The Loop

By Katy Hopp, executive director, Makaroff Youth Ballet Makaroff Youth Ballet (MYB) is thrilled to be premiering “Peter and the Wolf” at our spring concert on May 17 & 18, 2019. It’s the first big step in gearing up to present the piece, introducing both ballet and the instruments of the orchestra, to Appleton first […]

(PHOTO CREDIT: Lawrence University) Lawrence opera students utilize sign language in a new conception of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers. The production will help educate hearing audiences about the richness of deaf/hard-of-hearing language and culture, thanks to grants from the Bright Idea Fund and the Jewelers Mutual Charitable Giving Fund, […]

Now is the time to shine the spotlight on the people who go above and beyond to help make the community a better place with their gifts of time. Each spring, hundreds of people in the Fox Valley area come together to celebrate volunteerism and honor those who serve. Nominate an outstanding volunteer by February […]

STAR Team pictured above, left to right: Kike Tomori, Sherman Calloway, Enya Roach, Dennetra Williams, Irineo Medina, Tori McNeal, Brandon Holmes, Laura Jones, Eric Allen, Kayla McNamara The gap in graduation rates between white students and African Americans in the Fox Valley is starting to shrink. As we reported last year, the graduation gap locally […]

Home ownership seems like an impossible dream for many in the Fox Valley, but thanks to a unique partnership and a lot of elbow grease, it’s achievable. Through Almost Home, a program of Goodwill NCW in partnership with Fox Cities Habitat for Humanity, a single mom named Shantelly put in the work necessary to become […]

When developers planned to build condominiums on a 25.6-acre slice of nature between Clintonville and Shawano where area residents enjoy hiking and snowshoeing, a group rose up to buy the property for the Town of Belle Plaine. It took three years (2003-06) to secure a state grant and private donations, but Gibson Island remained accessible to […]

The Community Foundation awards hundreds of scholarships each year to students from 60 high schools in the Fox Valley. We frequently receive letters and phone calls of gratitude from students and from their parents. We are incredibly thankful to share the stories we hear, like this one from a Carl Mleziva, a father of a […]

If you are a nonprofit leader in the Fox Valley region, how many times today, this week, this month, have you had to have some tough conversations with employees, volunteers or board members? Was it zero? I’m pretty sure that’s not the case. If so, I would love to hear how you accomplish this! Was […]

The Fox Valley is home to roughly 4,700 Hmong-Americans, yet few people know much about this ethnic group’s history, traditions, or even why they settled in Wisconsin. Now you can learn about Hmong culture through art, at no cost, thanks to grants from the Bright Idea Fund within the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley […]

Jeff Werner and his wife Beth have been involved in many charitable endeavors over the years, and as lifetime Appleton residents, the two wanted to do something special to benefit their community long after they’re gone. “We both felt it is important to continue to provide for the Fox Cities, a community that’s been really […]