In an economy where many families are living paycheck to paycheck, additional expenses during the holiday season can push many households closer to a financial cliff. That’s why three local organizations – Rotary Club of Wausau, United Way Marathon County, and The Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin -- banded together to raise over $36,000 and deliver more than 360 $100 gift cards to families in need last week.
It all started with a goal to raise $5,000 and secure a cash match, but that effort – appropriately for the season – snowballed into a much greater initiative.
Rotarian Patrick Bradley wanted to challenge the Rotary Club this year with what he thought was an ambitious fundraising effort.
“I just asked the board if we, as Rotarians, secure $5,000 in funds, would they be willing to match $5,000? And they said yes,” Bradley said.
Shortly after that, two members approached Bradley to match an additional $3,000.
“Now we’ve got $8,000 in matching dollars, so the club needs to raise $8,000,” he said.
Bradley’s next stop was United Way of Marathon County. For more than 20 years, the Rotary Club has partnered with United Way’s Hunger Coalition to raise money directly for those in need, as well as sponsor events like cooking classes for food pantry patrons. But this fall, the government shutdown and suspension of food assistance programs put local needs into a much clearer perspective.
“The SNAP food share interruption that occurred in late October, early November, really made it apparent to us that there is a true need for families to receive additional assistance to purchase food,” said Mai Ger Moua, United Way of Marathon County director of community impact.
Bradley reached out to the United Way Hunger Coalition to ask if they could provide an incentive for Rotary and its partners to reach the new $16,000 goal. Little did he know, the snowball was about to roll several times over again, gaining even more mass and momentum.
“The Community Foundation [of North Central Wisconsin] already established a food assistance-type fund for Marathon County when word got out about SNAP benefits,” Bradley said. “They contacted United Way and said they wanted to give $15,000 to the Hunger Coalition.”
Bradley said United Way agreed to pledged that $15,000 as a partial match of Rotary’s $16,000 goal.
“Now we’ve got a $31,000 project,” he said.
With additional corporate matches and individual donations, the grand total came out to $36,000. The organizations took an intentional and thoughtful approach by purchasing over $100 gift cards from a variety of grocers, including Festival Foods, Hyvee, La Patrona, Tres Hermanos, Schofield Oriental Market, Asian Pacific Market, Zillman’s Meat Market and Athens Main Street Market.
“We’re not only able to add a little more holiday to their holidays, but it's going to be with familiar food and they can all enjoy it,” Bradley said.
The United Way Hunger Coalition worked with Rotary and local schools to help determine the best method for distributing the gift cards to families in need. Gift cards were ultimately distributed to five schools: Franklin Elementary, John Marshall Elementary, Thomas Jefferson Elementary, Weston Elementary and Athens Elementary — as well as the The Women’s Community. School counselors and case managers were then able to best identify the children and families who could benefit from additional support in accessing food.
“They’re the ones who are closest to the children and closest to the families and will know exactly who would benefit form the gift cards,” Moua said. “It was important for us to reinvest the funds that were raised — over $36,000 — back into our community by providing gift cards to our families through the schools and through The Women’s Community.”
Getting the cards into the hands of families who need them before winter break very important as finances are tighter for many families during the holiday season, and there may be additional food expenses while kids are out of school.
“This year the schools will be on an extended break and therefore families that are in need, particularly children who are on free or reduced lunch, may have limited access to food,” Moua explained. “So by working with the schools to distribute the gift cards to families in need, we can feel reassured that children will not go hungry during winter break and we can help alleviate some financial burden off of families and make sure they have the food they need.”
While the gift cards are limited to grocery items, that assistance can offer financial relief in other areas. If a family receives a gift card they can reallocate saved grocery funds to pay for a utility bill, for example.
“It could prevent them from experiencing a financial crisis and help them maintain financial stability,” Moua said.
Moua encourages those who are interested in volunteering their time or donating money to make an effort to improve their community by helping local organizations address the community’s needs.
“We are stronger as a community when we all come together to help each other,” Moua said. “It’s not wasted time and it’s not wasted money when we are helping to lift each other up. What I have witnessed through this gift card initiative is the giving spirit of our community. We can continue to propel that forward by encouraging everybody to do what they can — whether that’s volunteering or making a donation.”
As for Bradley, the volunteer who saw this effort through from its initial request to the distribution of more than 360 gift cards last week, the experience has been “awesome.”
“This has put a little more holiday in my heart this year,” Bradley said, emotion breaking through his voice. “It’s why I like Rotary as an organization so much — I can plug myself into something that is much, much bigger than myself. This is another example of one of those things.”
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