Board of IMPACT REPORT Directors Capitol Lakes Foundation
20 22 — 2 0 2 3
YOUR Capitol Lakes Foundation Together, we’re enhancing the living experience.
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Connie Bakker, Chair, Resident
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Dr. Barbara Bowers, Retired
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Patrick Carroll, Treasurer, Wipfli
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Tim Conroy,
Capitol Lakes, Inc. •
Dr. Diane Farsetta,
Vice Chair, UWMadison School of Nursing •
Natasha Killian,
Capitol Lakes, Inc. •
Sherry Lepage, Resident
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Norma Madsen,
Resident •
Jim Pope,
Wintrust Mortgage •
Dr. Tracy Schroepfer, UWMadison School of Social Work
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Kristi Vater,
Secretary, Capitol Lakes, Inc.
Foundation Director: Lenee Kruse
333 W. Main Street, Madison, WI 53703 -
608-283-2013 - www.yourclfoundation.org
Message from the Foundation Director Dear Friends, In May we celebrated National Skilled Nursing Care Week and this year’s theme, “Cultivating Kindness.” The week was a wonderful opportunity to recognize the often small, thoughtful gestures that result in big, positive impacts for those who live and work here. As I reflected on the week, it became clear to me that you are the reason kindness can flourish at Capitol Lakes. Your generosity makes big differences for our residents, staff, and broader community. The stories you’ll find in this report are only possible because of you. Thank you for cultivating kindness for not just one week, but 365 days a year. Warmly, Lenee Kruse, Capitol Lakes Foundation Director
Thanks to your support, we were able to organize several special events for our residents and staff during National Skilled Nursing Care Week.
Coming Full Circle: Levy Family Grant Allows AV Upgrade in Grand Hall Irving Levy is a central figure in the history of the building now known as Capitol Lakes as well as its charitable arm, the Capitol Lakes Foundation. Irving served as Chairman of the Methodist Retirement Center Board and was integral in creating the community so many now call home. Many years later he moved into the community he helped create and was among the first to serve on the Capitol Lakes Foundation Board of Directors when it was founded in 2008. While Irving passed away twelve years ago, his legacy lives on thanks to his sons Jeff and Marv Levy as well as their late brother, Phil. A generous grant from the Irving and Dorothy Levy Family Foundation and personal gifts from the family allowed Capitol Lakes to move forward with significant upgrades to the AV equipment in the Grand Hall. These upgrades—once completed—will provide a superior experience for residents who attend events in person, but particularly for those who watch on Capitol Lakes’ internal television station. Capitol Lakes’ Program Director, Lisa Olson, says, “For residents who find it hard to come to the Grand Hall—such as our Assisted Living and Health Center residents— these upgrades will allow them to enjoy our wide array of live programming without having to leave their rooms. These upgrades have been on my wish list for a long time and I’m so grateful to the Levy family for making all this possible. We use this system every day, and the upgrades will have a positive difference for every resident on our campus.” From 1975 to today, Irv and his family continue to have an impact on this city block and those who live here. Thank you for caring so deeply about our community!
Thanks to your support, we provided a grant to bring artists to campus who shared how they used the boarded-up win-
You helped your neighbors in need! Benevolent Care grant increased for 7th year!
Cultivating RESIDENTS
Cycling Without Age Still Strong 7 Years Later Biking around the Isthmus is a favorite summer-time activity for those who live in Madison. But what happens if you aren’t physically able to bike anymore? If you live in Capitol Lakes Assisted Living, you can sit back – relax – and let one of our wonderful Wellness Center team members do the work for you. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, your Capitol Lakes Foundation purchased a battery-powered rickshaw in 2016 to participate in Cycling without Age. Over the last seven years your gifts have allowed us to maintain the bike and the program. In 2023, our Wellness Center staff used personal training time to step out of the gym and onto the rickshaw – always with one of our Assisted Living residents on board! Summer often feels too brief. We’re grateful that because of you our Assisted Living residents can truly enjoy the season and the beauty of Madison the way so many do each year – on a bike, feeling the wind in their hair.
CL Community Read
In 2023 66 residents participated in Capitol Lakes Community Read. “Thanks for doing this. It’s one of the things that makes Cap Lakes a great place to live.” Melissa Keyes, CL Resident
ACCESS GRANTED!
Thanks to you, we’ve been able to provide over 124 hours of FREE tech support to residents! “It is very helpful to have someone to solve what may be small problems, but too difficult for us. Seeing someone on Friday helps get us through the weekend as it can be difficult to be without a computer for several days.” Survey Response, CL Resident
Kindness for STAFF
You helped staff in need! $14,148.59 was given to team members facing a financial emergency.
Scholarships Benefit Professional Development After working as Capitol Lakes’ Home Care Manager for about a year, Victoria Buechner approached the Capitol Lakes Foundation for a professional development scholarship to obtain her certification as a Senior Advisor. She recounts that, “I had been wanting to earn this certification for the last 6 years, but it wasn’t until I came to Capitol Lakes that I found the support necessary to pursue the program. It’s nice to work for a place that’s willing to invest in your development.” Thanks to your generosity, we can fund programs that retain great team members like Victoria. As she says: “Of all the places I’ve worked this is the best. I want to retire from here!”
These notes of gratitude from our team are for you! Your support meant we could offer Tuition Assistance, Student Loan Repayment, and Financial Assistance in Times of Hardship to our team. Thank you!! Thank you so much for the tuition assistance! I really appreciate your support of my education. It means more to me than you know.
What a wonderful program to offer! Thanks to the donors for the help with my student loans! Dawn Vandre, CL Activity Director
“I am so thankful for Capitol Lakes’ support to their students.” KZ Xiong, RN in Capitol Lakes Health Center
Cultivating Kindness Education Program Positively Impacts Community Learners & CL Residents Dr. Ann Braus is Capitol Lakes' Health Center Medical Director and the head of a unique program providing interdisciplinary instruction to Capitol Lakes staff as well as medical students, residents and fellows from the UWMadison School of Medicine and Public Health. The Interprofessional Post -Acute Care Education – or IPACE – program provides innumerable benefits to our staff and residents, as well as future doctors. "When I came to Capitol Lakes in 2019 I was beyond excited for the chance to start a formal education program that brings nurses, CNAs, social workers, pharmacists, and UW-Madison trainees together to help optimize care for residents of the Health Center,” relates Dr. Braus. “And the investment has paid off not just for our learners, but for our Health Center residents as well. Working together we’ve been able to make small changes to protocols that make big differences – particularly in reducing the number of people who need to be sent to the hospital." This innovative program has been successful, but it is an investment. In June we came to you with a request to help us raise $30,000 so that we could provide grants over the next three years to offset the total cost of IPACE in 2023 and beyond.
Thanks to you, we EXCEEDED our goal & raised over $40,000! Your generosity meant we could send our first grant check this year!
Connecting Residents with Community Resources Vision loss and eye diseases become more common as we age, but are nevertheless deeply frustrating for those experiencing these vision changes. Thanks to you, in June we sponsored a presentation by the Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired. 22 residents and family members were able to learn practical strategies for dealing with vision loss and see first-hand adaptive products that could increase quality of life. The program was useful and informative. Thank you! -Millie Moffett, CL Resident
in our Community When Victoria Scarpita, then our Memory Support Coordinator, organized a Capitol Lakes team for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s and asked for Foundation support to help them reach their $5,000 goal we knew you would want us to take action. Thanks to your incredible generosity, we were able to offer the team a $1,000 matching grant to help with their fundraising efforts. Ultimately, they smashed their goal raising nearly $9,000 to provide care and support to those facing Alzheimer’s while funding research toward treatment, prevention, and a cure. “When we met that morning I was filled with gratitude for the many people who supported our team, including the CL Foundation.” -Victoria Scarpita
Fostering Community Partnerships With your support, we are working to connect people across generations—positively impacting our residents and larger community. The first week of April we were happy to accept a lunch invitation from the UWMadison School of Nursing’s Geriatric Interest Group on behalf of our residents.
Honorariums Bring Community Speakers to CL Thanks to your generosity, in February we were able to invite James Morgan with Just Dane to be a featured speaker at the annual Sojourner’s Breakfast. Speaking to a full house, James spoke of his 25 years in prison, those who supported him when he was released, and how he's now giving back to the community. The program sparked an important conversation about justice issues and how to reach out with compassion to those coming out of prison.
“The lunch went really well! The students and faculty had a wonderful time, and everyone was very engaged. We got to learn so much about resident life stories and are really thankful they were able to join us.” - Angie Li, student lunch organizer
At a glance...
*Fiscal Year 2023. Information Unaudited
73% of donors renewed their support this fiscal year!