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WAUKESHA – The Waukesha Free Clinic handed out over 100 boxes during their Mother’s Day French-themed Brunch and Go event and also provided 27 donations to The Women’s Center on Sunday.
The brunch event was held at Marriott Milwaukee West.
“In addition to providing boxes with gifts and roses to moms and nurses, we were also able to deliver 27 donor boxes to The Women’s Center (TWC) in Waukesha, which were given to moms in need who utilize TWC,” said Amy Vega, executive director of the Waukesha Free Clinic.
The Brunch and Go event was held to fundraise, with proceeds benefiting the clinic, a nonprofit organization.
Amy Vega, executive director of the Waukesha Free Clinic, poses in front of The Women’s Center (TWC) with 27 donor boxes donated to TWC.
Wisconsin nonprofit groups could receive up to $100,000 in grants from the Gannett Foundation‘s annual fundraising program.
Applications are now open for the 2021 A Community Thrives program. Organizations can apply to raise money for a specific project, first through crowdfunding campaigns. Then, they’ll be eligible for one of15 national grants of up to $100,000, or hundreds of community operating grants starting at $2,500. Community grant recipients will be chosen by leaders across Gannett’s USA TODAY NETWORK of more than 250 news sites in 46 states.
Organizations that focus on building up historically under-resourced and underserved groups will be specially considered.
“A Community Thrives is an opportunity for Gannett to raise up local ideas and community needs by providing nonprofit organizations with visibility, grants and exposure to new donors through the unique power of the USA TODAY and USA TODAY Network platforms,” Gannett Foundation director Sue Madden told USA TODAY.
Applications are due June 30, then a four-week crowdfunding period will begin July 19 and run until August 13. The Gannett Foundation expects to announce all grant recipients in late September.
A Community Thrives is sponsored by Gannett, the USA TODAY NETWORK’s parent company, and is marking its fifth year supporting groups that address social issues. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Green Bay Press-Gazette, The Post-Crescent, Oshkosh Northwestern, Fond du Lac Reporter, Sheboygan Press, Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter, Wausau Daily Herald, Stevens Point Journal, Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune and Marshfield News-Herald are all part of the USA TODAY Network.
Last year, the Gannett Foundation provided $2.3 million in grants and helped participating nonprofits fundraise more than $3 million.
RELATED: Gannett Foundation calls for applications in national, local crowdfunding and grant program
RELATED: Gannett Foundation program grants $50,000 to three Wisconsin nonprofits
One Wisconsin organization that received some of that money was Everyone Needs a Community in Marshfield. The nonprofit’s goal is to build community for seniors and people with autism and other developmental disabilities, starting with educating the community and affordable housing.
“One thing that COVID did was it educated all of us about how hard isolation and loneliness are,” board President Kathy Meyer said. “And these are two populations (senior citizens and people with disabilities) that struggle with isolation and loneliness. It’s something I don’t have to explain to people anymore. Everybody gets it. We all need social connections. It’s an inherent part of health.”
Everybody Needs a Community raised $8,000 last year and was awarded a $3,000 grant, Meyer said. The money helped the organization pay for its website and a Zoom membership, she said.
Everyone Needs a Community is planning to participate in A Community Thrives again this year, Meyer said. The organization has only been around for two years, and last year was its first time fundraising online. Doing it through A Community Thrives program was helpful, she said.
“That was so incredibly needed,” Meyer said. “As you well know, our public events couldn’t happen (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), and we were new to fundraising. Between that grant and the fundraising we did for the first time online through A Community Thrives, it supported us through this difficult time.”
The Waukesha Free Clinic raised more than $5,000 last year and received a $12,000 grant, which the clinic is using to start pediatric obesity program for uninsured and low-income kids and their families in Waukesha County, clinic executive director Amy Vega said in an email.
The program, in partnership with Carroll University College of Health Sciences, will begin in the fall, and the clinic will work with families and kids to “make physical activity, nutrition, and decreased screen time fun and accessible,” Vega said.
“This funding is allowing us to start a program that is new to Waukesha County, addressing a need that can have a significant positive lifelong impact on the health of participants,” Vega said. “We will be able to pilot the program to provide materials to participants (kids), to facilitate success and grocery store gift cards for families!”
Penfield Children’s Center in Milwaukee also received a $35,000 grant last year for its behavioral clinic.
Contact Natalie Brophy at (715) 216-5452 or nbrophy@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @brophy_natalie.
Freeman Staff Apr 7, 2021 Updated Apr 7, 2021
WAUKESHA — GiveSmart announced the Waukesha Free Clinic’s marketing coordinator as the Researcher of the Year as part of its inaugural class of community award winners due to some of his creative work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ronaldo Moran, the fund development and marketing coordinator at Waukesha Free Clinic, was recognized for his dedication to his organization’s mission this year. The award was given to Moran for diving into more G iveSmar t resources than anyone else. Moran said he was able to host a gala and raise funds in a creative using GiveSmart as a tool. “The ease and efficiency of GiveSmart’s resources inspired me to shift our annual in-person gala completely online,” Moran said. “Many of our attendees told us that our event was the best virtual event they’ve attended. Thankfully, we were able to use all of GiveSmart’s tools to our advantage. Everything went swimmingly, and with the event we raised over $50,000 for clinic COVID response.”
Moran said they had a “superhero theme” for the event held in October to shed light on the superheroes of health care — nurses. He found ways to make the event more intriguing for individuals sitting at home.
“(Donors) really helped us to raise the funds to continue fighting the good fight that we have against healthcare inequities, healthcare barriers and disparities and really against COVID, because during that time we were actually doing COVID testing at our clinic so it was crucial for us to receive those funds to continue against the fight,” he said.
Out of thousands of finalists, GiveSmart by Community Brands selected a total of five winners for the inaugural awards, identifying those who were creative, sought out new ways to raise money and added campaigns to accelerate their organization’s fundraising.
Waukesha Free Clinic is a safety net provider that provides free health care services. In 2019, it provided over 3,600 medical care services to an estimated 400 members of the Waukesha community.
By Jake Ekdahl
Jekdahl@conleynet.com
262-513-2657
WAUKESHA — Officials from Carroll University and the Waukesha Free Clinic gathered Friday at 237 Wisconsin Ave. in Waukesha to cut the ribbon of the new Carroll University Community Health Services Building.
The 9,000-square-foot building will provide medical and ancillary services for Waukesha County’s underserved and underinsured populations of all ages. The Waukesha Free Clinic at Carroll University will occupy the top floor, while the university will provide services on the main floor and lower level. Students from the physical therapy, occupational therapy, athletic training, nursing and public health services will work with patients under the supervision of Carroll Health Sciences faculty.
“As Carroll University is Wisconsin’s first four-year institution of higher learning, and St. Joseph’s Medical Clinic is the state’s oldest free clinic, this partnership is particularly meaningful,” said Carroll President Cindy Gnadinger. “This is truly a heartfelt effort for us at Carroll, as it ties in so well with our Christian mission to prepare students for vocational success and to provide service in our diverse community. We believe in investing in Waukesha County and being a leader in helping to solve community problems.”
Renovation of the building was made possible by Carroll University contributions, the public, Waukesha Free Clinic capital campaign donors and a $250,000 Waukesha County Community Development Block Grant.
“We will see more equality amongst everyone in terms of health care,” said Dr. Shelley Watters of the Waukesha Free Clinic. “We’re in our new home, we’ve got everything in place. We can safely take care of (you) in this pandemic.”
Watters said the clinic outgrew its previous space within St. Joseph’s parish, and that led to the opportunity for partnership with Carroll.
WAUKESHA (TELEMUNDO WI) — La nueva clínica en Waukesha está siendo manejada por Carroll University. Los servicios son para las personas de bajos recursos y los que no cuentan con seguro médico.
Los estudiantes de enfermería de la universidad ayudaran a proveer los servicios médicos que incluye la salud a largo plazo, terapia ocupacional y terapia física.
La clínica es solo para los residentes del condado de Waukesha. El número de telefono es (262)544-6777.
BY MEGAN CARPENTER WISCONSIN
PUBLISHED 6:38 PM ET JUL. 31, 2020
WAUKESHA, Wisc., (SPECTRUM NEWS)- Carroll University is partnering with the Waukesha Free Clinic to provide medical services to people in the county who are under-insured or uninsured.
Carroll University is Wisconsin’s oldest higher education institution. The free clinic at St. Joseph’s is the oldest free medical clinic in the state. Carroll’s nursing, PA, PT and OT students will work directly with free clinic volunteers to care for this vulnerable population. Carroll’s nursing program has been ranked number one in the state by RNCareers.org.
“There’s a need nationwide for more healthcare providers,” says Carroll’s president Cindy Gnadinger. “By partnering with this free clinic, our student have a direct line for clinical experiences and that’s what prohibits us and many higher-ed institutions to expand programs and admit more students.”
The Waukesha Free Clinic also provides coaching for patients, in terms of healthy lifestyle changes.
“We may help that individual work on other aspects of their life that may help to improve their overall well-being, such as nutrition or their housing situation,” says Waukesha Free Clinic president Shelley Watters. “We’re the only free clinic in the area that has a homeless outreach nurse that specifically helps take care of that patient population as well.”
The new clinic building is on West Wisconsin Ave. in downtown Waukesha. Funding for renovations, spearheaded by Carroll, came partially via CDBG grants. The free clinic’s portion came directly from local donations.
The Waukesha Free Clinic has been in operation since 1977. It provides about 2,000 services annually.
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