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Williams Bay's Steve and Judy Guy work tirelessly to ensure no one goes hungry

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Photo by Bill Olmsted

Steve and Judy Guy

WILLIAMS BAY — Steve and Judy Guy nourish their faith by serving the hungry and comforting the needy.

During the three years the couple has lived in this lakeside community, the Guys have built a resume of volunteer work that centers on providing relief to the less fortunate.

The couple are involved with Side by Side, a program that provides emergency cash for rent, utilities, medicine and other requests.

They commit time to the Lake Geneva Food Pantry and Angel Food Ministries.

"We give back what God has given to us," Steve Guy said. "We serve out of God's grace. We've had some pretty good teachers along the way."

Lake Geneva Mayor Jim Connors called the couple "wonderful and caring people."

The Guys moved to Williams Bay from a western Chicago suburb, where they had volunteered for Meals on Wheels and for organizations that help the homeless.

The couple joined Immanuel Lutheran Church in Lake Geneva and asked one of the pastors to plug them into volunteer work. Mark and Mary Ann Moller-Gunderson minister the church.

It didn't take long for the couple to become involved with Side by Side, Steve said.

Last year, Side by Side helped 230 families by handing out nearly $69,000. Of that amount, more than $40,000 was given to families that needed help with rent, according to the group's financial spreadsheet.

The previous year, the group gave more than $52,000 to 173 families.

Side by Side began in 2007, and the Guys joined a year later. Connors said he has helped the group on occasion.

"Obviously, in these times, we've seen the need grown," Steve said.

Clients are referred to Side by Side from Walworth County agencies and churches.

Judy is on the group's board of directors and helps with its four annual fundraisers that include selling Christmas ornaments, driving golf carts at the Walworth County Fair and hosting restaurant dinners, she said.

Another charitable endeavor that consumes the Guys is the food pantry at the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Lake Geneva.

Steve lugs government commodities, such as meats, canned foods and starches, to UCC. Volunteers pick up as much as 5,000 pounds of goods from a warehouse in Darien and take it to UCC.

Angel Food Ministries is a website where folks can buy affordable foods that are picked up by Steve from a Racine delivery site and taken to Immanuel Lutheran.

"We can certainly use more people like them," Connors said of the Guys.