Falls United Way says ‘thanks’ to supporters

The Sheboygan Falls United Way annual meeting was recently held in the library of the Sheboygan Falls High School. Representatives from the United Way agencies were present to update the board on their activities and to say “thank you” for their allotted money. The total amount collected for this year’s allocation was $85,000.

“This has been a tough year, not only for United Way, but for everybody,” said Dave Strach, president. “We focused on our campaign and found that the numbers actually came in higher than estimated and for that we are grateful.”

Family Connections, Inc. and REACH Helpline received $5,500 and were represented by Kate Hildebrandt, executive director.

“Our purpose is to promote recognition of child-care issues and we have had a lot of changes in 2010,” Hildebrandt said. “The changing of our face is to not duplicate what Family Resource is offering and we have dissolved our REACH Helpline at the end of 2009 because we felt those were duplicated services due to 211.”

Note of interest is that 2-1-1 Wisconsin is a simple way to connect people in need with human services.

Simply by dialing 2-1-1, people are linked to information about local resources, from both government and nonprofit organizations. From the single mother seeking food for her children to the senior citizen looking for in-home care, 2-1-1 brings people and community resources together.

“Family Connections, Inc. developed the Connections Program in 1998 to help support the financial needs of qualifying families in paying for their child-care costs,” Hildebrandt said. “Eligible families receive financial assistance for weekly child-care fees, registration and enrollment fees and help with care management.

“In 2009 we had 303 contacts with Sheboygan Falls parents where we helped parents with child care and provided information to the parents with options and gave referrals for child care to regulated providers, and we help educate the public regarding quality child care,” Hildebrandt continued.

The Family Resource Center of Sheboygan County received $6,250 and was represented by Mary Jo Tittl.

“We have been serving Sheboygan Falls families since 1996, and this past year we served 41 families,” Tittl said. “Our Parents as Teachers program is a great opportunity for first-time moms, dads and grandparents.

“The Parents as Teachers program helps to learn the most recent brain research information for young children and how to encourage the baby’s development,” Tittl explained. “This exciting program includes home visits with a trained parent educator, parent and child activities, and developmental screenings to detect learning delays and a connection to resources for them in the county.

“The Literacy Council Program is a good opportunity for people to come in and help find that reading is fun,” Tittl said. “We have adult one-on-one tutoring that has fourth grade or lower skills.

“There is a need for this program because people are losing jobs because they can’t read,” Tittl stated.

“People hear about us through word of mouth, such as in churches and schools,” Tittl said. “Retired teachers are great tutors, but we do train tutors.

“Other programs we offer are our Military Connect, where we do mailings to Iraq and Afghanistan, our Drug Free Program and Health and Youth where we help unmarried couples with babies and parenting programs,” Tittl added.

To learn more about these programs, visit www.familyresource sheboygan.org.

The Family Service Association received $6,500 and was represented by Ken King, executive director.

“We help put stability back in the lives of families who are at risk of foreclosure or need help with other money management problems,” King said. “We assist families with budget and credit counseling and provide and promote a wide range of financial wellness and basic consumer skills educational programs. Last year we served 26 homes in Sheboygan Falls.

“The funds we receive will be used to replace equipment, such as computers and we will be adding another counselor in July.”

Meals on Wheels was represented by Kelly Heyn, executive director, and the agency received $3,500. Heyn described how the program has grown to include more and more people who really have nothing in their cupboards and depend on the meals provided for them. She noted that referrals come from families and that they work with doctors who direct them to people who would benefit from their services.

The Girl Scouts of Manitou Council was represented by Diane Kline and the agency received $1,250.

“We strive to make the world a better place,” Kline said. “We teach the girls service to their community and start while they are in kindergarten.

“We made Thanksgiving cards and gave them to residents in the nursing homes. We work with Meals on Wheels and put together military kits at Christmas.

“We recently did park clean-ups in Settlers Park,” Kline continued. “We have 145 Girl Scouts in Sheboygan Falls and collected socks and underwear while working with St. Vincent DePaul.”

Kline also added that the girls helped with gardening at nursing homes and they baby-sit at school events.

“Last year 20 girls, out of the 145, asked for financial assistance to be able to stay in scouts for dues, etc.,” Kline reported.

The Boy’s and Girl’s Club was represented by Gwen Goebel and they received $5,000.

“We give kids a safe place and help with character building,” Goebel said. “We teach them how to solve problems and give back to the community.

“We are always trying to do different things to bring out the best in them,” Goebel pointed out.

The Boy Scouts of America-Bay-Lakes Council was represented by Ed McCollin, director of support services, and they received $1,250.

“Our role as a council is to provide support and leadership,” McCollin said. “We have 164 youth, this past year, in Sheboygan Falls.

“Our goal is to have 100 percent of our leaders trained, and we are at about 64 percent right now,” McCollin stated. “We try to have them put in 100 hours of community service.

“Our theme is `Celebrate the Adventure and continue the Journey,’” McCollin said. “We are more than camping and helping little ladies across the street.”

The Children’s Service Society received $4,000. They are a statewide nonsectarian child welfare agency providing the following services in Sheboygan Falls:

• Counseling service to families experiencing adjustment problems with children; • Parent-aide services to families impacted by child abuse and neglect; • Birthparent counseling; • Pre-adoptive foster care; • Treatment foster care for special needs children; • Parenting classes; and

• Supervised visitation services.

The Sheboygan Falls United Football League was represented by Dan Matthew, who claims he was newly drafted this past year. The league received $1,500 to be used for equipment.

“The United Football League is special,” Matthew said. “Sheboygan Falls has 54 percent participation and it’s not only good participation, but good competition.

“The teams are nine-man, but we added an 11-man team, on Monday nights, to prepare them for future playing in high school,” Matthew explained.

The Local Packs and Troops were represented by members of Troop 885 that is sponsored by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, and they received $2,000 to be used to replace equipment. Special emphasis was placed on the fact that character building, leadership and how to contribute to the community is important.

The troop has planted over 60 trees for Sheboygan Falls, and they are encouraged to attend city and town meetings. It is believed that this is all very important in their development and future to being a part of the community in an active role.

They are also given the opportunity to work with senior veterans and learn respect for our country. The troop is all about developing boys to be leaders for tomorrow.

Lutheran Social Services will receive $3,500 for their efforts in counseling service for individuals, couples, families and group counseling. Their Project Youth works to strengthen parent-teen relationships; and Senior Solutions provides counseling, information and referral for older adults and their family caregivers for issues related to aging, care giving, alcohol and other drug abuse.

The Mental Health America in Sheboygan County was represented by Beverly Randall, director, and will receive $6,250.

“Our services are generated when someone from the community calls and wants us to be involved,” Randall said.

“We give out books to use which are directed to mental health and anxiety in children, seniors and help them to reach out to clergy.

“With the disbanding of the REACH Helpline, we serve as a connecting point and are active in the promotion of the Mental Health Crisis Line,” Randall continued. “There is a huge need to tell people we are here.

“Mental health is now more important than ever,” Randall said.

Rainbow Kids was represented by Judie Meise and receives $2,000. This agency provides peer support for families and children who are experiencing abandonment, divorce, death or another crisis. The program is 14 weeks with trained facilitators to help them recognize the hurt and begin the healing.

“There is a huge need for our services,” Meise said. “These situations can be very scary for them and they are often silent mourners. The program helps them through the crisis and helps them to develop coping tools.

“This program helps to build self-esteem, and what starts as a crisis and scary time often ends with tears and lots of hugs.

“We also provide a program called Silver Linings for military families,” Meise explained. “In this program there is a lot of bonding and friendships that develop, and it’s awesome to see a smile on their face.

“We have 29 churches that are alternated as meeting places. Two of them are in Sheboygan Falls,” Meise said. “They are Saron United Church of Christ and Blessed Trinity.”

The Salvation Army was represented by Jeanne Kliejunas and received $7,500.

“We are involved with all of the groups who are here tonight,” Kliejunas said. “We meet people in many ways and are in their worst situations.

“We can give them stability and then refer them to where they can receive help.

“Our facility on Pennsylvania Avenue is overcrowded,” Kliejunas pointed out. “We emphasize more housing help and provide food and shelter if they have no stable place to live and everything has fallen apart.

“Our clinic is free and we helped 88 residents from Sheboygan Falls,” Kliejunas stated. “We are trying to work with everyone. We are partners together.

“Our homeless shelter has 21 beds and the standard stay is 30 days, but now they are staying 45 days and they need to prove to us why they need to stay,” Kliejunas said. “We show them what’s available in the community and help them get started.”

The Sheboygan Falls YMCA Youth Center was represented by Mike Gustafson and receives $4,000.

“We do programs that are at a very low cost to helping families pay for them,” Gustafson said. “We don’t turn anyone away.”

The YMCA Youth Center is a room where kids can be kids, have fun with friends, make new friends, or connect with family. All activities are supervised by caring adults and under the direction of the YMCA professional staff.

Agencies with no representation were: American Red Cross/ Sheboygan County Chapter – $6,500 Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Sheboygan County – $2,500 Catholic Charities – $2,000 RCS Empowers, Inc. – $2,000 Sheboygan County 4-H Leaders Association – $2,000