Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Volunteers Are The Heartbeat of Marshfield Area United Way

Some of our smallest but mightiest volunteers on Make A Difference Day.

In order to operate year-round, Marshfield Area United Way relies heavily on the support of hundreds of volunteers throughout the year. From the governing Board of Directors to the committee of individuals who decide ho
w your generous contributions will be distributed, volunteer community members help United Way leverage resources to do the most good and address our community's most pressing human service needs.

Our small United Way staff (2.5 employees) certainly wouldn't be able to successfully execute the annual fall campaign without the generosity of volunteers. Every year, Campaign Drive Chairs make the commitment to volunteer their time and their voice to lead that year's United Way campaign, while volunteer employees from numerous companies city-wide take on additional duties every fall to represent United Way during their company's workplace campaign, acting as an advocate and facilitator for our organization. Marshfield Area United Way also uses volunteers to help with fundraising events throughout the year. These volunteers play an integral part of making sure the events run smoothly.

Thank you to all the individuals involved with the following United Way committees and efforts throughout the year:
  • Board of Directors
  • Community Impact Committee Members
  • Finance Committee Members
  • Campaign Committee Members
  • Campaign Volunteers
  • Employee Campaign Coordinators
  • Special Event (5K for United Way, Wipeout) Volunteers
Marshfield Area United Way has year-round initiatives that are volunteer-based as well. Our greatest appreciation goes out to everyone who helps with the following United Way initiatives: the Annual Backpack & School Supply Drive, Make a Difference Day, the Tax Preparation Assistance program, the Volunteer Reception Center Response team, and the scores of businesses, organizations, and individuals (and they are too many to list by name) who make the weekly implementation of the Nutrition On Weekends program possible:

Thank you to the 2014 Leadership Marshfield group who helped and continue to help with the organization of the NOW program and scheduling of volunteers.

Volunteer Businesses, Organizations, and Groups:
  • Alternative High School students and staff
  • Marshfield Door Systems employees
  • Youth Group - First Presbyterian Church
  • Festival Foods employees
  • City of Marshfield employees
  • V&H Truck employees
  • Associated Bank staff
  • Forward Financial Bank employees
  • Wipfli staff
  • Marshfield Clinic employees
  • Ministry Saint Joseph's Hospital staff
  • MCIS employees
  • Prince Corporation employees
  • United Way's Women's Group members
  • 4H group members
  • Girl Scouts members
  • Gosse Chiropractic
  • Heritage Bank - Marshfield and Spencer
  • Burnstad's Market
  • United Methodist Church (Spencer)
  • Granton Rotary Club
  • Roger's Grocery
  • School District of Marshfield
  • School District of Spencer
  • School District of Granton
A special thank you to the countless people who have donated food items for the program, to Rotary Winter Wonderland for the donations of peanut butter & jelly, and to Nasonville Dairy for their weekly donation of cheese for the children.

This all amounts to hundreds of volunteers and thousands of hours of time donated by individuals, groups, businesses and community leaders who care about our community. The appreciation United Way has for all these efforts to make the Marshfield area a better place to live is too much to express with words.

Humbly, graciously, "thank you all."

Monday, December 15, 2014

What Your Gift to United Way Means...



Most of us (me included) have more than we need.  I mean way more than we need.  Clothes, shoes, household goods, kitchen gadgets, and just plain stuff, and we spend time and energy and money trying to better store and organize it so we can get even more stuff.  For many people our happiness is tied to our things and acquiring new things.  The older I get the more that realize I really do have everything I need, and the longer I work at United Way I’m sure of it.   

You see at United Way we regularly work with individuals and families that truly don’t have enough.  Enough income, food, clothes, healthy relationships, skills, support and the list goes on.  There is something very humbling about looking into someone’s eyes or talking to someone on the phone as they share their personal story.  There is no better feeling than being able to connect that person to a United Way funded program that can help.  I am ALWAYS grateful when that connection is made. 

One such connection was last spring when a young woman and her daughter walked into our office.  When I asked her how I could help her, her eyes filled with tears and she said she needed help because she needed to leave a bad relationship and she didn’t know where to go.  She and I took a walk out the back door and down the block to Personal Development Center.  As a supporter of United Way, YOU made this connection possible.  Your gift means help.  It is food, shelter, warm clothes and counseling for a child who has been abused.  It is a resource for parents with disabled children and safety for families living in violence and so much more.  Please give to this year’s United Way campaign, 15,000 people in our community will be grateful.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Have you given to this year's Marshfield Area United Way Campaign? No?...


In today's world, a dollar doesn’t buy much anymore, but when your dollar is going to Marshfield Area United Way it is making a difference.

Here is what giving just $1 a week can buy at United Way. Your donation of $1 per week…

  • Is enough to provide a weekly supplemental (weekend) food pack to one child that is facing food insecurity in his/her home. 
  • Will provide supportive services to one family with a disabled child through the Child Disability Resource Center. 
  •  Will allow a child participate in a sport/activity that promotes health and well-being through a Right To Play For All Scholarship. 
  •  Supports early childhood literacy by providing a book to a child during his/her well-child visit. 
  •  Provides one day of food for a family of four through Soup Or Socks food pantry. 
  •  Gives 2 area youth the opportunity to participate in Boys Scouts or Girl Scouts.

These are just a few of the ways your generosity is making an impact in the lives of thousands of individuals in our area. To learn more about United Way’s work and the work of its funded partners please visit, www.marshfieldareaunitedway.org and click on “Our Work.”

Please be generous and give today. Any donation, no matter it size, is helping make a difference right here in the Marshfield community. You can give through your workplace campaign, online at www.marshfieldareaunitedway.org, or by mailing your donation to PO Box 771, Marshfield, WI, 54449.

Marshfield Area United Way’s service area includes the city of Marshfield and these surrounding communities: Arpin, Auburndale, Chili, Granton, Greenwood, Loyal, Neillsville, Pittsville, Spencer and Stratford.

Friday, September 19, 2014

Join Community-wide SNAP Challenge October 6th - 10th



Food insecurity and hunger are real issues and they are issues that people are dealing with right here
in our community. Over the past ten years in Wood County, participation in Wisconsin’s FoodShare program has nearly tripled. In 2003, 6195 (3229 adults, 2966 children) individuals where receiving FoodShare benefits. Last year, 18,322 (11,307 adults, 7025 children) were enrolled in the program. Children, age 4 and under are the largest age grouping of individuals receiving FoodShare benefits, making up 13% of the recipients. Fifty percent of FoodShare recipients are age 23 and younger.

Another staggering statistic is children enrolled in the free and reduced meal program in Marshfield public schools. The percentage of students participating has more than doubled over the past decade going from 15% in 2003 to 34.5% in 2013. In 2012, one out of every five students from the Marshfield Middle and High Schools indicated that he or she had gone to bed hungry in the past 30 days because there was not enough food in the home.

In an attempt to bring awareness to the hunger issues facing many of our community members, Marshfield Area United Way is inviting the entire community to take the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) Challenge. The SNAP Challenge gives participants a view of the struggle to obtain adequate food that is faced by millions of low-income Americans receiving FoodShare benefits. From October 6th through October 10th individuals participating in the SNAP Challenge will be allowed to spend $4 per day to eat. For a family of four, this would mean feeding all four family members three meals for the day on just $16. By living on the average food stamp benefit, Challenge participants will find themselves forced to make food shopping choices on a limited budget, and learn how difficult it is to avoid hunger, afford nutritious foods, and stay healthy without adequate resources.

To join the community SNAP Challenge and receive a Challenge toolkit that explains your role as a participant, please contact Marshfield Area United Way at 715-384-9992 or unitedway@tznet.com. More information about the SNAP Challenge is also available at www.marshfieldareaunitedway.org.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Join Us For Campaign Kick-off September 8th

What:  2014 United Way Campaign Kick-off
When:  Monday, September 8, 2014, @ 5:00 p.m.
Where:  RiverEdge
             10191 County Highway B
             Marshfield, WI 54449
Cost:  Suggested $5 donation

Please join us Monday, September 8, 2014, at RiverEdge to help us kick-off our annual fall campaign. A cash bar and food sampling will begin at 5:00 pm. Dinner will begin at 5:20 pm with a program to follow. 2014 United Way Campaign Drive Chairs, Beth & Brian Kief will lead the program and there will be a guest speaker to talk about her experience on Wisconsin’s FoodShare program. The kick-off will also serve as an
introduction to a community-wide invitation to take the SNAP Challenge this October.

Monday, August 18, 2014

On Any Given Day at United Way



Last week we had our intern keep count of all of the individuals and phone calls that we received in a single day at United Way.  The results surprised me.  I know our office is a busy place, but even I underestimated how many people we come into contact with on a single day.  So what does a typical day look like at United Way?  We had 53 individuals visit our office and 17 phone calls.  

The visits included 35% of the individuals coming to our office seeking assistance with securing employment either by using the Job Center or for an interview that a local employer was conducting.  An additional 35% of the individuals came to our office for United Way programs, including Backpack and School Supplies, Nutrition on Weekends and the Keep Kids Warm program.  The remaining 30% of the individuals were seeking services such assistance with food or rent assistance from North Central Community Action, or came to our office for their W-2 case management appointments. 

When I began with United Way we had probably five people a month walk into office.  There are days when I have to admit the five people a month would be nice, but it doesn’t fulfill our mission. Everyone deserves opportunities to achieve a quality education that leads to a stable job, family-sustaining income through all of life’s stages, good health and a safe home. That's why Marshfield Area United Way focuses on the building blocks of a good life: education, income and health. 

On any given day in our office, you can see the work of United Way donor dollars and our mission at work. Whether it’s supporting school readiness through the backpack & school supply drive, providing income supports through North Central Community Action Program, increasing the health or well-being of child through the Nutrition on Weekends program. All of these things (education, income, and health) are intertwined and all are improving the overall quality of life in the Marshfield area. It takes an entire community to make a difference. Last year, because of you and United Way, more than 15,000 individuals in and around the Marshfield area received support from United Way programs and initiatives. Your generosity is making a difference in our community.

Paula Jero, Executive Director
Marshfield Area United Way

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Join us for the United Way Experience!

Come see us in action!!

Attend one, two, or more of the events listed above and experience United Way dollars at work!

Below is a comment from an individual who attended visits last year...

"Thank you so much for inviting us to take a look at what United Way is all about. It is a great way to see first hand what we support. I had no idea that we had so many people in need from our community. It just breaks your heart. I am so grateful for United Way. That we are able to reach out and help the less fortunate."

Schedule of Events

Wednesday, August 13, 2014, 12:00pm-1:00pm
  • Learn first-hand about the annual backpack and school supply drive by attending the distribution day at Washington Elementary School, 1112 W 11th Street, Marshfield.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014, 7:30am, 12:00pm, or 5:30pm
  • Visit Personal Development Center, 214 W 2nd Street, Marshfield, and learn about their Supervised Visitation program.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014, 7:30am, 12:00pm, or 5:30pm
  • Visit Kiddie Kaboose located in the Child Care Center of St. Joseph's Hospital and Marshfield Clinic, 601 N Pine Ave, Marshfield.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014, 7:30am or 12:00pm
  • Visit the Frederic Oranam transitional shelter at 505 E Depot Street, Marshfield.
Thursday, September 11, 2014, 12:00pm
  • Pack lunches for the Nutrition On Weekends program at United Way office, 156 S Central Avenue (use back entrance).

Please direct any questions and RSVP to 715-384-9992 or email unitedway@tznet.com which site visit(s) you're able to attend so we can accommodate all participants. Thank you!

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

The Annual Backpack & School Supply Drive Begins Monday



It’s that time of year again for Marshfield Area United Way’s Backpack and School Supply drive. For the
last nine years, United Way has worked with Marshfield Clinic to organize this community-wide collection that helps provide hundreds of area children with school supplies. United Way became involved with this project because every child deserves to start the school year with everything they need to be successful.

As Marshfield Area United Way’s intern again this summer, I am more than thrilled to be part of this project. This project means a great deal to me for many reasons. When the backpack and school supply drive first started in 2005, it was organized by Marshfield Clinic’s Employee Assistance Program. My mom, Jeanine Breu, who was an administrative secretary in that department, spear-head the program by organizing, collecting and distributing school supplies to families in need. I am proud to be able to work on the same project that my mom helped create.

As a recent graduate from UWSP with a degree in education, I have experienced first-hand how important it is for students to have all the needed school supplies in order to succeed. Students’ main focus while they are in school should be on the course-work at hand. They shouldn’t need worry about having all the proper tools to participate in class. Providing children with school supplies not only allows them to walk into their classroom on the first day of school prepared, but more confident as well. Imagine what it would feel like to be a child entering a new classroom and new school year where everyone else around you has proper supplies and you don’t.

As a teacher, it is important for me to do all that I can to make a difference in the lives of children and to be a part of their academic success.  You, too, can make a difference by doing something as simple as donating a few supplies. Please consider participating in United Way’s annual backpack and school supply drive from July 28th until August 10th. For a comprehensive list of school supplies needed and to find out where you can drop-off your donations, please visit marshfieldareunitedway.org.

Alyssa Breu, Summer Intern
Marshfield Area United Way