Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to Midday magazine for this November 4th, 2024.
Have your host, James J. Mailoff here.
In part two today at 430, we're going to talk with Haley 77th Alice in Dairyland, looking
forward to having her in studio with us.
Right now, looking forward to talking with our good friend, CEO of the United Way of South
wood and the M's Counties, Terry Johns, Terry, good to have you with us.
Great to be here.
We are putting on our serious hats, so go ahead and do our job.
No goofing around.
No, no.
Maybe a little bit.
No, no.
Especially it is go time right now with the United Way.
We are in campaigns these days.
It is.
Yeah.
And that's why we're here a little bit off of our regular schedule.
We usually have kind of a regular appearance, but the idea is just to talk a little bit more
about campaign and share what's going on.
So I thought I'd start with an update of where we're at.
So we are currently through this afternoon that we've collected about 40% of our campaign.
So that leaves a lot of room, but it's also really good, right?
So it's kind of a, I don't know, a middle point, kind of an in-between time.
We have a lot of workplace campaigns that are running right now.
We're in the process of sending out some reminders.
If someone has given in the past, but we haven't maybe heard from them or seen a donation
yet, we're sending another reminder coming up soon with, hey, here's where we're at.
Things are going well, but we still could use your support.
So that's really what's happening.
We are right in line with where we were last year, but that also doesn't, you know,
at the same time, right?
So like the beginning of November, we were at about the same place.
I think 42% last year, 40% this year.
So close, but I also, you know, say that cautiously because I don't want people to be like,
oh, they're doing fine.
They don't need my donation because we do.
And you know, what's really important about that is that's the beauty of United
Way and the United Way model is that when everybody gives what is meaningful to them.
And, and, you know, sometimes it's about what I can afford.
Sometimes it's about, you know, how I divide up my charitable giving.
You know, maybe I have so much per year that I give, or maybe it's about, you know,
sitting back and saying, well, I'm going to see where the greatest need is.
And then I'm going to put my money there, right?
Everyone is in a little bit different, different position.
But the beauty of United Way is if everyone gives what they can, that collectively comes together
to fund programming right here in our local communities.
So our United Way serves Southwood County.
So we have Wisconsin Rapids, Vesper, Rudolph, Port Edwards, and Acusa.
And then Northwood County, the rest of Wood County is served by Marshall, their United
Way.
So they're not going on served.
They're just served by another United Way.
And then we, of course, also serve all of Adams County.
We do keep the two campaigns separate at the, you know, at the desire of the donors,
right?
Back in 2007 when Adams County came in under our United Way, which is a long time ago
already.
You know, I don't even, I guess I shouldn't even talk about it anymore.
Seems like it seems like yesterday.
But back in 2007, you know, when we brought them on, it was, you know, there was a little
bit of concern that, you know, they wanted to know dollars raised would, would impact those
communities in Adams County and same with Southwood.
You know, we want to know that the dollars raised here invested in these programs.
So that is true.
That is what happens.
And collectively, we are able to fund 10 programs that serve Adams County and 20 programs
that serve Southwood County.
And then of course, we have five coalitions.
We have several initiatives.
I believe we're up to 10, maybe 11 now that we're working on for next year.
So that's where all of the funding goes.
So not a single dollar of your investment.
So, you know, James, when you say, I'll give, you know, a dollar a paycheck, not a single
penny of that leaves our community.
It's invested in the people doing the work.
And then it's also invested in those partner programs.
And collectively, we're able to impact almost 20,000 people with all of the programs that
we, that United Way puts funding into.
So it is a worthwhile investment.
It's a smart use of your charitable giving dollars.
And you know, we really appreciate people's consideration, right?
We understand that there's, there's lots of options, right?
You know, when I think about our own household giving, you know, my husband and I, of course,
we, you know, we give to our church, we give to United Way, you know, and there might
be somewhere along the line, maybe something our kids are interested in or invested in.
But, but the reality is we know and others know and you know that this is probably the,
the greatest and most transparent, bang for your buck, so to speak, you know, that, and
I don't know that I really like that saying, but it resonates with people.
You know what I mean?
It's, it's the best ROI you can get on your, on your charitable giving.
It's one of these things that I learned about at a young age when it comes to our nonprofits
and giving to them.
I was fortunate enough, even growing up in a poor family and a poor neighborhood, having
a mother that didn't grow up in those situations, came from a good neighborhood, good environment.
And so for her, it was, it was instinctual to give back to communities, something that
her parents did all the time.
So it just because her bank account might have changed or her address changed, it didn't
change her attitude and it certainly wasn't going to for her children.
So on Christmas, it was nothing for us to be at a soup shelter and handing out food.
And for me to be confused, like, wait a minute, shouldn't we be getting the food?
What are we doing here?
After you serve others, then you can have some.
Right.
Right.
But it was something that I'm so thankful for because as adults and we move out here
and what's one of the first things my mom does is figure out at her job, can I give to
the United Way and learning about the United Way from her and understanding how, how important
it was, how much it helped us back in Chicago and how much it helps us here in this state
and what it can do for others.
And then I meet you and I find out so many more things about the United Way and what
it does.
And there is something to be said for, well, I only have so much to give and I want to
impact things the best I can.
And so when it comes to a nonprofit that is impacting so many different areas and so
many different facets of our society, it is noteworthy.
I'm with you.
The bang for buck phrase.
It's not a fun phrase.
It's not something that I'm a big fan of, but people get it.
But you understand what we mean when we say it.
And it's, that part is very important to people nowadays.
There are so many important causes out there and that we have such a giving society and
giving community.
And we encourage you to learn and be involved in those said projects, whatever your passions
may lie.
But if you're looking for, specifically if you're looking for something that I know something
that impacts my community directly.
It's something that I know 100% of the proceeds are going back into that community.
And a specific community, I mean, check, check, check.
This is all the United, this is the United Way's ML.
This is what they do over there.
Yeah.
And so then the question is kind of so what or what does my impact mean.
So part of our campaign materials this year because we always try to put out a flyer
or you know, just everybody has a different level of knowledge.
And also sometimes we're just like, you know what, I know United Way here's my donation
I'm good, right?
I'll check back in with you next year, I'll see the impact.
Some people really want to dig into that and really have a clear understanding and that's
all good too.
We're open to both, but but here's just a few examples of what, what a donation can mean
and what an impact can mean.
So $2 a week.
So if you donated $2 a week, which, you know, we throw out an idea of that might be the equivalent
of one vending machine snack, okay?
So, but that totals up to $104 per year, right?
$2 a week.
So you could spend that on vending machine or you could provide a backpack full of food
to a family each weekend of the school year.
Wow.
So I mean, that's right and that's just skipping one candy bar.
That's not skipping every candy bar.
Sure, sure.
That's a bit guilty.
Whatever, bag of chips.
Okay.
So if you were to donate $5 a week, maybe you spend $5 a week on coffee, probably per day,
but if you spend $5 a week on coffee, which is the equivalent, here's the quick math,
$260 a year, that you can again.
You spend $260 on coffee or 10 people could be provided clothing for interviews for a new
job.
Wow.
Wow.
$10.
So if you spent $10 twice a month on a car wash, okay?
So $240 a year on car washes, or six kids could be in a nurturing and safe environment
after school.
And then just, you know, I'm going to take it up a little bit more because some people's
giving capacity is greater.
So $15 twice a month, or $30 a month, right, on TV streaming subscriptions.
Yeah.
So $360 a year on, so that'd be, you know, maybe eliminating one or two of them.
So you could stream or 12 children could receive one year worth of imagination library books.
And then $25 twice a month on dinner delivery.
So $600 per year would also provide six nights of emergency shelter to someone who
really has a need.
So just trying to, you know, put a different perspective on it or a different spin on it,
we're not suggesting that you should have to give up, you know, you earn your money,
right?
You shouldn't have to give up those luxuries.
But sometimes we just don't think about it or like the streaming one I think about
that.
Like sometimes we have a streaming subscription that, you know, maybe we just use to watch
one series, but then we never canceled it.
Yeah.
You know what I mean?
Like, like, maybe you have five of them, but you really only use two.
This is a way that you could impact the community without impacting your pocketbooks,
so to speak.
I like to bring up examples because I know how relatable it is for the audience.
And it often gets your brain going and thinking about what you could do.
I am a fan of Apple, a lot of the Apple shows.
I don't do the Apple subscription, though, because of imagination library.
And that is where I make my decision in that process.
Just as an example, I encourage people to look at, especially at the, I think the streaming
service thing is a really good, catches their eye.
And it's something noteworthy, I think, that you, when you, in comparison, or even the
dinner delivery, you know what I mean?
Like, if you took that part out, I'm not saying don't eat dinner out, but maybe you save
the delivery part, right?
And you, and you think about how that, how those dollars that sometimes we take for granted.
And again, it's, it's the individual's money, right?
How they use it is how they choose to use it, but sometimes you just don't think about
it, right?
Like the conveniences that we might be afforded, right, that we could easily be like,
Oh, well, gosh, that's $7 just in one instance I could set aside.
And imagine if I piled that up for a month, you know what I mean?
Like, what could that actually mean to someone else?
If someone really didn't have any decent clothing to wear for a job interview, I mean,
think about that, right?
Like that's, that's pretty significant.
We also have an incentive if you give $1 per week.
So that's $52 a year.
You do qualify for our sweepstakes.
So this is something fun that we added several years ago, but basically with the idea of
trying to get people to think about, you know, everyone can part with $1 a week, right?
Like we can do that.
If you work at a business that offers payroll deduction, that makes it super easy, right?
Like you can have those, you know, maybe it's $2 a paycheck if you're paid every other
week, but you could have a dollar a week invested into the community and you would qualify
for our sweepstakes.
So that means you have a chance to win $1,000 cash prize.
If you are already a donor and you increase by $26, so 50 cents a week, you also get an
additional entry.
So this is just a fun way meant to be an incentive to encourage people to give.
This does not in any way come out of any donor dollars.
We have $5,000 cash prizes they are sponsored by local businesses.
So a Spiris Health, Gunderson Mountain View Hospital and clinic in Adams, next home partners,
for Vail Bank and Williams Heating and Plumbing, each donated $1,000 so they donate the full
prize amount so that we can use that to incentivize individuals to come on as new donors.
So if you happen to be listening today and you have never given to United Way or maybe
it's been forever or you know, sometimes because of HIPAA laws, sometimes we lose people
when they retire because we don't know they're retired.
And by the time we, you know, it may be that we never had a home address on file for them,
we've always had their work address, we try to get people's home information.
You know, I've heard that so many times where people say, oh my gosh, I gave, you know,
all 30 years that I was working and then when I retired, I didn't get anything from you.
And believe me, it's not for lack of our trying to get that.
But sometimes we just, we just don't keep track of people.
So if you maybe were a donor in the past, I encourage you to engage in this, jump on board
and make a donation to United Way before November 22nd because that's the sweepstakes cut off.
And you never know, we could be knocking on your door.
Well, actually, I give people warning, we don't just surprise people anymore, but you know,
right before Christmas, we before Christmas, we'll be finding five people and handing out some cash
prices. I'm looking forward to that. It's one of my favorite moments of the year.
We're speaking with CEO of United Way of Southwood and the Amps County's Terry Johns.
Terry, this is something you and I have talked about on air off air.
My mom dealt with when she retired and she wanted to continue to give to the United Way.
When it comes to things like that or just random questions that you might have,
reach out to the United Way, find out more information about that stuff.
Absolutely. So if there are questions that you directly would like answered,
feel free to always give us a call at 715-421-0390 and Stephanie in our office is a wealth of
information. And if she can't answer the questions, she will get you to the right person.
We receive lots of calls, certainly around campaign time about questions.
But we also ban coordinates, volunteers, all community impact, coalitions and that kind of thing.
If you need resources or you know someone who needs resources or needs to be connected to
resources, then you would dial 211. And certainly if you call our office phone, we can connect you
with the 211 contact center. But that would be for any kind of need that you might have. It could
be I'm caring for an aging parent, where can I get respite care? Where could my
parent go? While I get a haircut? While I grocery shop? While I, you know, do some of these things
that takes me five times as long to do when someone's with me, right? Like, you know, I have some
stuff that I have to pound out. I want to still care for this person at home, but I need some help.
That would be one example. Also other examples that maybe don't require a high level of need,
but maybe I have career clothing. Like we were talking about earlier that people need for job
interviews. Where can I donate that? We know where can I, how can I participate in this or that?
So those are calls that would go to our 211 contact center. And they are happy to connect you
with, you know, with resources here in our community or in the community that you are seeking
information for. 211 is a 24 hour resource and referral line that is statewide. So we have
statewide coverage. We happen to at our local contact center, we directly serve 13 counties,
but we are all on a statewide database. So we can, we can access information, but we also can
connect you with a local resource center that that can help with with that information.
And the donated, the money that you donate, the money that you invest goes into programs
alike to one one as well. Yeah, absolutely. And volunteer coordination. One of the things that
Ben has coming up. And I know we're going to be putting something out on social media today. So
it's safe for me to still mention it. But on Wednesday, November 13th is our VRC training. So
this is a volunteer reception center training. So you can register through this Friday, but this
is a group. We work very closely with emergency management and with volunteer Wisconsin. But
basically it is a group of coordinated volunteers that will receive spontaneous volunteers in the
event of an emergency or disaster. So maybe we, you know, in the spring, have flooding and people
want to come and help. But you know, emergency management is like, oh, we're trying to, you know,
do this work or assess damage that kind of thing. And we want volunteers, but it's there's just not
always the capacity to manage all of the volunteers. So the volunteer reception center is a group
of volunteers that are willing to manage and receive spontaneous volunteers who just, you know,
show up and say, I want to help. And so this is a group that meets. We do a little refresher training
in the fall. We do the main training in the spring. But if you, this is something that interests you,
you attend the training twice a year. And then you're just, you know, ready, right? Like we're trained
and ready to mobilize if needed, hopefully never needed. But we also want to make sure everybody's,
you know, skills are up to date and we have those good groups. So that is happening on November 13th.
And you can register through the end of this week. So that would be, you know, one of the reasons
that you might give us a call around volunteer coordination. I know that this goes on every year,
but I feel like every year we, we don't get a chance to highlight this nearly enough. This is
another one of those things that the United Way invests in us and puts into our communities.
And another reason why we encourage you to invest in the United Way, they have our back. Let's have
theirs in these moments and these campaign seasons when it comes around. It's important. And these
kind of things, whether it's these programs or some of the other things you're Terry and I talk
about throughout the year are oftentimes gray areas in our community that would not be covered
if without. Watch a baseball game and imagine if there was no center field or there was no right
field or something like that. I mean, no, umpire. It's not the same game and the game is going to be
sorely lacking. Yeah. If you had, imagine your community without a United Way. And that's a pretty
thing scary proposition to me. That's a pretty, and this is something that, you know, if without you
guys out there, without the people in this community could happen. Let's keep our United Way healthy.
Let's keep it strong. And the more we invest, the more they can do. It is not as if the, you know,
United Way is looking for to be lazy. They want more and more things to do. Let's give them things
to do. We all know there is plenty to do. Let's get, let's help them have the tools they need to be
able to do these things by investing in this campaign. Yeah. And there, and there are, you know,
to your point, there are no lulls, no lack of things to do. And sometimes that's one of our greatest
challenges is prioritizing. And that is something though that United Way, you know, we take a lot of
pride in is identifying what are the greatest needs in the community and how, how do we best
use donor funds to reinvest in the community where there's a need, avoiding duplication,
trying to fill gaps and really, you know, a rising tide, right, raises, raises all ships.
And so the, the more that we can do, you know, the better it is for all of the community, whether
you're a donor or a recipient, right, it makes our whole, the whole fabric of our community
stronger when everyone is stronger. And so I, you know, I think that that's just a really important,
important thought because we have, you know, 35% of the households in, in Wood County and 44%
of the households in, in Adams County fall in, in our Alice or under employed category of,
of income. So we know that families are struggling or if they're not, they're getting by,
but there's no savings and there's no emergency fund. And so if there is some sort of crisis,
there's a big impact. And so, you know, really thinking about that. And again, like I said,
the stronger we all are, the stronger our community is. So ways to give, if you would like to donate
to this year's campaign and we hope that you do and we would certainly love you to do that.
You can do it in a variety of ways. One, you can stop by our office at 351 Oak Street
and drop off a donation. You can also mail us a check. You can visit our website at
uwac.org and you can click on donate from that donate button. You can give with a credit or debit card.
You can contact Stephanie in our office to set up ACH withdrawals. If you just, you know,
if you say, Hey, I'd just like $5 to come out of my checking account or saving to count every month.
You can also set up quarterly billing with us. So our goal is to make this as easy on you as possible.
And if, you know, if you're not seeing something that meets your need, then you need to tell us
and we'll and we'll work on making that happen. But we, you know, hopefully we have most,
if not all, base is covered around giving. But again, you know, I really hope that
you will give us consideration and that you will join us in this work because our community is,
you know, only as strong as we make it. This community has always been very generous.
This is my 17th campaign as a staff person. And I, I'm still it. I'm always an aw. You don't
mean like every year. I'm just like, Oh my goodness. Look at, you know, look at this generosity.
But I say that again with caution because I don't want people to think, Oh, they don't need me
because we do need you. We need, we need everyone in. And again, it's the collective effort.
So it's only as strong as is what people are willing to put in.
We are better together. We are stronger together. And we have such a good example of that every
day with our United Way of South one of the Amps counties. And it's another great opportunity
for us to put into our communities, invest in our communities to be a part of the campaign.
All your businesses out there reach out to United Way. You can still be a part of this.
I can still do things for your business and to you individuals out there be a part of this as
well. Find out more as Terry told you by going to the website, you WSWAC dot org.
Be sure to follow them on social media as well. It's a great way to keep up the day.
And all the good things going on with our United Way. Terry, always good talking with you.
Thank you. Appreciate you. We will talk again real soon. Sounds great. Thank you.
Well, that more midday magazine coming up for you. Everybody right here at 97 5 5 5 13 20
AM WF HR. We are locally grown radio.
