loan Repayment program for staff like Social Services Director, Hannah Mandlman.

Hannah has a long history at Capitol Lakes first working here as an intern in 2017 as she pursued her Masters of Social Work (MSW) degree at UW Madison and continuing on as a Social Work Assistant during the last year of her MSW program. After she graduated she pursued other work opportunities before coming back to Capitol Lakes in February of 2021.

Thanks to an anonymous donor we were able to match the first $5,000 in gifts we received. Not only did you help us meet our match, but thanks to you we more than DOUBLED our goal raising just under $50,000 to start the program.

“The student loan repayment program means so much for staff like me who aren’t currently in school, but still face the financial pressure of paying off loans for degrees and licenses we need to work at Capitol Lakes. The relief provided gives me the financial flexibility to invest in my future."

Hannah Mandleman

Doubled Tuition Assistance Rates Still Going Strong

In 2021 we asked you to help us double tuition assistance rates for our student workers. Thanks to your overwhelming generosity, we’ve been able to award between $250 $1,000 each semester to help our team with their tuition.

Because of you, for the first time EVER we were able to cut checks of $1,000 to our full time team members. For some of these staff who work full time and are part time students, this generous amount nearly covered their entire tuition bill! And for our part time staff who had previously qualified for just $250 over 12 months, your support means we can help them with this amount every semester!

“Thank you—the scholarship for school really helps.”

Kaley Luedtke, LPN in Capitol Lakes’ Health Center

Where People Want to Work

Emergency Financial Help Needed Now More Than Ever

The Financial Assistance in Times of Hardship, or FAITH program, assists Capitol Lakes’ staff experiencing a small financial shortfall before it balloons into a huge financial crisis. Since 2016 the program has succeeded in keeping great people at Capitol Lakes. In addition, it has allowed our staff to focus on their important jobs instead of worrying about eviction, utility disconnection, or transportation problems that could prevent them from getting to work.

Professional Development Scholarships

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the need for this program fluctuates and generally mirrors what’s happening in the overall economy. In 2022 we’ve disbursed nearly $20,000 in need based aid – well over the typical $9,000/year we disbursed prior to Covid. With continued inflation and a bleak economic outlook, we are grateful to you for providing the resources to keep this program available for our team.

The real thanks goes to our residents and donors who make this program possible. I hope they know how important and meaningful the fund is to our staff.

Mellstrom, HR Director, Capitol Lakes

Thanks to your generosity, we are able to award inquiring staff with scholarships to attend seminars and conferences that enable them to grow as professionals. And everything they learn is brought back to Capitol Lakes — ultimately enhancing the living experience for our residents!

“I appreciate the conference grant. I use what I learn to design improvement initiatives here.”

Kjersti Beth, CL Admissions Assistant

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