2015 United Way Campaign Drive Chairs Announced

Dan and Mary Beth Knoeck

Marshfield Area United Way has named Dan and Mary Beth Knoeck Campaign Drive Chairs for the upcoming fall campaign. When United Way approached the Knoecks about lending their time and talents to support the effort, their first reaction was, “Why us?” But, It didn’t take long for either of them to realize that leading the annual campaign had little to do with them, and everything to do with supporting United Way’s work and the community that they love.  So they simply couldn’t say no.

Dan and Mary Beth have been longtime supporters of United Way and they are both passionate about being able to make a difference and give back to the community. “Being familiar with the wide range of community support that United Way provides and seeing the difference your time can make, it just makes you feel good,” said Mary Beth.

After living in the Madison area for several years, Dan and Mary Beth moved back to Marshfield in 1998. Dan, a Marshfield native, has been the Director of Public Works for the city of Marshfield for the past seventeen years. He is a member of Sunrise Rotary, member of the Rotary Winter Wonderland Board and is currently serving as its Chairman. Mary Beth is the Adult/BAAS Student Enrollment Coordinator and PEC Advisor at UW-Marshfield/Wood County. She serves on the Healthy Lifestyles Community Committee and is involved with School to Career and the Nutrition On Weekend program. Both Dan and Mary Beth are members of Our Lady of Peace Church and are actively involved as parent volunteers at Columbus Catholic Schools.

This fall, the Knoecks hope to raise awareness about issues people in the community are facing daily, “For most people, life is a delicate balance and it may not take much to throw someone you know out of balance – a job loss, a prolonged illness, a car accident, or other unforeseen incident.”  United Way and its partner agencies are critical resources in helping individuals get back on their feet. “We think of homelessness as a big city problem, but there are people struggling for basic shelter right here in our community, “said Dan Knoeck.

Please join the Knoecks this fall and invest in your community, support Marshfield Area United Way. Funds raised during the Campaign will support community programs that work to address issues such as hunger, homelessness, domestic violence, poverty and more. For more information about the impact of your donation, please visit marshfieldareaunitedway.org.

United Way Hires Community Impact and Volunteer Center Coordinator

Marshfield Area United Way is pleased to announce the hiring of Mary Wolff as the Community

Impact and Volunteer Center Coordinator. The responsibilities of this position include, directing the development, implementation and maintenance of United Way’s Impact agenda by way of supporting and collaborating with partnering agencies and community volunteers.

Wolff moved to Marshfield with her family in 2006 and graduated from Marshfield High School in 2012. She recently graduated with distinction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelor of Science degree in Community and Non-profit Leadership with an emphasis in rural and impoverished communities. While at UW-Madison, Wolff worked for the University and for the State Government at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection as a Consumer Protection Investigator.

 “I am thrilled to be working with United Way and all of its members to continue improving and supporting the community that has given me so much,” Wolff said about joining the United Way staff and her return to the community.

The Community Impact and Volunteer Center Coordinator position had been vacant for a number a years. “Thankfully, with the growth of our Nutrition On Weekends program from twenty-nine participants to almost 300 participants, the number of volunteers involved with United Way has also significantly increased.  The management of this program and the more than 200 volunteers really created a need for United Way to reinstate the Volunteer Center Coordinator.  We are excited to have someone to give the Volunteer Center the attention it deserves and anticipate that as a result even more individuals and families will become engaged in volunteering in our community,” said Paula Jero, Executive Director.

Marshfield Area United Way's mission is to increase our community's capacity to care for one another. United Way recruits people and organizations who bring the passion, expertise and resources needed to get things done, working with a diverse group of partners, companies and individuals from all walks of life to identify needs, create a strategic response and work towards long-lasting solutions.

For more information about the work of Marshfield Area United Way, the Volunteer Center and the Nutrition On Weekends program, please visit marshfieldareaunitedway.org.

United Way Thank You Celebration Recap and Award Recipients

Wednesday night, the conclusion of the 2014 Marshfield Area United Way Campaign was celebrated at Hotel Marshfield. Campaign Drive Chairs, Brian and Beth Kief, happily announced that the $830,000 goal was met with the campaign total coming in at $833,136. The celebration also recognized numerous businesses and individuals whose contributions to this year’s United Way campaign played a pivotal role in its success. 

The first awards given last night were the Community Vision Awards. These awards recognize workplace campaigns that raise $10,000 or more. The following companies raised more than $10,000 toward this year’s campaign:  BMO Harris Bank, Central City Credit Union, City of Marshfield employees, Festival Foods, Figi’s, Inc., Forward Financial Bank, Prevention Genetics, the Marshfield School District, and V&H, Inc./Heavy Trucks. Felker Brothers Corporation and Staab Construction received Community Vision Awards for their campaigns totaling more than $20,000. The Dental Clinic of Marshfield and Roehl Transport were recognized for raising more than $30,000 and Nelson-Jameson, Inc. for raising more than $40,000 for United Way. Both the Marshfield Clinic and Ministry Saint Joseph’s Hospital received the Community Vision Award for their campaigns bringing in over $100,000 each, respectively.  Thank you to all of the companies who received Community Vision Awards for your leadership and significant contributions to Marshfield Area United Way.

The Participation Award recognizes the top companies with the highest percentage of employee participation. The Small Business Participation award was awarded to Heritage Bank with 100% of their twenty-two employees contributing to the United Way Campaign. The Medium Business Participation award was presented to BMO Harris Bank whom also had 100% of their employees contribute to this year’s Campaign. Festival Foods received the Large Business Participation Award with 86% of their 241 employees participate in their United Way Campaign.

The Increased Giving Award recognizes the top companies with the highest per capita and overall campaign increase. The awards for Small, Medium, and Large Business were given to the following companies:  Heritage Bank (small), BMO Harris Bank (medium), and Nelson-Jameson (large). Heritage Bank has the highest giving per capita than any other company at $300 per person. BMO Harris Bank’s per capita is $297 per person and Nelson-Jameson’s per capita is $225 per person.

United Way recognizes companies that have taken great strides in improving their United Way Campaign with the Achievement Award. Two companies received the Achievement Award this year as both of them increased their campaigns by more than 50%. Congratulations to Target and the Child Care Center of St. Joseph’s Hospital on being named the recipients of this year’s Achievement Award.

The Campaign of the Year Award is given based on several criteria:  a company that makes a corporate contribution and/or conducts an employee campaign, the total amount of funds raised, an increase in giving, and most notably, if the business went above and beyond with activities and events to raise money for their campaign. The Small Business Campaign of the Year Award was given to a company that has received this honor seven times in the past 14 years, Heritage Bank. The Bank and its employees are a wonderful United Way supporters and community partner.  The Medium Business Campaign of the Year Award was given to a company that increased their giving by 52% over the last year and hit the $10,000 giving mark for the first time in company history, Prevention Genetics. The last time the company who received the Large Business Campaign of the Year Award was in 1996. This year, the company’s campaign raised over $128,000 and was the most in their long history of giving to United Way. Congratulations to Ministry Saint Joseph’s Hospital on a phenomenal Campaign that featured everything from cookie sales to shaved heads!

None of the success of the annual United Way Campaign would be possible without the thoughtful, diligent work of many volunteer employees that represent United Way within their own company.  The Employee Campaign of the Year Award honors outstanding individuals who coordinate their employer’s workplace campaign. These individual generously give additional time and take on extra responsibilities to help United Way throughout the Campaign season. This year, Kristina Bohn and Heather Schmidt from Ministry Saint Joseph’s Hospital were recognized as Employee Campaign Coordinators of the Year. These two ladies have dedicated hundreds of hours of their own time for the past several years and United Way couldn’t be more thankful to have individuals like these two ladies represent United Way within their organization.

Last, but not least, the award for Volunteer of the Year was presented to a dedicated group of individuals. The Volunteer of the Year Award was established to recognize volunteers who go above and beyond the call of duty and service for Marshfield Area United Way. The AARP Tax Aide volunteers are recipients of the Volunteer of the Year Award for 2014 and are comprised of fifteen individuals who gave over 2000 hours of their time to offer free tax preparation assistance to 676 low to moderate income individuals. 

While it is an honor to recognize the many businesses and individuals who truly were pivotal in the success of the 2014 United Way Campaign, United Way extends its deepest gratitude to everyone who contributed to this year’s campaign. With your support, tens of thousands of individuals will receive support through United Way programs and initiatives. Thank you for your caring of this great community.

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."

A Summer to Make A Difference

Alyssa at the Children's Book Swap this past June for United Way's Day of Action.

When I started my summer internship with Marshfield Area United Way I did not know what to expect. I knew that they helped the community and provided volunteer opportunities for others which is what intrigued me to apply. I now know they do so much more than that! Since I started my internship I have had the opportunity to go on site visits and see first-hand how they help fund certain organizations. I have also been able to organize and work events such as our 5K for United Way and our annual backpack and school supply drive, coordinate volunteers, and build positive relationships with coworkers and other community members.

A specific site visit that I will always remember is our visit to Mary’s Place. Mary’s Place provides housing for low income individuals and has a Genesis Room for homeless individuals which is funded by United Way. I was shocked by the generosity of the staff who work there, the history of the building, how organized and clean it was, and what they do to provide individuals with a place to live when they could have been homeless instead. This experience makes me appreciate that I have a roof over my head and I will no longer take that for granted.

Another experience that has touched me the most is the backpack and school supply drive, because I am striving for a degree in education. I did not realize that each year United Way provides hundreds of families with school supplies because they are not able to afford it for their children. As a future teacher I am proud to say that I am helping these children get what they need in order to be ready for school which will hopefully allow them to succeed in school. This means more to me than words can describe, because I am so passionate about teaching and doing everything I can to help provide a positive future for children.

My time with Marshfield Area United Way has opened my eyes and changed my whole outlook on life. I am thankful for this opportunity and will never forget it. I truly feel that I have made a difference in the community and in many individuals’ lives.  This experience is just the beginning to my time spent supporting a community that I truly care about. You, too, can make a difference. Find out how at www.marshfieldareaunitedway.org. 

Alyssa Breu

Summer Intern

Use community resources to get over the winter blahs

Are you tired of winter? It seems that every one that I talk to is ready for spring.  While I think that snow can be beautiful, I am less of a fan of the slush and the bitter cold that often goes along with a Wisconsin winter.  By the time February rolls around I am ready for a change in my routine to help me get through the last few weeks of winter.  If you are looking to add something new to your routine I have a few suggestions.  

Try volunteering.  There are numerous groups and organizations in our community that depend on volunteers.  Volunteering can be a one-time event or an ongoing commitment.  You can volunteer by yourself or involve your friends, co-workers or family members in a group opportunity.  

In the winter volunteers are particularly needed by many organizations since many regular volunteers head to warmer climates.  One source of volunteer opportunities is our website: www.marshfieldareaunitedway.org and click Volunteer.  Also, Volunteer Monday! is a feature on Facebook and Twitter the first and third Monday of the month that focuses on volunteer tips or highlights opportunities.  

My family recently volunteered with Home Delivered Meals.  While it was a cold and snowy day as we were delivering the meals, we felt warm and sunny knowing we had taken a little bit of time out of our day to help someone else.

Support the events of local organizations.  Almost every weekend in the Marshfield area there are some great fundraising events.  These events range from family events like Bowl for Kids Sake, to pancake breakfasts, auctions and even shopping opportunities.  There is no shortage of events that are both fun and help support worthwhile organizations.

Plan your garden.  I know nothing helps me take a brief respite from winter like a seed catalog.  I love planning what I will plant in my garden.  Part of my planning also includes what additional vegetables I will plant to donate to a local food pantry.  These donations help our food pantries stretch their limited budget.  

Integrate a few of these events and activities in your routine to get you through the last few weeks of the winter blues.  It will brighten your day and make your community a better place.

For more information and ways to get you through the winter visit marshfieldareaunitedway.org, facebook.com/MarshfieldAreaUnitedWay or twitter.com/MAUW01 or call 715-384-9992.

Paula Jero, Executive Director of Marshfield Area United Way can be contacted at unitedway.paula@tznet.com