Category: Donors’ Stories of Giving

John Felker, who made it his mission to make sure area elementary students could experience a live performance, received one last thank you from the kids he helped. A display at his funeral today included a variety of awards he received and a banner from grade schoolers that said, “Thank you Mr. Felker for all […]

We love this busy time of the year at the Community Foundation! There are so many giving opportunities to strengthen the communities in the Fox Valley region with charitable gifts, and we’re tracking quite a few of them. Many organizations are offering to double the impact of your donations by offering dollar-for-dollar matches. Matching Gift […]

The Durkee family: Top: Jane, June, Nancy, Todd (Nancy’s husband). Bottom: Ray and Mary. Like many of us, Mary Durkee is watching the world change and adapting to a new way of doing things. She probably won’t be taking her annual trip to Europe with her three daughters this fall. Instead, she might take walks […]

Lori K. Dehlinger Van Alstine sees lightbulbs. Not the physical kind, but the lightbulbs of realization she enjoys seeing in children and grownups who discover something new for the first time. “Literacy along with mentoring and tutoring programs have always been important to me,” says Lori. That’s one reason she has decided to set up […]

ThedaCare Family of Foundations has shared a photo along with the great news that they have received a shipment of some much-needed ventilators, thanks to a donor who gave from a fund within the Community Foundation. The five ventilators in the photo above were part of a shipment that arrived Wednesday, four of them made […]

It is Mike and Amy McGowan’s theory that being able to give back to our community and to causes that are important to each of us allows us to look beyond ourselves and see the bigger picture. Using their gifts to make an impact in others’ lives is important to them. They live by the […]

When Sherwood residents Marlene and Carl Boucher began asking their grandchildren to choose gifts from Food for the Poor holiday catalog, they saw the spark of philanthropy ignite within the kids.  “They gave so much thought to what they were going to do,” Marlene says.   The Bouchers decided to expand upon the idea, having each grandchild — […]

Linda Dums, For USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin (Published in The Post-Crescent on Oct. 8, 2016) For the last 16 years, Kaukauna students in third, fourth and fifth grades have been experiencing cultural arts, thanks to the Walsh Family Fund. And even though Marian Walsh died last fall, her husband Joe is continuing the mission they began. […]

By Iida Berg, administrative associate, Donor Services & Gift Planning  The Real Estate Group Foundation Fund within the Community Foundation gives back to the Northeast Wisconsin communities that Coldwell Banker The Real Estate Group services, and benefits the charitable interests of the agents of the company. Karen Cain, Senior Associate for the Coldwell banker Real […]

The youngest viewers of Wisconsin Public Television now have their own channel, thanks to a gift from the Dr. Monroe and Sandra Trout Charitable Fund within the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region. A $150,000 grant from the Trouts’ charitable fund paid for the launch in Wisconsin of the 24/7 PBS Kids Channel this […]

Snappy the Snapping Turtle and his seven friends moved into their new aquarium and display at the Ledge View Nature Center near Chilton thanks to a $25,000 grant from the Richard Kampfer Friends of the Animals and Conservation Fund through our Chilton Area Community Foundation partner.   As a popular attraction for young people on […]