On Aug. 2, 2008, the ninth annual Jeremiah Ministry basketball clinic was held at Northwest Lutheran School, Milwaukee. The clinic was an opportunity for children ages 5 to 12 years old to have numerous volunteers focus on teaching skills to improve their basketball playing.
"The true emphasis of the clinic is to be an evangelistic outreach to these young children and their families," said Linda Zick, Jeremiah Ministry's director. "Jeremiah Ministry’s mission is to provide hope and reconciliation to children and families through life changing relationships and experiences from a Christian perspective.”
This year’s clinic was attended by over 70 children and 20 volunteers as well as many of the children’s parents who spent the day enjoying the attention their children were getting from the very talented and caring volunteers. The family of Wayne and Lori Klomstad from Brookfield Lutheran, Brookfield, headed up the volunteer team. The Klomstads have been helping with the event for the past five years. Their children, twins Nick and Jenna Lea and sister Kaitlyn, are all accomplished athletes. Nick is currently attending Mt. Olivet College in Illinois on a basketball scholarship. Jenna Lea is attending University of Wisconsin,
Lori Klomstad of Brookfield Lutheran, Brookfield, holds one of this year's basketball campers.
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Milwaukee on a basketball scholarship and is part of the very successful Panther Women’s basketball team. Kaitlyn is a junior at Pewaukee High School and participates in several sports, including basketball. The Klomstads contribute to this event in many ways, including financially, recruiting volunteers and event speakers, and for the past four years Nick has designed logo for the event T-shirt.
The longest running volunteer is George Taylor, a father of five sons, one daughter and now two grandchildren. Taylor joined with Linda Zick in the first event in 1999 as a way for him to give back to the community after discovering Christ as his Savior and Lord. Taylor is a member of a central city church and a meat department manager for the Brown Deer Pick and Save. He and his sons are key in the recruitment of coaches and children who attend the clinic each year.
The event includes a lunch for the children and their families when speakers share testimonies from the Word. This year Duane Tweeten from Brookfield Lutheran stepped in to replace the keynote speaker who was called away on a family emergency.
Jeremiah Ministry wishes to express gratitude to Northwest's Principal Dennis Wallinger and Dick Laabs, executive director of LUMIN (Lutheran Urban Missionary Initiative) for allowing use of the wonderful campus of Northwest Lutheran School.