United Way of South Wood and Adams Counties – September ‘25

Hello world, welcome to WFHR's rapid support, probably brought to you by Crockett Sceptic for this Tuesday, September 16th, 2025.

Yes, I did forget the date for Sceptic there, but it's understandable because I'm hanging out with a good friend of ours around here.

CEO of your United Way of Southwood and M's counties, Terry Johns, with us talking a little bit of United Way and getting an update on things over there.

Are you doing Terry?

Doing great.

I appreciate the time as always, we're going to talk campaign, talk day of caring and some other things in a moment, but we don't get a chance to talk 2-1-1 very often, Terry.

I thought that'd be a great place for us to start.

Yes, so I think it's important to just remind people and for some, just call it out, call attention to it because there's a lot of folks who say, you know, we might talk about 2-1-1 in a meeting or we have some print material or, you know, whenever it is that we're promoting 2-1-1.

And I kind of get this blank stare sometimes like, I don't even know what that is.

And so, you know, I think all of us who provide programs or provide services to the community think that because we're ingrained in it, everyone knows so much about it, but that's just, that just often is not the case.

So 2-1-1 is a 24-hour resource and referral line. We are statewide here in Wisconsin, 24-hour coverage.

So we happen to host a contact center here in Wisconsin Rapids, but there are eight contact centers throughout the state that provide this resource and referral service.

So what happens? It is that basic, right? Like when you have an emergency you dial 9-1-1. If you need information, resources, referral, then you would call us at 2-1-1.

And so when you call, literally, you just pick up your phone dial 2-1-1 and you get connected to a resource specialist who can help you with whatever need that you might identify.

So you might say, I'm caring for an aging parent, I'm wondering what resources are available.

My child is experiencing this. Is there a support group that could help? I have these items, you know, maybe I have good furniture that I would like to donate somewhere.

So there's a wide variety. It doesn't always have to be a crisis situation. It can just be, you know, hey, I have these things and I'd like to know what can happen with them or I have a need.

And the resource specialist can will give you a list of programs or resources in the community that you're calling from that can potentially help you.

When it comes to that variety of questions, Terry, I've mentioned to listeners before looking for dental care in the community and reaching out to 2-1-1 for that.

And honestly, it was a bit of a Hail Mary. I didn't, I wouldn't have expected any information, but I gave it a shot talking to you and everything and certainly has helped me out a lot.

And just a wide range of different things that they can help with. And also keeping in mind, if you do throw them a curveball, maybe there's something they don't, they're going to help you find the information.

They're going to help you get the resources they want to know it as much as you do if there's a gray area or something like those lines.

And sometimes though to that point, which is a very good one, sometimes there aren't resources. Sometimes we don't have resources in the database that meet that need.

And so yes, the resource specialist will try to find, you know, something maybe they're just doing a quick search while they're on the phone with you outside of the database.

But one of the things, which is unfortunate, maybe for the specific caller, but one of the things that those situations provides is an unmet needs list, right?

So then we can evaluate that as part of our normal program evaluation and say, gosh, we've gotten five calls for this, you know, particular area of interest.

You know, in the last maybe six months, you know, is it something that we need to explore or could we talk with other service providers to say, could you change or expand your service a little bit to include, you know, XYZ.

So, so that can be unfortunate for the caller right now immediately, but it does help us establish unmet needs as well.

Yeah. One of the other things that 211 does is we have disaster, we have disaster, disaster response relationships with almost every county's emergency management.

So here in Wood County, we have a really strong relationship. I can't speak for every 211 context center and every and every county, but as a state, we've tried to leverage these relationships and and memorandums of understandings with locally emergency management.

So that when if something happens on that emergency management needs to respond to in many cases, people are directed to 211.

So most often for a damage report or to help triage, you know, the flooding that happened about a month ago, little over a month ago in Milwaukee, we're still as a statewide system handling those calls because we 211 is is the one processing those damage reports.

Then the emergency management can look at the can look at the report on the backside and say, oh, okay, you know, we've got someone here who's actually surrounded by water, so they're trapped.

You know what I mean versus somebody who who maybe has a little bit less precarious, it's still very important, but but they have a, you know, it's a multi page questionnaire that they go through with those who are reporting damage.

We had it within our service area a few years ago, there was a tornado that went through should tack and barren county area and we handled those damage reports.

So that's another way that 211 is uplifting uplifting the community through volunteerism.

We have another opportunity around disaster and I think this, you know, these things go hand in hand.

We have what we call a VRC or a volunteer reception center.

This is to help manage and triage spontaneous volunteers.

So when something happens, you know, let's say a windstorm goes through and people want to people want to help, but they're unsure.

You know, and sometimes you can't always have emergency management presence on every street to make sure everyone is safe and you know, it's difficult.

First responders need to be responding, you know, for for their area of expertise.

So so a volunteer reception center ours has been in place for several years.

We're at about eight years now, but this is this is groups of people who are trained to handle spontaneous volunteers.

So when something happens, they can pop up their reception center emergency management will say if you want to volunteer, contact, you know, contact United Way, contact 211.

They would report to the volunteer reception center. They would say, oh, yes, you know, yes, a windstorm happened.

We could use help with cutting trees, removing, you know, whatever it is at this location or that kind of thing.

So it is pretty cool. The other awesome thing about this is our volunteer coordination from a staff level.

Manages the reception center and we have two trainings every year.

So in the spring, we do a training where we actually put out a scenario. This emergency, you know, or this disaster happened.

How, how would this group respond? So we kind of do a full blown training in the spring because likely in our community here.

If we're going to have a disaster, it's going to be in those spring or summer months, likely. I'm not saying nothing else could happen.

But, and then we do a refresher training in November. So that's part of why, you know, I'm bringing this up now is that if this is of interest to you to help, you know, just kind of direct and manage those volunteers.

We do need people to go through the volunteer reception center training. And that will be this year on November 12th.

And it does require an RSVP. This is a partnership between us and what kind of emergency management.

And it's just a really, it's a really great thing, a really great relationship. I hope we never have to mobilize it.

But it's super cool that we have, you know, 20 to 30 individuals who are staying the course saying, yeah, I'm going to stay up on this. So if it's needed, I'm ready.

And so this is another, another way that United Way, that 211 is impacting the community in a, you know, kind of a behind the scenes.

Kind of a quiet way until, you know, until or unless something happens. So we could use a few more volunteers for our volunteer reception center.

So if this is something that interests you, you could contact us at United Way at 715-421-0390.

Or you certainly can, you know, check it out on our website. We've got a little information on there.

You also can just come to that, that meeting on November 12th. You do need to let us know ahead of time. We do provide pizza.

So we have food, but we do need to know ahead of time because we want to make sure we have enough materials and that kind of thing.

But even if you came and you said, oh, you know, it's not a good fit. That's all cool, too, right? Like we just, we want, we want people to be engaged where it's meaningful for them to be engaged in the community.

I think there's a certain, and maybe comfort isn't the right word, but a certain comfort that goes for people even hearing about this, especially if they're just hearing about it.

I think that this exists, that we have this break glass in case of needed kind of thing in our citizens out there.

That's a wonderful thing to be able to get, just give people, just on in that level, let alone the actual if need be breaking that glass in these individuals in this, you know, plan, if you will, is able to go into force here.

It's, you know, things happen. It's better to be prepared than not. It's really cool that the United Way is, so, you know, forward with this.

And going above and beyond, if I can say, I think with something like this in a program like this, and then you put it on our individuals out there, our community, our fellow community members.

And to see them step up is so above and beyond when it comes to this. That's a very unique and very cool thing to be able to hear about.

I appreciate not only talking about this with us, Terry, and letting more people know about it, but also the actual, you know, what it is that you're doing with this.

This is really cool. I appreciate United Way for that.

Jumping back to the 211, the resource referral side versus the, you know, kind of the disaster response side.

I also just wanted to put the offer out there that if anyone is listening, you know, from a business or maybe you have a civic group that you're part of or something like that, we do have some really, you know, kind of quick, easy resource materials for 211 that can be shared.

And so those are available as well. We have a help guide that we publish every year in partnership with, with encourage community foundation.

Those are printed in the spring, but we do still have some. So that's a trifold kind of a brochure.

Just really around, you know, kind of you're more basic needs that someone might encounter.

If I or, or maybe sometimes someone might find themselves, they worked in the same job for years and years, they find themselves displaced.

They don't even know what the job center is.

You know what I mean? Like things like that. So, so we have that. So it's more of a, to me, the help guide sometimes is more of a, you know, tuck away, resource, like put it in the junk drawer or slap it up on the fridge for when you need it.

And then we also have 211 fact cards, which would fit in like a brochure rack or that kind of thing, but it just talks about, hey, it's a, it's a good reminder when you have a need call 211.

So we have those printed materials available. So if you have a place where those are, you could be appropriately distributed, please get in touch with us.

Yeah, please reach out to me.

You can call 211.

Yeah, there you go. There you go. Call 211 and keep in mind as well. If you're not able to call 211, they do have a wonderful website as well, 211.org, 211.org.

Very easy. Be sure to bookmark it and it's right there if you need it for anybody, whether it's calling, going online, you're able to reach our friends at 211.

And the big thank you for all of that information, Terry. We appreciate it. Terry Johns with us right now, CEO of United Way of Southwood, M's Counties.

One of my favorite days of the year is right around the corner day of caring. Terry, it's coming up.

It is coming fast. October 25th is our annual day of caring. This is an opportunity for you to volunteer and help us help our elderly and disabled in the community to get their yards ready for fall.

So we are currently taking two types of registration. One is registration for yards.

So if you are elderly or disabled, you don't have the financial means to hire someone.

We are willing to organize a team of volunteers to help you get your yard cleaned up.

There's a couple of responsibility things for the homeowner. One, depending upon your municipality, you do need to provide bags and those have to be paper bags.

There are no municipalities that are still using plastic. So those can be bought at several local retailers because that's a really common question that we get.

Like, where would I get them from? We do not provide them and the volunteers do not provide them. So you do need to have your bags.

In some municipalities, the leaves just get rigged to the curb and then they come around and pick them up. So it's whatever your municipality is, is how we follow suit.

You do need to register. So we do, you know, once we get to a certain point, we will have to put yards on a wait list.

So you do have to register and it is first come first serve basically. So I do encourage you if you have that need to get your yard registered.

And this is just, you know, the Southwood County area that is being served by this event at this time.

The other way that you can, oh, one other thing, one of the responsibility of homeowners is removing any pet waste.

So if there's any pet waste in your yard, volunteers are not taking care of that. So you need to, you need to do that.

Then we have registration for volunteers. So we are looking for 500 community members to sign up to come forward and help us rake yards that day.

You get a free breakfast. So we meet at the Grand Rapids Lions Club. There's free breakfast. You get your raking assignment and you head on out.

You also get a free t-shirt t-shirts sizes are first come first serve. So that's the registration is open now at UWAC.org. We've also popped it up on our social media.

It's in a variety of places, but when you register, you indicate your shirt size.

Another thing that just seems to come up every year, you know, someone will register literally the day before in their mad that we don't have any medium t-shirts left.

Well, sorry, you'll have to wear a large.

So I mean, you know, we try, we just, we try to balance it all as best that we can, but we do really encourage people to join us.

It is a rain or shine event, which I understand raking leaves in the, if it's raining, doesn't sound appealing.

But you know what? It's also kind of a get or done kind of thing, right? Like we just got a roll of our sleeves and get it done.

Breakfast starts at 8 a.m. Raking assignments 9 a.m. We send you on your way and say, you know, get to it.

We have the volunteers let us know when they've completed a yard so they can do that by phone call or text.

Just to confirm, you know that, yes, hey, this one's done, but it is a, it's a great day.

It's a great opportunity and we certainly encourage you.

You can register as a, as a individual, you could register as a family, you can register as a group.

Maybe it's a group of folks you work with, a civic group, church group.

Or if you are willing, if you want to just sign up by yourself, we can pair you up with someone or we can just give you a really small yard.

But sometimes it's fun to just be paired up with another individual or family or small group.

I mean, we do also ask the homeowners when they register, you know, we kind of ask like how many trees do you have?

Which, you know, sometimes everyone's perception is different, right?

You know, so we have had times where we have a group of four and we send them and we're told there's two trees.

And so that should be no problem. But you know, maybe they're the two biggest trees in the entire city.

Yes. So, you know, we, we do the best we can to balance it out.

And then I just want to also give a shout out because I know they're, they're present here, but I, a huge shout out to the River Kings.

The River Kings can't participate because they typically have games on the weekends, right?

Yeah.

So they do, though, participate in a large way, the following week and they help us get anything done that maybe didn't get done or something that slipped through the cracks or maybe, maybe we got everything done, but there were three yards on the wait list.

They really, really help us put a nice bow on top of this event, you know, in that last week.

So they've already committed to doing that again this year.

So I, you know, I just want to, I want to give them a shout out, of course, a huge thank you in advance to all the volunteers.

But, you know, we just, we appreciate them willing to be flexible and saying, just tell us what you need and we'll do it.

I mean, a rake in a hockey stick, aren't that different, Terry? I mean, no, I'm kidding.

I've talked to Coach Paul about this off air on air when it comes to the River Kings being involved in day of caring or different events in this area.

And not only is it very important to him with the being a part of the community and the River Kings being represented in this community and everything.

But how important it is to him that these young men that come to our town with their skills and their talent chasing their dream, that they put into the community, that they're a part of the community, that they get an idea that this is more than hockey.

This is bigger than sport.

And I think it's just part of, it's also really cool because it's part of their value system.

I mean, Coach, quarters was like that too. It was like, hey, these guys are, you know, they're being immersed in this community and yes, they're here to do a job.

But part of that is, how do they, you know, how do they fit in the fabric of the community? So yeah, I think it's amazing.

Looking forward to that. Encourage you to either sign up your lawn or sign up yourself to be a part of day of caring.

Get on over to uswac.org sign up today. Everybody, especially want to get those lawns in right away because you don't know how many we can call.

We don't know how high we are in the numbers. So you want to get those in there. And of course, everybody volunteer. We appreciate you doing that.

I did want to make a couple of quick notes, Terry, before we let you go here.

United Way Day and McDonald's is going on tomorrow, September 17th for those listening to this in current time.

We want to remind everybody from seven to seven get on over there. McDonald's has never tasted better, Terry.

Absolutely. It tastes fabulous. Well, I think it tastes good all the time. But tastes fabulous tomorrow.

So yes, September 17th, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. portion of the proceeds is donated to our local United Way.

This is the Wisconsin Rapids location only. So, you know, I think that that's important to note.

Also, just a couple of other callouts. One also on October 1st. So if you can't make McDonald's or make McDonald's and two weeks later,

make it to join us at noodles and company from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Same kind of idea is that, you know, you come, you buy noodles and you give a portion of that to the United Way.

So that's super awesome. And then the other, I guess, call out that I just have is a, you know, kind of a call to action for the community.

And if you're listening, maybe you're already on board, but you help us get someone else on board.

And that is the only way we do all of this stuff that we just spent, gosh, I don't know, 20 minutes talking about.

The only way that that happens is when we have a successful United Way campaign.

And so this time of the year, September, probably through mid to end of December, we are all about donations.

We are all about raising money to help fund 28 local programs.

Several initiatives, coalitions, the 211 program that we just spent a bunch of time on, volunteer response, volunteerism in general.

And so that's how we make this happen is by individuals and companies in our local communities, making a donation to uplift that same local community.

So I encourage you to join us in giving. You can do that by making a cash donation check, you know, by stopping in our office, you can give online.

You can give by Venmo, PayPal, credit card, whatever, whatever it is that works for you.

And also, obviously, I shouldn't forget, oh, through your workplace, if your workplace has a campaign.

So just, I just really implore you to give it consideration.

If you've been a donor in the past, thank you. I hope that you're coming back to the table.

This year, the dollars we're raising now are for 2026. So please, please join us.

The definition is donation. I look at it as an investment investment in the community, investment in the future of this community and the people of this community.

By doing that, whether it is a dollar or it is a hundred dollars, it goes so far for the United Way, there are no small investments, no small donations, everything counts, everything is appreciated.

Be a part of the United Way campaign season, get on over to uswac.org and give what you can.

And certainly, if you can't give dollars and cents, we're always looking for volunteers, whether it's Dave Karing or some of these other great events that we have going on.

Be a part of things with our United Way. Find out more at the website, wwwac.org.

Be sure to follow them on social media and share their posts on your page. You just never know who might see it otherwise.

And of course, be listening to the morning show. Terry will be hanging out with us one of these mornings coming up and we'll be giving you an update on the United Way there too.

I appreciate you, Terry. Thanks for the time.

You bet.

We'll talk and appreciate all of you out there. Thanks for joining us for another edition of WFHR's Rapids Report.

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