UNVEILS NEW EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVE
More than 200 donors and volunteers attended United Way of Washington County’s Team Celebration on February 2.
The event, held at West Bend Mutual Insurance’s Prairie Center, marked the end of both the organization’s annual fundraising campaign and their 80th anniversary celebration.
United Way of Washington County announced that they exceeded their 2016 campaign goal, raising $1,449,502. This year’s total tops the organization’s previous record, which was set in 2015, by more than 3%.
“We are so grateful to our community,” said Kristin Brandner, Executive Director. “They are the ones that made this happen. Because of our incredible team of supporters, more people in this community will now be able to obtain health services, educational support, youth programming, and so much more.”
Throughout the campaign, the organization highlighted their 80 year legacy of leaders—a veritable who’s-who of local figures, such as Doug and Sharon Ziegler, Allan Kieckhafer, Todd Martens, and Tom and Pat Strachota.
In addition to the record-breaking total, United Way shared the following campaign highlights:
- 8% increase in participation at the Leadership Level (Individuals giving $1,000+)
- 27 Pacesetter companies held early campaigns and raised over $650,000
- Public school employees collectively raised nearly $50,000, a 26% increase over the previous year
Companies with a giving total of $10,000 or more were highlighted as part of the Leaderboard:
- Affiliated Clinical Services
- BMO Harris Bank
- Broan-NuTone
- DACO Precision-Tool
- Delta Defense LLC
- First National Bank of Hartford
- Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin
- Kerry
- Legendary Whitetails
- Manitou Americas
- Maysteel
- R&R Insurance Services
- Serigraph
- Wendorff Companies (Hartford Finishing, Sno-Way, Steel Craft)
- West Bend Mutual Insurance Company
- West Bend School District
- Westbury Bank
- Wisconsin Energy Foundation
United Way of Washington County invests community dollars in root-cause programs that empower people to improve their lives through Education, Financial Stability, and Health.
Starting in 2017, United Way of Washington County is partnering with Kettle Moraine YMCA, the West Bend School District, Riveredge Nature Center, and Cedar Community to deliver a nature-based 4K school program.
There’s only one other program like it in the state of Wisconsin.
“Our education investments primarily focus on school readiness and early childhood education,” said Sarah Malchow, United Way’s Community Impact Director. “But we’re also making investments that will benefit local middle and high school students—not just in the classroom—but as they start working toward their futures.”
New Employment Initiative
United Way also announced they are partnering with Washington County Workforce Alliance to launch a new program called Inspire Washington County.
“Our goal is to help prepare today’s students to be tomorrow’s workforce,” Malchow said. “Inspire Washington County is an innovative cross-sector partnership, uniting educators and employers to address career- and life-ready skills gaps, establish a talent pipeline for local businesses, and build awareness of career and employment opportunities in Washington County.”
Over the last three years, United Way of Washington County utilized community conversations to identify issues and develop strategies that address the community’s top concern: a looming labor shortage and skills gap. As a community problem solver, United Way looked for a collaborative solution that addresses the root cause of community needs.
Inspire Washington County was the answer. The program aims to:
- Facilitate career mentoring options between businesses and schools
- Coordinate high-impact career-based learning opportunities with our business partners
- Assist with development of a county-wide standards of work-and-life-ready skills
- Integrate employer profiles with students’ academic and career planning efforts
Many local companies have already signed on as early charter investors in the program, including: Broan-NuTone, Commerce State Bank, Hartford Finishing, Kerry, Maysteel, Quad/Graphics, Signicast, Sno-Way, and Steel Craft.
Additionally, Moraine Park Technical College, UW-Washington County, and the Hartford, Kewaskum, Slinger, and West Bend school districts have joined the initiative.
2017 Campaign Chair Announced
As they closed out the celebration event, Brandner announced that Kevin Steiner, CEO of West Bend Mutual Insurance Company will be United Way of Washington County’s next campaign chair.
Steiner has been a vocal champion for the organization and served as its board president in 1999.
“We’re excited to continue this positive momentum and build on the progress that’s been made over the last 80 years,” Brandner said. “With Kevin at the helm of our next campaign, we are confident that even greater things are still to come!”
The 2017 United Way Campaign begins this fall.
