Category: Grants Making a Difference

Small acts can fight evil. Small acts can succeed where overwhelming force can’t, or isn’t present. Each of these more than 400 pinwheels displayed at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin’s Commercial Street building in Neenah, represents a child in our community who was the victim of domestic violence, neglect, sexual assault or severe trauma. The Child […]

If the geography represented by the people in attendance at a recent workshop was any indication, there is widespread interest among municipal officials in Safe Routes to Parks. Fox Cities Greenways presented the workshop at the Neenah headquarters of Miron Construction on Nov. 8, with the support of a $500 grant from the Environmental Stewardship […]

With private gyms and workout facilities seemingly everywhere you turn, it suggests access to a physical fitness routine is an option for everyone in the Fox Valley region. One group not fitting that description got the opportunity to take part in regular weekly workouts through the Friday Night Fun Club, a program on the YMCA […]

When a group of concerned citizens and parents of children with developmental disabilities got together in 1964, the result was the creation of the Sheltered Activity Center (SAC), which operated until 1989. The SAC Developmental Disabilities Fund, founded in 1990 by Larry Abler and John Cumicek, continues SAC’s mission in an important and ongoing way. […]

The gap is real. Wisconsin was 41st nationally in the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2017 ranking of equity in graduation rates, college success and other measures of child welfare. The gap in graduation rates between white students and African Americans in the Fox Valley is greater than Milwaukee’s. (More info here and here.) One of […]

By Greg Lemke-Rochon, CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley Being “worst in the nation” isn’t something we are used to in the state of Wisconsin. But, according to the esteemed Annie E. Casey Foundation, Wisconsin’s African-American children score at the very bottom of their Race for Results index, a composite of 12 […]

The next chapter of our state’s history is being written, and the Wisconsin Historical Society has a rare opportunity to deliver an unforgettable modern history museum to celebrate and honor Wisconsin. Photo courtesy: John Hart The Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison has been working towards building a new $120 million, 100,000 square-foot museum for more […]

A Community Foundation grant helped STEP Industries add a position for training its clients who are dealing with opiate addictions but, in the end, the organization may have learned the greatest lessons. A $45,000 grant over three years from the Basic Needs Giving Partnership supported a new recovery coach position to help with the job […]

Today is World Water Day. As I reflect on that, I’m thinking that as much as our Fox River has been cleaned up, it has a long way to go. You have to limit the fish you eat from it. There are still reasons not to swim in it and heaven forbid you should drink […]

Little rivulets of rain water cut through clay soil and carry with them phosphorous  on the way into the lower Fox River. It’s a big problem. Water pollution, algae blooms, fish die-offs all can result from fertilizer that should be on the farm fields ending up in the river. Additional federal regulations are on the way, and […]

By Kayla McNamara Director of Targeted Support Services Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley For three rainy days in August, a group of young people overcame the elements to paint a mural that celebrates what their efforts were all about – working together to promote a message of unity in diversity. Under the […]

War heroes march in Kaukauna parade, 1918. One of many photos restored and archived at the Kaukauna Public Library, thanks to a grant from the new Kaukauna Local History Collection Fund. The Kaukauna Area Historical Society will be able to help preserve Kaukauna’s history forever, thanks to a $34,000 bequest from the estate of the […]