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.

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.

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.

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

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!

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 28^th 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

Have you heard? Brian and Beth Kief Named 2014 Campaign Drive Chairs

Marshfield Area United Way is pleased to announce Brian and Beth Kief as the Drive Chairs for the 2014 United Way Campaign. The Kief’s will lead the annual fall campaign in the community and help United Way in an effort to reach the $830,000 goal set by United Way’s Board of Directors this Spring.

Though the Kief’s have lived in Marshfield for a short while, they feel compelled to ‘pay it forward’ since being so well-received in the community. “We have only been in Marshfield for five years and it seems there are so many other outstanding people in Marshfield.  In the end, though, we said yes because of how we feel about Marshfield; how welcoming so many people have been to us and we believe that United Way is the premier safety net organization in our community.”

Brian is the President of Ministry Saint Joseph’s Hospital and Beth is a former Physical Education/Health Education teacher who is now an active volunteer in the community. Brian and Beth have two children, Jared and Anna. Jared is a student at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO, and Anna will be a senior this fall at Marshfield Senior High.

The Kief’s are long-time supporters of United Way and learned at an early age the importance of volunteering and giving back to their community. In fact, Brian’s mother was a Campaign Drive Chair for United Way in the early 1980s.

Throughout the campaign this fall, the Kief’s hope to broaden the base of people who are aware of the needs in the community and are willing to engage in finding solutions. “A strength of United Way is to identify organizations in the community that not only help people through a crisis or difficult time but also help them attain skills and identify resources to become self-sustaining members of the community.  As a result, every dollar given to the United Way has a multiplier effect in terms of how it helps people,” said Brian.

When asked what needs they have seen in the community that have surprised or left an impression on them, Brian and Beth were surprised in two ways. “Every individual has a story and a unique life experience that has created their situation of needing help from community organizations.  We are surprised at how often members of our Central Wisconsin communities find themselves in need of help.  What surprises us even more is the amazing commitment and the loving care shown by the people who work and volunteer in the various agencies.  They are role models and inspiration for us all.”