United Way of Marathon County

April 04, 2018

Your Gift Makes a Difference

Jane and her children have had a rough few months. Jane left her abusive husband, but couldn't find an apartment that she could afford. She and the children were "couch surfing" or living with various friends for a week or two at a time. The kids were sleeping on the floor and didn't have the stability and security that comes with having a place of their own. The insecurity was starting to show in their school work and in their behavior. Jane knew that she needed to make some decisions for her children. Jane connected with a United Way funded budgeting/financial program at Catholic Charities. They helped her straighten out her finances and develop a budget. Eventually she was able to find a low rent apartment and moved in with her children. Next she looked at picking up some extra hours at work so that she could start to save a few dollars from each paycheck for emergencies. She is now current on all of her bills and has a small nest egg.

Donate to the Community Baby Shower

During the month of April, consider participating in our third annual Community Baby Shower to stock Rebecca's Closet with new or gently used infant and toddler clothing and supplies. Women in Action's signature project, Rebecca's Closet, distributes infant and children's items through social workers, case managers, home visitors, and teachers to local families in need. Infant items are always in short supply.

You can either host a Baby Shower for a group of co-workers, friends, or family to collect new and gently used items, or simply make a donation yourself. Donations can be dropped off at:

- Catholic Charities

- City of Wausau (April 11)

- EO Johnson Business Technologies

- Intercity State Bank

- L&S Electric

- Marathon County Government Building

- QPS Employment

- United Way of Marathon County

If you would like more information on how you can get involved, contact Tiffany Arnold.

April is Senior Hunger Awareness Month

Senior Hunger is often described as America’s best kept secret. More than 10 million older adults in the United States face the threat of hunger every day. Here in Marathon County, 20% of food pantry clients are seniors. Often seniors who struggle with having enough food have to make hard choices between buying groceries or paying for medications. The choices are difficult and there is no good outcome. Hunger is definitely a health issue. Seniors who are food insecure are 50% more likely to have diabetes, 60% more likely to have congestive heart failure or a heart attack and 3 times more likely to suffer from depression.

One of the biggest problems that agencies providing food to homebound elderly have is not enough volunteer drivers to get the food to them. Together, this is something we can fix! In April, United Way RSVP is tackling the issue of Senior Hunger in our community by working to raise awareness of senior hunger AND by recruiting 30 volunteers in 30 days to have enough volunteer drivers to get the food to our homebound elderly in need. Please help spread the word of the need for 30 volunteers in 30 days in April! To learn how you can help, call Tony at 715-298-5721.

Power of the Purse

National Volunteer Week

April 15-21 is National Volunteer Week. United Way, like most non-profit organizations, depends on volunteers to help us meet the needs of the community. Within our own organization, over 8000 hours were donated last year! When you multiple that by all of the organizations who use volunteers, the impact is huge. THANK YOU to everyone who volunteers to help others. You are making our community a better place.

RSVP Luncheon Honors Volunteers

Over 200 RSVP volunteers gathered on April 4 to celebrate those who give back to our community by volunteering. This annual event, sponsored by Aspirus, recognizes RSVP volunteers who have reached milestones in volunteering. Awards were presented to individuals who completed 100, 250 or 500 hours of service in 2017 at various volunteer sites across the community. Last year RSVP volunteers contributed more than 57,000 hours valued at more than $1.329 million dollars in Marathon County.

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