Hey, everyone — T.G.I. Friday!

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for the weekend. It was a chaotic and emotional week, to say the least, and after everything that happened in our neighboring city of Menasha, I’m looking forward to a little downtime to decompress and process it all. Right now, I’m feeling sad and anxious, and my heart is broken for the people who live, work, and own businesses there.

If you haven’t heard about what happened, let me fill you in. Unfortunately, a large, powerful storm tore through our area on Monday, causing extensive damage across several communities. The hardest-hit was Menasha, which is less than 15 miles from Primitive Gatherings. It was already a massive storm, but then an EF3 tornado nearly a mile wide tore through the city, leaving a 12-mile path of destruction. Many homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed, families were displaced, and an entire community is now facing the overwhelming task of rebuilding their lives.

Fun fact — Menasha is where I raised my boys and where Primitive Gatherings first began. Our old shop building and retreat house are only about two and a half miles east of what has been described as ground zero. Luckily, the building was okay and made it through with only a few missing shingles and a damaged fence. The retreat house sustained mostly tree damage.

Although we were fortunate, so many others were not. I can’t fully describe the emotion I felt seeing my old neighborhood like this when I drove through yesterday. Needless to say, there were plenty of tears. This is hitting closer to home than I could have imagined — no pun intended.

Like I mentioned, Menasha isn’t just a neighboring community to us — it’s PG’s hometown and where my kids grew up! We know this community, we love this community, and we want to do what we can to help our neighbors as they begin the long road to recovery. That’s why, now through Sunday, August 2nd, 2026 10% of every Primitive Gatherings purchase, whether you shop in-store or online, will be donated directly to the tornado relief efforts in Menasha.

If you’ve been thinking about placing an order, this is a wonderful opportunity to shop for something you love while helping support our neighbors at the same time. Every purchase, whether it’s a small fabric order or a larger project, will help provide support to those affected as they begin the process of rebuilding. We also know that not everyone may be in a position to shop right now, so please know that sharing this message or making a direct monetary donation are also meaningful ways to help, which you can do on our website by clicking the donation button above.

You can also help by donating your time! As Heidi mentioned during LIVE yesterday, even if you can’t lift heavy objects or don’t have a hammer to swing, there are lots of other ways you can volunteer to help. Anyone local who’s interested in volunteering should sign up on the Volunteer Fox Cities website by clicking the button below!

If you’d like to help in another way, we are also collecting nonperishable food and supply donations at Primitive Gatherings in Larsen, located at 8567 South Loop Rd. Heidi will be making deliveries to Menasha as needed.

Heads up! Due to the overwhelming generosity of our community and limited storage capacity, for now, only the following items will be accepted:

• Lanterns/flashlights

• Mop handles for Rubbermaid mops (we have many mop heads but need handles), plus additional mops

• Lighter fluid & long-reach/stick lighters

• Charcoal & firewood

• Bug spray

• Small fans

• Advil & Tylenol

• Small & large tarps

• Kleenex

• Q-Tips

• CPAP wipes

• Dish soap

• Canned meats (tuna, chicken, etc.)

• Body wipes

• Laundry detergent (small bottles preferred)

• Paper plates

• Napkins

• Paper towels

• Toilet paper

• Sandwich bags

• Diapers

• Non-perishable foods (e.g., pasta & sauce, single-serve cereal, ramen, rice)

• Nutritional/protein drinks

• Zero-sugar beverages

• Gatorade

• 9-volt batteries

PLEASE do not donate clothing, alcohol, or expired food. Clothing and perishable/hot food can be donated at separate locations, which can be found by visiting https://www.volunteerfoxcities.org/2026-storms/.

NON PERISHABLE FOOD AND SUPPLY DONATIONS CAN BE DROPPED OFF AT the UW-Oshkosh Fox Cities Campus: 1478 Midway Rd., Menasha, WI. – please see Volunteer Fox Cites website for hours at https://www.volunteerfoxcities.org/2026-storms/.

Before I head out I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the kindness, generosity, and support you have already shown from near and far. Watching people come together during difficult times is a reminder of what makes this community so special. Whether you shop with us, donate supplies, share this post, or simply keep the people of Menasha in your thoughts, I want you to know that I appreciate you more than you’ll ever know — thanks again, everyone. I know the road ahead will be long, but I also know Menasha won’t have to walk it alone. Have a great weekend! ~Lisa