They lift your spirits, prompt you to think, make you feel grateful and inspire you to do more. They connect you to our community, shining a spotlight on what's good about our city. They're stories that are Uniquely Milwaukee, sponsored by the Milwaukee Public Library.
If you’ve ever experienced adversity, it can be tough to see the positive outcome. Sometimes, it’s less of a beacon and more of a silver lining. In this episode, we go inside one of the city’s nonprofits that focuses on the brighter side — big, small and everything in between.
Harmonic Harvest launched on Giving Tuesday in November of 2023. Less than two years later, it celebrated the opening of its headquarters inside the Marshall Building and has extended its reach well beyond the bounds of the Historic Third Ward.
“I knew I wanted to create a splash. I didn’t realize it was going to be way bigger than just a splash,” Harmonic Harvest founder and CEO Jenna Washuleski said. “The whole concept of Harmonic Harvest is organizations and people that are helping create a brighter future. By weaving silver linings, by collaborating, co-creating and supporting one another, we can really create a stronger collective force.”
Harmonic Harvest has donated thousands of dollars to artists, organizations and entrepreneurs, and has created connections by sharing silver linings. Its space in the Marshall Building reflects that, as Washuleski’s team transformed it to include an entrepreneurial marketplace, artist cove, designer’s workshop and much more.
While Harmonic Harvest has grown relatively fast, its foundation was developed over a lifetime. Washuleski’s personal story is one of resilience and part of the impetus for the organization’s existence. She experienced the foster-care system and has overcome instances of trauma, neglect and addiction within her family. As she watched relatives and her two sisters navigate their pain, she began understanding her own and worked to rise above it.
“To be the youngest, I think, was a blessing because I could really watch what happened to them and see that their pain was almost digging them into this deeper hole,” Washeluski explained. “I just was really passionate about how, if someone was in that scenario, we can help them … in the prevention sphere.
“That’s what led me to being resilient in terms of trying to overcome the obstacles that were in my way and say, ‘I can’t help what’s happening to me right now, but I can help where I’m going from here.’”
An important facet of the nonprofit is the Renaissance Threads initiative — workshops in which people share their silver-lining stories through art. It’s one way the organization reflects what
Washuleski and her team focus on every day: building genuine relationships and creating connections that make our days a little brighter.
