Free Van

*WINTER, 2010 - DUE TO THE WORKLOAD INHERENT IN ESTABLISHING MILWAUKEE'S FIRST AND ONLY FREE STORE WE REGRET TO ANNOUNCE A TEMPORARY HIATUS FOR ALL FREE VANS THIS SEASON. FOR MORE INFO CHECK THE "FREE STORE" PAGE LISTED ABOVE OR CONTACT MNSC AT (mkensc@gmail.com) THANK YOU FOR PATIENCE*

The mNSC Free Van is another example of "shared welfare" come to fruition; an event where community volunteers fill vehicles with locally donated clothing as well as other goods, establishing a mobile Free Market (see above), usually outdoors, with a focus on supporting the needs of those around us during Wisconsin's harsh winter months. As usual, all in attendance are allowed to give or take donations as necessary, but we ask that the service is not abused and that everyone participating remains respectful towards each other and St. Benedict's existing community.

Starting December 14th, mNSC will be holding Free Van events every other Sunday, December through February, at St. Benedict’s (1015 9th Street, just North of State Street).

Warm clothing donations will be set up outside at or around 4:00pm as the community meal line forms. If you’d like to get involved, there are many options:

• contact us to donate warm winter clothes, either to mNSC, St. Benedict’s, or any other cause you see fit. Especially needed are:
  • hats
  • gloves/mittens
  • scarves
  • socks
  • large coats
• Show up at the event with your donations. We love meeting new people, and there’s no better way to know what’s truly happening around us than by doing and seeing for ourselves.
• Contact us to get involved with the group. Join us in planning, organizing, and doing. The more faces, bodies, and minds present, the more we stand to build the community we all deserve.
• Contact St. Benedict’s:
  1015 N Ninth Street Milwaukee WI 53233 Telephone 414-271-0135

History:

At our first Winter event, held outdoors on December 2nd, 2007, mNSC handed out FREE winter clothing in the parking lot of St. Benedicts (1015 N 9th St) in participation and solidarity with their well-established weekly community meal. Due to the large response we witnessed firsthand, our inventory, which we had amassed over a three month period spanning multiple community driven events, was nearly completely depleted. This was just a single event of many, covering but a three hour period; proving, without a doubt that the need is there. To date mNSC has hosted 8 Free Van events celebrating the idea that warmth is a basic human right and should be denied to no one. Keep an eye out for upcoming related events.