Wellik Family
Peg Wellik grew up in Fargo, North Dakota. Her late husband, Gerry, came from a small farming community in southern Minnesota. Times were different then. "I walked to school," she says looking at Amy and Danny, two of the four Wellik children who have joined the conversation. They all laugh. A lot has changed since Peg and Gerry were young, but the importance of family, relationships, and looking out for one another is still very much the same. It is these relationships and commitment to friends that led the Welliks to Clare Housing.
Peg and her family first heard about Clare Housing when Greg Foster, who later served as the president of the Clare Housing Board of Directors, approached the Welliks to support him in the AIDS Ride. They had a special relationship with Greg, whose father, Joe Foster, passed away when Greg was young. Joe was a close family friend of Gerry's. "Gerry learned a lot from Joe," said Peg as she reminisced about her husband Gerry's work with Greg's father.
Gerry's business was built on these kind relationships. It is what made his work so successful and meaningful to him. His clients and employees became family friends, celebrating milestones together and helping each other. Gerry was the founder of LSI Corp. of America, which makes plastic-laminated cabinets and shelves used in hospitals and schools around the nation. He sold the business in 1999.
Danny, the youngest, described his father's commitment to friends and family, "My Dad was such a firm believer in friendships and relationships and building them." Danny went on to explain how many people he has met since his father's death last year who have shared stories about the huge impact Gerry had on them. He would spend a weekend helping harvest or travel with his wife Peg to cheer on the football team in the small town where he grew up. "The tentacles of his friendship and loyalty and how far they reached, it is amazing."
This down-to-earth approach to life dictates the Wellik philanthropy as well. "Their giving is connected to people they know. They wouldn't just pick out an organization. It's also about knowing people who believe in it" added Amy.
When Greg approached the Gerry and Peg Wellik to consider a capital gift toward the construction of Clare Apartments, they responded with a generous patron level gift that helped to leverage additional community support. "We have been blessed with a good cause and money to give," said Peg as she thought about her husband's lifetime of hard work and community involvement. "Gerry really believed in Clare," she continued. "And our family has been touched with HIV, making Clare's work even more important to us," added Amy, who continued to say that a family with three gay kids understands the impact that a place like Clare Housing can have on the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS.
Just like their relationships, their support of Clare Housing has been much more than a one-time gift. The Welliks continue to provide critical support to the organization's expanding programs. "My parents have reached out to things that have touched their lives and the people in their lives," says Amy.
The Wellik's support of Clare Housing's programs continues to bloom, thanks to their deep relationships and their commitment to organizations that give meaning to those relationships.
Peg and Gerry Wellik raised four kids: Phil, Amy, Jamie and Danny. Peg also has five grandchildren. The family's philanthropy supports a number of other organizations including the Southland School District in southern Minnesota, the Mayo Foundation, North Memorial Cancer Center, North Memorial Residential Hospice and Central Lutheran Church. They were instrumental in building an eight-bed residential lakeside hospice in Brooklyn Center. They describe a setting that gives families a calm, beautiful space during their loved-one's final days.
A tree is being planted in the Clare Apartment's garden in memory of Gerry Wellik, who loved to garden. Greg has been leading the charge to create a garden and patio that is peaceful and healing for the people living there. The tree will be a beautiful reminder of the Wellik's philosophy of giving and the importance of their commitment to Clare Housing.
