John & Sally Mielke Early Years Fund for the Fox Valley

In 2018, to honor Dr. John Mielke’s 26 years of service on the Appleton Area School District’s Board of Education, and to recognize Sally Mielke’s many contributions to education and health care, the community established a permanent charitable fund in their names. This fund, aptly named the John & Sally Mielke Early Years Fund for the Fox Valley, supports children prenatal to five and the family members, caregivers and other caring adults who can help get them off to the best possible early start in life. More than $360,000 has been contributed, including generous gifts in memorial upon Dr. Mielke’s passing in Nov. 2020. Read our tribute to Dr. John Mielke here. Gifts are still being accepted to support the fund.

How to give

To support this effort and express your thanks to John and Sally for their tireless community service, you may choose any of these option for making a gift:

Mail or deliver your gift to:

Community Foundation
4455 W. Lawrence St.
Appleton, WI 54914

Make checks payable to: CFFVR: Mielke Early Years Fund

Make a gift online.

Make a gift from your charitable fund online or by contacting your Donor Services Manager.

To learn more about what the fund supports, or to apply for a grant from the fund, view the guidelines here.

What They’ve Given

John and Sally demonstrated their commitment to the earliest years of life and saw education and economic wellness as key factors in quality of life and health.

• John was co-founder of the open-heart surgery program at Appleton Medical Center over 45 years ago.
• The Community Early Learning Center was established through John and Sally’s initiative and a lead gift from the Mielke Family Foundation.
• John was co-founder of the Appleton Education Foundation and a founder of the Celebrating Volunteers gala, both 20 years ago.
• John also was co-founder of the Community Health Action Team (CHAT) 16 years ago.
• John fostered a relationship with the Waisman Center at UW-Madison, serving on its board.
• After a career in healthcare, Sally has been a member of the nursing faculty at Fox Valley Technical College for 17 years.
• She served on the boards of Fox Valley Technical College and the FVTC Foundation.
• Sally served for 22 years as an Outagamie County supervisor, including two years as board chair, along with countless other nonprofit boards.