Kim BrattainFounder/ CEO, Kim Brattain Media · Award-winning Corporate and Documentary Film Producer

Jen Voichick Habitat ReStore Lifetime Achievement Awardee 2015 | Kim Brattain Media

6 Apr 2015 · 3 min

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3:23

The video is a tribute to Jen Voichick, the founder and longtime leader of the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Madison, presented as part of her 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award. A series of community members, volunteers, and Habitat staff (Speakers A‑J) share personal reflections on Jen’s impact. They highlight her visionary idea of recycling building materials, her skill in outreach to service organizations and businesses, and her ability to persuade the board to launch the ReStore. They describe signature events she co‑chaired, such as the Salvage Art Throw, which mobilized artists, volunteers, and the public to create art from salvaged components, becoming an annual cultural highlight. Speakers note how Jen cultivated a distinctive “ReStore Nation” culture, fostering strong volunteer relationships, community connections, and annual holiday‑like events. Her work is credited with significantly reducing waste in Madison, inspiring others to emulate her approach, and embodying the core Habitat values of caring for the earth and people. The tribute concludes with congratulations and affirmation of the ReStore’s role as a model of community collaboration.

Chapters

Jen Wojcik is a force of nature.
The Salvage Art Throw is put on— Jen and I helped, we co-chaired it. We asked for artists in the community to make a piece using at least one salvaged component. This is cool! This is basically This is the scrapbook from the show, the last show that we did last year. We had artist volunteers, gallery owner volunteers, ReStore volunteers, people from the community.
She was great at doing outreach, so she knew which service organizations to go to to increase donations from businesses, and that's particularly important to the ReStore to have that When I met Jen for the first time, I was Habitat's first full-time employee, and she came with this crazy idea of recycling building materials.
And, you know, I thought she was nuts. How she talked the board into even doing this, I can't even imagine. That's what's special. You give her an idea and she's going to run with it.
There's a lot less waste in this town thanks to Jen.
She gave me the opportunity to be Mother Earth and serve as the meet-and-greet ambassador for the ReStore.
And I think she was sort of one of those people who started to develop what ReStore Nation culture is, and it wasn't just running a store. She has this great relationship with her volunteers. She has amazing connections with the community, as well as these big, huge community events that they became annual sort of holidays in Madison.
I had a great couple of first days there working alongside Jen and her team. And when I sort of went back and tried to figure out what I was going to do with my own store, I kept thinking, you know, what would Jen do? How would Jen do it?
You've got to excuse me for a minute. It's something you just can't always explain out loud. She was just a wonderful gal to work for and work with.
I feel like habitat restores are an incredible indication of what we can do as a community. And it gets— it hits the basics. It hits taking care of the earth, taking care of people, and really putting that effort all together into creating something that that we all can do to support each other. That's the bottom line.
Congratulations, Jen!