Our March Jefferson Award winner is proving that family isn’t always created through blood and that a meal can bring people together who are worlds apart.
LA CROSSE, Wis. (WXOW) - Our March Jefferson Award winner is proving that family isn’t always created through blood and that a meal can bring people together who are worlds apart.
It’s just another day for Lisbeth Reynertson, as she volunteers at the Salvation Army in La Crosse. It’s another meal and maybe something to drink, for a person in need. Lisbeth has served countless meals here, as a faithful volunteer.
Lisbeth's motto is: “We need to help people as much as we can.”
Helping people makes Lisbeth happy, and that’s one reason she’s been volunteering at the Salvation Army for more than 15 years.
"I’m happy every time I get there, people are so happy for the help they get. That’s my joy I get joy out of it,” she added.
A joy she’s spreading to her neighbors, who are also volunteering, because Lisbeth asked them to.
Sister Mary Ann Gschwind nominated Lisbeth for the Jefferson Award. “I think Lisbeth is just good hearted to start with and has a gift for seeing the needs and how she can respond to them and she gets other people involved.”
Connecting with other people is Lisbeth’s specialty. Originally from Denmark, she moved to La Crosse in 1986, and worked in the International Students’ office at UW-La Crosse.
She started a Host Family Program, so students coming here from overseas would have a home to stay in.
“She was so warm and kind and loving and I was immediately drawn to her,” said Goya who stayed with Lisbeth and her husband in 2019. It was the first-time she left Pakistan.
Goya explained, “I felt like I was a part of a family, a sense of belonging that came so unexpectedly. That’s what makes Lisbeth so special; she brings people together.”
Sister Mary Ann Gschwind added “her calmness, kindness, and gentleness, just the love that she brings to everything she does.”
Whether it’s making a meal with an international student, or giving meals to people in need, Lisbeth finds a way to make others feel loved, welcome, and special, something we all deserve a little more of.
Lisbeth is the President of La Crosse Friends of International Students. She wants to encourage families to host international students. She is also a founding member of the local Ukrainian Welcome Circle.
