Impact in the Chippewa Valley

Happy February from all of us at UWGCV!

In this month's newsletter edition, we're welcomed with a letter from our Board member, Carie Sommer. Read below to register for the 2024 Chippewa Valley Spirit Awards, learn how to file your taxes for free, RSVP for the inaugural meeting of the Chippewa Valley Digital Inclusion Partnership and more! We look forward to seeing many of you at the SOLD OUT Dueling Pianos on February 24.

A few words from our Community Impact Committee Chair:

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

- Winston Churchill

My name is Carie Sommer, and I work for Ayres as the Director of Human Resources. I look forward to the many interactions I experience every day with so many wonderful professionals.

My life is filled with my kind and giving husband, Brad, and my amazing children and beautiful granddaughter. I love to spend my spare time traveling, volunteering, spending time with family and friends, and sometimes working on DIY projects.

I have volunteered and donated to United Way for many years. Some of my favorite activities involve Day of Caring and being on a committee that reviews program applications. It is eye-opening to see the various programs working tirelessly throughout our community to provide the services so many need. It is equally rewarding to help identify where the community support is best suited. It is an honor to give back by representing the United Way Board as chair of the Community Impact Committee this year.

Carie Sommer

Ayres Associates, Inc.

Community Impact Committee Chair

United Way of the

Greater Chippewa Valley

Chippewa Valley Spirit Awards Tickets ON SALE NOW!

Join us on April 4, 2024, to present the following awards:

2023 Outstanding Campaign Award
2023 Spirit of the Chippewa Valley Award
2024 Community Impact Health Award
2024 Community Impact Education Award
2024 Community Impact Digital Equity Award
2024 Community Impact Financial Stability Award
2024 Community Impact Basic Needs Award
2024 Senn Award
2024 Volunteer of the Year Award

TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE!

FILE YOUR TAXES FOR FREE

Dueling Pianos is SOLD OUT! Thank you to all those who purchased tickets. It going to be a fun event with dollars raised supporting the community! We appreciate the support of the sponsors listed below. See you on February 24!

GET HELP NOW! DOWNLOAD THE NEW 211 APP!

We're here to promote the release of the new 211 Wisconsin App. Kudos to United Way of Dane County for their work on this project! We're thankful for this statewide resource.

Also, thank you to United Way of Wisconsin and Great Rivers 2-1-1 for supporting this project. The app is available for download in the Apple and Android app stores by searching 211 Wisconsin.

LEARN MORE HERE

Our neighbors and our friends need help. United Way is committed to connecting individuals with resources to ensure financial stability.

The new United Way of Wisconsin ALICE® report states that one-third of Wisconsinites struggle to make ends meet financially!

Wisconsin households have difficulty affording basic necessities like housing, food, transportation, child care and internet access.

READ THE ALICE REPORT HERE!

GIVE TODAY TO HELP OUR NEIGHBORS!

The Chippewa Valley Village Child Care Provider Network, a dynamic community initiative aimed at supporting and empowering family child care providers, has received funding from the Wisconsin DreamUp! Grant to support the community-led effort.

The Chippewa Valley Village Child Care Provider Network holds monthly in-person meetings, providing a supportive space where child care providers can come together, share experiences and exchange valuable insights. These gatherings foster a sense of camaraderie and collaboration, as providers connect with like-minded individuals facing similar challenges and accomplishments. The network meets the second Tuesday of every month from 6-8 p.m. in the Pines Room at 29 Pines Family Restaurant & Lounge in Eau Claire.

LEARN MORE HERE!

This newsletter's Program Partner Spotlight is featuring The Open Door Clinic, Inc.:

When you support UWGCV, you are investing in collaborative, innovative, research-based and results-focused initiatives. These initiatives coordinate the work of local programs, service providers and community stakeholders in the Chippewa Valley. Together, we're working to solve our community's most pressing problems. Each Program Partner is funded under a specific initiative that is driven by a bold goal that keeps everyone working toward the same mission. Each newsletter we'll talk about how the featured program fits into our initiatives.

BASIC NEEDS BOLD GOAL:

Chippewa Valley residents will have access to food, shelter and medical services in their time of need.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

The Open Door Clinic’s ongoing services provide much-needed high-quality health care and a connection to community resources to our neighbors, friends, and families in Chippewa County. The link between preventative health care and the development of chronic illnesses and co-morbidities is understood. Some of the most costly health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes and COPD, are also among the most preventable. As such, prevention and treatment of these chronic conditions are foremost in the objectives.

Public Health Americorps Member, Jess Renaud, assists with many things, including office work, grant writing & working numerous volunteer roles during clinics.

We're here to give you an overview of what our Program Partners do to impact our communities. We asked them to answer a few quick and direct questions for better insight as to what they do, how they do it, how United Way of the Greater Chippewa Valley (UWGCV) supports them, any immediate needs they may currently have and any other notes they'd like you to be aware of. Here's what The Open Door Clinic, Inc. had to say.

Please tell us who you are and what you do to strengthen the Chippewa Valley:

The Open Door Clinic, Inc. is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide basic health care services and a connection to community resources for Chippewa Valley residents who are without a health care alternative. In advancing our mission, the Open Door Clinic recognizes and embraces the unique diverse backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences of our volunteers and the individuals we serve. We are located in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and have been treating patients free of charge since 2006. Our patients are uninsured or underinsured with incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level (annual salary of $29,160 for a one-person household).

How does UWGCV strengthen your program?

UWGCV secures us with the means to continue providing our patients with necessary high-quality healthcare, medications and everyday basic needs and medical supplies such as personal care and hygiene products, testing meters, lancets and glucose testing strips, orthopedic braces/splints, CPAP machines and nebulizers. This ability to care for our patients at no cost to them greatly helps to improve our community's health.

What is your greatest

program need?

Our clinic relies on grants and donations in order to operate, therefore financial support is our greatest need.

For more information about

The Open Door Clinic, Inc.

Please contact:

Kim Renaud

715-720-1443

coordinator@chippewaopendoor.org

130 W. Central St.

Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin 54729

Or visit their website at chippewaopendoor.org

and follow their social platforms.

Volunteers wore purple in October to raise awareness of Domestic Violence (from left to right Sara Abendroth, Pat Peloquin, Caryn Ericksen-Wikan, Nancy Hebert, Ann Bowe, and Mary Kellerman).

Thank you Open Door Clinic, Inc. for providing health care and resources to those in need in the Chippewa Valley.

Feeling disconnected?

Are there ways that the internet and computers can make your life easier? We would love to hear from you about technology support that you would like to see in the Chippewa Valley. No pressure, just information and friendly conversations. The Chippewa Valley Digital Inclusion Partnership will be working with Clear Vision Eau Claire to host a series of three meetings to address technology issues and start working towards solutions. Everyone is invited! Refreshments will be served. Please RSVP by clicking on the button below.

RSVP NOW

BE A DIFFERENCE MAKER! VOLUNTEER TODAY!

Check out our new ULTIMATE ONLINE VOLUNTEER RESOURCE, ChippewaValleyVolunteer.com!

In collaboration with Visit Eau Claire, we’re able to bring local volunteer opportunities to one accessible digital platform. ChippewaValleyVolunteer.com is a one-stop shop when you’re looking to be a volunteer or to recruit volunteers.

Volunteer. Recruit. Visit Now.

VISIT CHIPPEWAVALLEYVOLUNTEER.COM NOW!

Keep up to date with all of our future United Way of the Greater Chippewa Valley events. Get involved and give back. Some 2024 Save the Dates available below!