\t\u201cOh, thank you!\u201d Engebregtsen said. \u201cI needed this. This was the last thing on the list.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tShe hugged the couple and directed them to the bar to enjoy some drinks with other folks from the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
\tThe list to which Engebregtsen referred was given to her by Catholic Charities with the Christmas wishes of five families, 27 people total.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWhatever their wish is, we honor it,\u201d she said, adding that since the bar started collecting gifts for Catholic Charities six years ago, every wish \u2014 and more \u2014 has been fulfilled.<\/p>\n
\tEngebregtsen said one year a child asked for a bike, and through her collection, got a bike and a helmet. Another asked for a basketball, and he was given a ball and a pump.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cOnce the ball goes flat, it\u2019s no good,\u201d she said. \u201cThese are kids that don\u2019t have anything, so whatever they ask for, we get.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tKip\u2019s was generous in donating gifts that weren\u2019t on wish lists for the five families \u2014 and $300 to purchase gifts for families without sponsors, according to Sharon Brumer, communications manager of Catholic Charities.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThey just continue to really embrace the giving program for the holidays,\u201d Brumer said. \u201cI think it enables the patrons to really participate, whether their kids are grown or they don\u2019t have kids, whatever it is. They are just so generous and the bartenders, too; they work really hard and they\u2019re always so energetic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tBrumer said she can always depend on Engebregtsen and Kip\u2019s Inn, located at 837 S. 108th St., West Allis in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cShe embraces sharing and giving to others, and that always rubs off then on the people that come to your establishment,\u201d Brumer said. \u201cIf you\u2019re cheerful and happy about what you do and what you\u2019re doing for others, it\u2019s very contagious then for everyone else. \u2026 She and her bartenders certainly embrace that spirit of Christmas giving, because they are just always so excited.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tEngebregtsen\u2019s motivation for gathering the toys stems from having been one of five children in a poor household.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWhen we were kids, we were pretty poor,\u201d she said. \u201cWe benefited from people\u2019s generosity and actually through the Catholic Church.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tEngebregtsen and her family attended St. Peter Parish, Oshkosh, Wis. and she went to St. Peter School.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe were able to attend the school without paying tuition,\u201d she said. \u201cThe parents of our classmates, they were very generous. They exposed us to things that we wouldn\u2019t have been otherwise exposed to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tShe was grateful for gifts her family had received when she was a child and after growing up, she fell into this toy tradition by accident.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe first year we collected for Toys for Tots and when I went to go drop (the gifts) off, they said the deadline had already passed so I took them to Catholic Charities and they were really happy to get the gifts,\u201d Engebregtsen said.<\/p>\n
\tShortly after that, she received a call from then-Archbishop of Milwaukee Timothy M. Dolan, now cardinal, thanking her and asking if he could come to the bar to pick them up.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIt\u2019s exciting that he\u2019d go out of his way to stop at a small neighborhood bar to thank us for what we\u2019ve done,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\tOn that day she remembered Cardinal Dolan sitting at the bar and ordering a Budweiser.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cHe told my bartender not to tell anybody and she said \u2018Why? You can\u2019t have a beer?\u2019 And he said, \u2018No, don\u2019t tell anyone it\u2019s Budweiser,\u2019\u201d Engebregtsen said, laughing at the memory.<\/p>\n
\tThe tradition of the archbishop coming to the bar to receive the toys continues with Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThey\u2019re very charismatic members of the church,\u201d she said of Archbishop Listecki and Cardinal Dolan. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting for us, (but) we don\u2019t do it for that reason.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tFor Engebregtsen and the patrons at Kip\u2019s Inn, it\u2019s all about the families.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cMy customers ask me two months before we get the list, \u2018When are you going to get the list from Catholic Charities?\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re really excited about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tAnna Rollo, frequent customer at Kip\u2019s Inn, \u201cadopted\u201d three people for whom to buy gifts.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe person wanted a pillow and a blanket; I ended up buying them a four pack of pillows and blankets,\u201d Rollo said, adding she did the same for another person and bought a shaving kit for the third person.<\/p>\n
\tThis was her first year being involved in the tradition.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI was raised Catholic and this is my neighborhood watering hole and I know they got this here and it\u2019s a big thing to do,\u201d Rollo said. \u201cThis (bar) seems to be one that draws from this particular segment. It\u2019s working class people. A lot of us recognize each other; we\u2019re all from the neighborhood. We kind of look out for each other \u2026 there\u2019s a lot of giving people in here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tSalvatorian Fr. Dave Bergner, executive director of Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, appreciates the bar\u2019s outreach.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe are so grateful to the patrons and staff at Kip\u2019s Inn for their enthusiasm for our Christmas Giving Program. Their generosity is truly a wonderful example of how one good deed can have a ripple effect within our community,\u201d he said in a Dec. 5 press release, referring to the organization\u2019s \u201cMake a ripple\u201d campaign.<\/p>\n
\tEngebregtsen realizes some might be surprised that a bar is doing business with a Catholic organization.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWhat we do is we try to serve responsibly,\u201d she said, adding the bar provides free taxi vouchers to customers who shouldn\u2019t drive, doesn\u2019t allow gambling, and warns customers against using offensive language.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cObviously it\u2019s not a church, but I want to be proud of my bar,\u201d Engebregtsen said. \u201cIf my friends are sitting there, I want them to be proud of my bar.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThroughout the year, Engebregtsen said she raises funds for hurricane relief and other charitable causes at her bar. But she doesn\u2019t think of her efforts as anything special.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIt\u2019s not like in some saintly way, it\u2019s really kind of an everyday way,\u201d she said. \u201cThe way you lead your life sets an example for other people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tEngebregtsen was hesitant to do the interview with your Catholic Herald, preferring to let her actions speak for her.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI don\u2019t like the spotlight,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t want the credit. I don\u2019t want the praise \u2026 I really just do it because it feels good.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tPosted with permission from The Catholic Herald<\/a>, official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.<\/p>\n