Greetings!

It's spring in the St. Croix Valley (even though the weather may not want to cooperate!) and that means something BIG at United Way. giveBIG St. Croix Valley is just two weeks away! The giveBIG Leadership Team has been working hard to bring another successful day of giving to Western WI. We hope you will join us on April 26th to donate to the causes you care about most. Read on below for all of the giveBIG 2022 details and learn how you can help support your community on April 26th.

One of the most important roles that we play as your United Way is creating community-based and community-led solutions that strengthen the cornerstones for a good quality of life: education, financial stability and health. This winter, our team at United Way has been developing new projects and partnerships to respond to the areas of greatest need in our region. I had the opportunity to connect with many of you over the past year, asking about the top challenges our local residents, businesses, and organizations are facing. Mental health concerns, lack of access to healthy and affordable housing, and child care shortages overwhelmingly rose to the top of the list.

In response, United Way is taking action. We have expanded our mental health work (more on that below), we received the Mobilizing Communities for a Just Response grant through the Wisconsin Department of Health Services to support capacity-building and advocacy for healthy, affordable and adequate housing in partnership with St. Croix and Pierce Counties, and our Success By 6 program is currently leading a dynamic team of local stakeholders to begin identifying potential solutions for expanding access to high-quality child care in our region.

Thank you to all of you that have provided candid feedback and partnered with us in this work. We listened, and will continue to listen, so that we can focus our efforts where they are needed most and work collectively to make Western WI a better place to live for us all.

Warmly,
Lisa Murphy

Executive Director
lisa.murphy@unitedwaystcroix.org
giveBIG is Tuesday, April 26th!
Join us Tuesday, April 26th for giveBIG St. Croix Valley, our annual 24-hour online giving event that provides community members with the opportunity to donate to the nonprofits and causes they care about most. Last year, giveBIG raised over $450,000 for local nonprofits!

Simply visit givebigscv.org to see all the participating nonprofits and donate.  Donors can help their chosen organizations win cash prizes from the over $10,000 prize pool to maximize their fundraising. 

giveBIG is a unique and dynamic event that nonprofits look forward to all year long and rely on to support their missions. These organizations provide essential goods and services, life-changing experiences, and most of all, hope to our neighbors in need.

Nonprofits can still register by visiting givebigscv.org (but please do so ASAP to ensure you are included in all advertising opportunities!). If you have questions, please contact Erin Coughlin, giveBIG Program Manager, at erin.coughlin@unitedwaystcroix.org.

Thank you to our major giveBIG sponsors/supporters: St. Croix Valley Foundation, Royal Credit Union, MidWestOne Bank, Leverty Financial, WESTconsin Credit Union, and Falls Orthodontics. Businesses interested in sponsoring giveBIG should contact Lisa Murphy at lisa.murphy@unitedwaystcroix.org or (715) 377-0203 ext.102.
Save the date for Success By 6's first Walk, Roll & Read, a family-friendly event geared toward caregivers and children, on Saturday, May 21st, 9:30am-11:30am at Mary Park in New Richmond, WI. Bring the family and enjoy a walk through the woods with four story tents along the way where you can relax, enjoy reading together, and participate in other fun activities for kids.

In addition to story tents and book giveaways, Walk, Roll & Read Includes:

  • A planting experience and plant exchange with YMCA Camp St Croix. Children will have a chance to plant some seeds while caregivers can choose something new for their garden through our vegetable plant exchange.
  • Family Yoga led by Lift Bridge Yoga and friends.
  • Active games in the park with PowerUp and fun activities to take home. Say “hi” to Chomp and play together as a family!
  • Opportunities to learn about all the early childhood resources in our community.

This event is free and open to the public. We hope you will join us! Click HERE to learn more.
United Way St. Croix Valley, in partnership with the YMCA in Hudson, is expanding Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training opportunities throughout the St. Croix Valley. Through support from the UW-Madison’s Just Recovery for Racial Equity initiative, UWSCV is offering virtual and in-person training opportunities at a discounted rate of $10 per participant.

YMHFA is designed to teach parents, caregivers, teachers, peers, and other caring community members how to help an adolescent (ages 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health or substance use challenge, or is in crisis. The course introduces common mental health challenges experienced by youth, reviews adolescent development, and teaches a 5-step action plan for how to help young people in both crisis and non-crisis situations.

To learn more about Youth Mental Health First Aid, click HERE. If you are interested in attending a course, or would like to sponsor a training at your workplace, church or school, please contact Alyson Sauter, 211 Community Impact Director, at alyson.sauter@unitedwaystcroix.org or 715-377-0203 ext. 103.
United Way in ACTION!

In celebration of the Week of the Young Child in April, these dedicated home visitors have pledged to give away 100 books, donated by United Way St. Croix Valley's Success By 6 Program and the Polk County Citizen Review Panel, to parents and children in Polk County. The purpose of the Week of the Young Child is to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs. Click HERE to learn more about Success By 6.
In honor of our first annual Acts of Kindness Week, United Way created and donated calming kits to each counseling office in the Hudson and River Falls School Districts. Calming kits are filled with soothing and inspirational activities for kids having a tough day. To participate in Acts of Kindness Week this year, please get in touch!
Thanks to a partnership between United Way and Bremer Bank, 25 local families that are transitioning out of homelessness received a "Welcome Home" kit filled with household essentials this winter. Our board member and Bremer Bank Commercial Insurance Advisor, Brian McAlpine, and Executive Director, Lisa Murphy, distributed kits to Grace Place and Northwoods Homeless Shelters. Thank you, Bremer Bank, for your support of our neighbors in need!
Our 211 Community Impact Director, Alyson Sauter, continued to offer Adult Mental Health First Aid courses online throughout the winter, providing an opportunity for local residents and professionals to learn risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns, strategies for how to help someone in both crisis and non-crisis situations, and where to turn for help.