Sealing Our Legacy: Sojourner’s 50th Anniversary Time Capsule

On National Purple Thursday, October 16, 2025, Sojourner came together to celebrate 50 years of service to the Milwaukee community and to leave a gift for the future. In honor of this milestone, we created a time capsule to be opened in 2075, filled with keepsakes, reflections, and hopes for the next fifty years of Sojourner’s journey.  

Over the past five decades, Sojourner has witnessed extraordinary change — including one of our most transformative moments in 2015, when we partnered with nine other community organizations to form the Family Peace Center. Together, we have worked to create a safer, more supportive Milwaukee, ensuring that individuals and families affected by domestic violence have access to the protection and services they deserve. 

To honor this legacy, Sojourner departments including both former and current leaders contributed items that represent their work, memories, and hopes for Sojourner’s future. Each piece placed inside the capsule tells a story — of resilience, growth, and commitment to ending domestic violence. 

We extend a heartfelt thank you to the Wisconsin Woodworkers Guild for donating their time and resources to build Sojourner’s very first time capsule! 

Among the items sealed inside were photos of staff members, letters, business cards, a hard drive filled with powerful data points (which we hope will still be readable in 50 years!), a construction hard hat from the building of the Family Peace Center, a ribbon made by Zina Daniels’ family, accounting forms predicting what our finances might look like in the future, and so much more! To see the full list of items, please scroll below.  

The Healing Services Department also contributed a touching letter that reminded us of the impact Sojourner has on the community and to the hope that future generations will carry it forward. They wrote: 

Hey Future Sojourner!  

Today is October 15th, 2025. Sojourner just celebrated its 50-year anniversary last month! My name is Nayna Alam and I am the Healing Program Coordinator at Sojourner. On my team is Rachel Bruns, the Project Manager: Restorative Practices & Survivor Engagement and VOICES Coordinator. Our supervisor is Marleisa Quiles-Espinoza, Supervisor of Healing Services.  

Admittedly, this year has been a tough one, well the last 5 years have been a little  

tough. COVID, the election, the state of the world right now has been hard on everyone in one way or another. But one thing about the Healing Services Team is that they will always find a way to navigate the world, because that’s what this program exists for. We bring calmness to the community in states of chaos, we bring people together, we laugh, we play, and most importantly, we reinstate the value that everyone – regardless of their race, gender, background or status can have a space where they are believed and there is hope for a better future. We don’t know where we will be 50 years from now, but we hope that those values that Sojourner has built on these last 50 years are still standing, and we’re happy to have been a small piece of it.  

Love,  Nayna, Rachel, Marleisa  & everyone who makes healing at Sojourner possible 

Here’s to the next 50 years of healing, hope, and community. 

Time Capsule

From the family of Kathie Stolpman, former longtime Sojourner Truth House Director  

·       Photo of Kathie Stolpman  

·      Kathie’s 25th Anniversary Endowment Brochure 

·       A testimony written by Kathie’s daughter about her legacy 

Human Resources 

Envelope containing: 

·        Tale of the Starfish 

·        Organization chart as of 10/16/25 

·        Two job descriptions 

·        All staff photo from Go Purple Day 10/16/25 

·        Recognition Coin 

·        Two stickers – Pride Month and Hispanic Heritage Month 

·        Volunteer Appreciation Month social media posts 

·        Wellness Week 2025 schedule 

Shelter 

·        Law enforcement hotline call form 

·        Note of encouragement from a survivor 

·        VOICES letter 

Development 

·        Hope Lives Here Campaign brochure 

·        2025 Partners in Philanthropy featuring Sojourner 

·        Be the Light 2025 program 

·        Picture of the woodworkers who made the time capsule box 

Restraining Order Office 

·        Team picture taken on Zoom 

·        Waitwhile flyer 

·        Restraining Order booklet 

Facilities and Public Safety 

·        Security hat 

·        Custodian Appreciation Day poster 

·        Keycard 

·        Picture of Ulysses Hall Sr. (Public Safety Officer) 

Healing Services 

·        Polaroid photo of Children’s Program team 

·        Camp Hope t-shirt 

·        Letter highlighting programming and picture of team members 

·        Lullaby Project program 

·        Russian-Speaking Family Strengthening flyer in Russian 

Finance 

·        Two voided checks – one from the Agency and one from the Foundation 

·        Business card 

·        August financial statement 

Community Domestic Abuse Awareness Program (CDAAP) 

·        Picture of team and pictures of their office locations 

·        Maps of each district 

·        Home visit protocol 

·        Froedtert referral form 

·        Domestic violence incident report (utilized by the police) – includes the Lethality Assessment Protocol (LAP) 

·        Team meeting agenda 

Information Technology (IT) 

·        Piece of hardware – “little weird adapter” for video conversion 

·        Anti-static bag for flash drive (flash drive provided by O&E) 

FPC Advocacy 

·        Photo album with core values listed on the outside containing: 

O   Team photo 

o   Business cards and small blurb for each team member 

o   August is for Advocates notes 

o   Picture of therapy dog Koda 

o   Safe Haven flyer 

o   Unis the unicorn picture 

o   Safe at Home brochure 

o   Another team photo 

o   Tale of the Starfish 

·        Safety planning sheet 

·        Advocacy Academy certificate 

·        Job descriptions 

Outcomes & Evaluation (O&E) 

Flash drive containing PDFs: 

·        Welcome message 

·        Reports including Domestic Violence High Risk Team (DVHRT) report 

·        PowerPoints including Community Education and police training 

·        Community resource list 

·        Power & Control Wheel 

·        “Ways to Get Involved” document 

Board of Directors and Administration 

·        Board member list 

·        Organization history 1975-2025 

·        Ornament 

Carmen Pitre, President & Chief Executive Officer 

·        Business Journal from when the building opened 

·        Wonder Woman with Carmen’s business card 

·        Sojourner Truth pen and information about her 

·        Flashlight that says “Together our light is brighter” 

·        Hard hat, safety vest, and safety glasses from construction of the Family Peace Center 

·        Keys from the old Sojourner Truth House shelter 

·        Ribbon made by Zina Daniels’ family