So long Summer 👋

Everyday we make an impact and our mission is successful because of YOU! In this month's newsletter, we're pleased to introduce Billie Jo, our new Community Impact Director! You'll also find that our Day of Caring Volunteer sign-ups are ready for you! Lastly, check out our campaign video alongside some important dates and events coming up with us.

Let's get United ✨

Welcome to the team, Billie Jo 🥳

We're pleased to introduce our new Community Impact Director!

Hello! I'm Billie Jo Burgraff, I recently started at The United Way of the Greater Chippewa Valley as the Community Impact Director. I am working with Isabella Hong (Lead CID) and local program partners to lead, manage and support local social change efforts in the greater Chippewa Valley.

A little about me; I am a 4th generation Wisconsinite who has resided within Chippewa, Eau Claire, and Dunn counties for most of my life. I live with my three absolutely amazing daughters, 2 dogs and 2 guinea pigs. I enjoy a variety of music, art, books, foods, and activities. I graduated from the University of Stout twice; once with my bachelor of science in psychology and the other with a master of science in applied psychology. Contrary to what many people may think, these are not degrees in counseling. They are degrees that have taught me to empirically solve real-world problems with the application of psychological principles and theory. I have facilitated and collaborated with a variety of stakeholders to evaluate programs and process, by collecting, analyzing, and reporting on the data to learn, monitor, and improve.

One of my favorite quotes was said by Ghandi "Be the change you wish to see in this world". One of the things I would love to see change is for our communities to increase our prosocial behaviors. Life is filled with ups and downs and when we are up we should help those who are down. I am passionate about helping others and have worked in nonprofits for 10+ years. I have found that even though the programs I have worked with have been very different there are a lot of commonalities among the nonprofit sector. One of them being, the difficulty finding funding to cover overhead costs, such as living wages, technology, and establishment fees.

I'm thrilled to be working in a nonprofit organization that can help other organizations fund those costs that other grants most often don't. Thank you for your time!

Sincerely,

Billie Jo Burgraff

Community Impact Director

1 day, 40+ Projects and over 200 volunteers 🥳

Save the date! Day of Caring 2024 will take place on Friday, September 27 from 8:00a.m. - 5:00p.m. We'll assist amazing people and their projects all while having fun 🤩

Volunteer sign-ups are open now until Friday, August 30. Click the button below to check out what projects are still available!

CLICK HERE TO VOLUNTEER

Give where you live and look good doing it 🤗

Gear up for good with your team for just $15/shirt and let's continue to make a positive impact for our community. T-shirt orders are also open now until Friday, August 30.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER A T-SHIRT

Looking for a fun way to spend your time, networking, with people who also care about Philanthropy? Emerging Leaders are your people! This dynamic group is designed to help participants increase their leadership impact in their organization, the social sector, and the community at large. In Emerging Leaders, you will discover, grow, and be energized. You will move forward with new resources and approaches for your unique leadership and personal journey.

Our Emerging Leaders are collaborative, great teammates, and good communicators. They seek others' input and opinions, use it to shape their ideas, and generate consensus. They have strong soft-skills and have emotional intelligence when it comes to dealing with others.

When you support us, you are investing in innovative, research based and results-focused initiatives. These initiatives coordinate the work of local programs, service providers and community stakeholders in the Chippewa Valley. Together, we're working to solve our community's most pressing problems. Each Program Partner is funded under a specific initiative that is driven by a bold goal that keeps everyone working toward the same mission. Each newsletter we'll talk about how the featured program fits into our initiatives.

EDUCATION BOLD GOAL:

Children in the Chippewa Valley will enter school ready to succeed.

Program Description:

Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) is an evidence-based home-visiting program that joins

low-income pregnant people in Chippewa, Dunn, Eau Claire and Marathon counties with

specially trained nurses to help parents and babies reach their fullest potential. Nurses

regularly visit parents-to-be, starting in early pregnancy and continuing through the

child’s second birthday. In these first 1,000 days, each parent has a trusted resource who helps build their confidence and provides the tools they need to give their baby a healthy start. Parents are supported in attachment and bonding and learn how to create safe and healthy environments for their baby to learn and grow.

One of our NFP moms and her baby enjoying a book together.

We're here to give you an overview of what our Program Partners do to impact our communities. We asked them to answer a few quick and direct questions for better insight as to what they do, how they do it, how United Way of the Greater Chippewa Valley (UWGCV) supports them, any immediate needs they may currently have and any other notes they'd like you to be aware of. Here's what Nurse-Family Partnership had to say:

Testimonials from NFP Families:

"I think the NFP program is especially important to first-time moms. I had an NFP nurse for my first baby too, and if it wasn't for her, I don't think I would have gotten help and treatment for my postpartum depression."

"My nurse is an amazing woman - I 'm so blessed I met her. We are refugees. (My nurse home visitor) helped me get on programs, BadgerCare, FoodShare, transportation, helped me get prenatal care, as language is difficult."

"(My nurse) truly cares and you can see it.... (she) reminds me constantly that I can

overcome whatever life throws me."

How does UWGCV strengthen your program?

United Way of the Greater Chippewa Valley plays a significant role in the strengthening of our Nurse-Family Partnership program by providing financial support and opportunities to

strengthen our community partnerships. Our collaboration enhances our ability to offer high quality, evidence-based home visiting. The financial support to our program is an investment in the future of the Chippewa Valley.

What is your greatest

program need?

Our greatest program need is sustained funding along with resources to strengthen and expand capacity to serve additional families in the Chippewa Valley. We would like to build on addressing health equity and breaking the barriers families face related to social determinants of health.

For more information about

Nurse-Family Partnership

Please contact:

Beth Draeger

715-839-5122

beth.draeger@eauclairecounty.gov

Eau Claire City-County Health Department

720 Second Avenue

Eau Claire, Wisconsin. 54703

Or visit their website at www.greatfamilywi.org

Kate Carothers, NFP nurse and one of the amazing families that she partners with.

Thank you Nurse-Family Partnership for educating our young community members to succeed in the Chippewa Valley!

Did you know we offer a Digital Navigator Program?

This program assists community members in using the Internet, Smart Phones, Computers, and much more. This service is 100% free and open to ALL residents of Chippewa and Eau Claire Counties. Digital Navigators will meet with residents who wish to further their digital skills and become more confident with using the internet.

CLICK HERE TO FIND YOUR DIGITAL NAVIGATOR

VOLUNTEER TODAY!

In collaboration with Visit Eau Claire, we’re able to bring local volunteer opportunities to one accessible digital platform. ChippewaValleyVolunteer.com is a one-stop shop when you’re looking to be a volunteer or to recruit volunteers.

VOLUNTEER | RECRUIT | MAKE A DIFFERENCE

CLICK HERE TO VOLUNTEER

Keep up to date with all of our future United Way of the Greater Chippewa Valley events. Find multiple ways to get involved and give back! We hope to see you at our upcoming events listed below:

SERVE & SOCIAL

Tuesday, September 17 | 5:00p.m. - 7:30p.m.

Come on out to the LE Phillips Career Development Center on Wednesday 9/17 from 5:00p.m. - 7:30p.m. to assist with the transition from summer to winter gear and hear from Program Director Jennifer Barrett about the wonderful work being done and her experience in a leadership role. This event will be taking place at the Chippewa Falls outreach center located at 21 E Grand Ave in Chippewa Falls, WI. We hope to see you there!

IMPACT TOUR

Wednesday, September 11

Morning Tour begins at the UWGCV office, 3603 Hastings Way, Suite 200. For each tour, we visit multiple United Way Program Partners throughout the scheduled time. You'll get an up-close look at the work that is being done right here in the Chippewa Valley.