Capital Campaign Blog
Campaign Spotlight:
Fred and Karen Wise
We are grateful to Fred and Karen Wise for their volunteerism and generous Special Gift to CRC’s capital campaign. In this spotlight, Fred shares what inspires their support … and why “doing something” matters right now.
“Little acts add up and can inspire others to do small things that add up. That pretty much sums up our volunteer outlook and motivation.”
Doing Something, Together
By Fred Wise
The steady drip of “bad” news in 2025 is almost overpowering, if we let it shape who we are, how we think, and what we do. Maintaining an optimistic outlook has never been more challenging, even though Karen and I are naturally “glass-half-full” people. Thus, the decision to donate to the CRC fundraising campaign was not a hard one: if you don’t think the world is headed in the “right” direction, do something about it. That is the basis of our involvement in CRC and other volunteer activities we undertake.
I grew up watching my mom volunteer. It was truly a full-time job for her, and seeing the results of her work served as her volunteer jet fuel. But it’s Karen who has the long record of volunteering with CRC. She’ll be the first to tell you that she was not the leader in her volunteer work group, but being a steady and reliable hands-on, can-do worker bee has tremendous value. That’s the lesson we learned: little acts add up and can inspire others to do small things that add up. That pretty much sums up our volunteer outlook and motivation.
Our involvement with CRC was originally inspired by a wonderful friend named Rory, who passed away way too young. Rory was such a giver, and it was so inspirational and powerful partly because she did it so quietly and consistently, with absolutely no fanfare or kudos. Talk about changing lives: Rory made serious impacts without close friends like us even knowing. We found out through others, and sometimes even from the recipients whose paths we crossed. When she died, a number of women from our area who knew Rory got together to begin working with CRC on their Holiday Baskets program. This group of about 20 women, led by Rory’s daughter, created literally hundreds of beautiful baskets to be distributed during the holiday season. That began 18 years ago.
Volunteering and donating to CRC was almost the default decision. Our church helped CRC, we knew the director of CRC, the food pantry and distribution center is in our neighborhood (where we have lived since 1980), the resale store and donation drop-off is right down the street … it would have been hard not to get involved with CRC. But beyond that, we could see the real impact of CRC. Food and safe shelter are basic needs; if we could be a small part of an entity that helped fill in those vital puzzle pieces, we felt that we were doing something that truly benefited our community.
So how did we get involved in the capital fundraising campaign? When you look around and notice that there are real needs in your very own community, it’s hard not to get inspired. We decided to get outside our comfort zone with a financial donation to the capital campaign that was a stretch for us. We took a leap of faith, it felt worthwhile, and now here I am writing to you about volunteering and donating. However, as you can see, there is nothing new or earth-shattering about our story. It was simply the recognition that we could do something and make a small difference.
And it’s not always about money. Donations of time are very valuable and necessary. That’s more where I come in. I am a weekly CRC volunteer at the Food & Nutrition Center on 2nd Street. I am not the lead volunteer, I don’t work the most hours, others have been there way longer than I have, and I help out just one day a week … this is not a large-scale commitment. It is just doing something. It’s the response to seeing so many others in our community with real needs, and it is just a little way to do something to help.
As any volunteer at the Food & Nutrition Center will tell you, those buildings have seen a lot of service. Thousands of people have come through over the years to receive food. Thousands of needy families have been guided to safety. Those are some hard-working buildings! They are further proof that great things can happen in very basic and unassuming surroundings. It is the epitome of pragmatism – CRC just makes it happen in this little, well-used location. It will be very uplifting for all the community members who access CRC if they can be served in a newer and more functional facility. The capital fundraising campaign is the only way to make this happen.
CRC is right here. It is boots on the ground. CRC helps meet basic human needs in our community. Many folks who come to CRC need just a little help to move forward, so if you are thinking of donating to CRC or giving some volunteer time, it doesn’t have to be a big thing; it’s just doing something to make the world a better place.
If you’d like to learn more about CRC’s capital campaign, how you can support our shared vision for a new campus, and what naming opportunities are available, please visit the campaign website or send a message to OneHeart@crcncc.org.
Debbie McGraw-Block