News & Updates
Rotary Foundation of Green Bay Seeking New Committee Members
The mission of the Rotary Foundation of Green Bay is to be a catalyst for proactive change for youth, education, and health initiatives in Brown County by providing grants, awards and scholarships for sustainable, impactful and collaborative projects that support these initiatives. The Foundation is currently looking for members to join its Board of Directors. Board meetings will be held from 3-4:30 p.m. at the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation on the third Tuesday of January, February, April, May, July, August, October and November. The next meeting is October 18. Our club will vote for new board members on Monday, October 17. If you are interested in running for a board spot, please email Miranda Bonde at mbonde@anchor-financial.com by Monday, October 10.
Speaker Lee Rasch
Our speaker on Monday, September 19 was Lee Rasch, executive director of LeaderEthics. LeaderEthics is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting integrity in the American Democracy through ethical leadership practices among elected officials. LeaderEthics believes ethical leaders are: truthful, transparent with public information, unifiers rather than dividers, and willing to represent the collective interests of their constituency.
New Member Induction
We are excited to welcome and officially induct new Rotarian Steve R. to our club! Steve is a Commercial Banker at Johnson Financial Group. Welcome Steve!
Tanzania Project Update
We received a letter from Erica Smith, Executive Director of Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach, regarding an update on the Tanzania project. The container of medical supplies to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Arusha, Tanzania, left last week! Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach and the partners in Tanzania who will receive these supplies are grateful to our club for making this possible and are very appreciative!
Empowering Girls and Young Women
Rotarians are invited to donate items, lend time, and make connections to support the creation of activity packets and hygiene kits for Girl Scouts! We are looking for a group of individuals to assemble kits and packets on Friday, November, 4, 2022 from 10am-3pm at the Girl Scout Service Center in Green Bay.
Once created, these are distributed to Girl Scouts from low to moderate income families through Girl Scout outreach programs. We plan to create 400 hygiene kits and 1,800 activity packets across 3 dates. The first date is coming up in November!
Donations: We are looking for other items to be donated, including:
- Deodorant
- Feminine Hygiene – pads and tampons
- Lip Balm
- Soap/Body Wash
- Hand Sanitizer
- Lotion
- Shower Cap
- Shower Gel
We are looking for a group of individuals to assemble kits and packets.
Friday, November, 4, 2022
10am-3pm
Girl Scout Service Center: Green Bay
112 N Adams St.
Green Bay, WI 54301
Interested in volunteering or donating? Contact Brittany Pyatt at bpyatt@gsnwgl.org or 920.955.3450.
If you have any connections to get large quantities of supplies donated, please contact Kate Florek at kflorek@thelandingwausau.com or 510.684.8109 or Gwen Taylor at gtaylor@gsnwgl.org.
Read More
Leadership Green Bay Speaking Team
Our speaker on August 15 was a team from Leadership Green Bay who received a grant from our club's Foundation. As their team project, they are renovating the program space for We All Rise, an African American resource center in downtown Green Bay. The vision of We All Rise is to create and help restore a vibrant African American community. Through uplifting, skill building, and intentionally targeting root causes of systemic oppression, they actively promote the healing of all. Click to learn more about We All Rise and Leadership Green Bay.
Speaker Monica McClure
Sunday, August 14, 2022 By: Kathryn A Kroll
Our speaker on August 15 was Monica McClure, Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast WI. Monica discussed the great need their organization has for "bigs", especially men, as they have a large waiting list of "littles" looking for a match. Click here to learn more about BBBS and how you can get involved!
Speaker Sarah Sugden
Our speaker on Monday, July 11 was Sarah Sugden, Executive Director of the Brown County Library. It was easy to see the passion Sarah has for her work, and our community is lucky to have her at the helm of our library system. Sarah gave us a behind the scenes look at all the library does in our community and gave us the inside scoop on upcoming library projects. Click here to learn more about the Brown County Library.
Speaker Steve Dorosz
Our speaker on April 18 was Steve Dorosz, Director of Resource Development for NeighborWorks Green Bay. Since their founding in 1982, NeighborWorks has served Green Bay neighborhoods and the broader community with homeownership preparation services, down payment and closing cost assistance lending, community-interest real estate development, and other services.
Over the years, they have educated and counseled 19,678 aspiring home buyers and existing homeowners and have helped 3,661 families achieve their dream of homeownership. They have renovated or built 440 homes and apartments and developed more than 50,000 square feet of nonprofit office, service, or retail space. In total, since their founding, through real estate development and homeownership services, they have leveraged modest resources into $537 million of investment in our community! To learn more about NeighborWorks Green Bay and how you can get involved, check out their website.
Read More
Speaker Lydia Davison
Our speaker on April 11 was Lydia Davison, Circles Recruitment Coordinator at Green Bay Community Church. Circles is an effective poverty reduction initiative that revolves around building intentional relationships across income lines. After 18 months, participants achieve an average 71% increase in their income.
Circles participants are called Circle Leaders because they lead themselves out of poverty. Each Circle Leader is matched with two Allies, middle-and upper-income volunteers who help Circle Leaders use their unique gifts and skills to reach their personal and financial goals.
Social capital is often the missing link between short-term relief and long-term stability. Many who live in poverty are hardworking and motivated, so when two Allies join them, advice is offered, social networks are shared, and the obstacles that keep people in poverty start to disappear.
There were great questions asked by Rotarians about poverty statistics. The Circles USA website is a great resource for stats on a National level. You can also check out Circles USA Impact Report for more statistics.
To learn more about Circles Green Bay and opportunities to get involved, check out their website.
Read More
Speaker Denise Misovec
Our speaker on April 4 was Denise Misovec, Vice President for Program Services at Curative Connections.
For more than 70 years, Curative Connections has been there to help families, seniors, and people with disabilities find support and care due to aging, dementia, brain injury, or other disability.
They meet each person – no matter where they are in their journey – and help them navigate options that support their goals for independence. Allowing them to build skills while providing enriching opportunities for healthy aging.
Curative offers a proactive approach to care and a clear focus on individual needs. Where people are engaged in activities that help maintain their independence and improve and extend their quality of life, while doing things they enjoy and value.
To learn more about Curative Connections, and how you can get involved, please visit their website.
Read More
Speaker Sarah Griffiths
On Monday, March 28 we heard from Sarah Griffiths, Staff Attorney at LOTUS Legal Clinic. LOTUS Legal Clinic empowers survivors of sexual violence and trafficking. They provide direct, comprehensive legal services, advocacy and community education, and they invest in survivors as change agents.
Sarah is a staff attorney based at LOTUS’s Fox Valley office at Reach Counseling in Neenah. Prior to joining LOTUS, Sarah worked in human services, higher education, and private law practice that focused on the immigration needs of vulnerable populations. A graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School and St. Norbert College, Sarah holds membership in the State Bar of Wisconsin and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). She serves as secretary of the volunteer board of directors for Literacy Green Bay, a non-profit organization that supports adult learners in the community. Sarah is fluent in Spanish. In her free time, she loves spending time outdoors with her family and their dog, running, traveling, and trying new recipes.
Read More
Classification Talks - DeJuan & Anthony
Sunday, March 27, 2022
This week we got to learn a little more about two of our newest club members - DeJuan Plummer Jr. and Anthony Tremblay.
DeJuan was born in Gary, Indiana. His goal is to have an impact on the healthcare industry. DeJuan is very empathetic and likes to relate to people and understand the source of who they are. He joined Rotary to build a network, join others who enjoy serving people, and create a brighter future for himself and others. DeJuan works to inspire people that it they want to change the world, it starts with yourself. He's currently readying The Man Who Tapped the Secrets of the Universe by Glenn Clark.
Anthony grew up going to Catholic school, where he learned respect from the nuns who taught him. He's currently in school full-time online taking 19 credits this semester. Anthony's currently developing brief, immediate surveys for the restaurant industry to solicit more relevant feedback. In his free time, he enjoys playing hockey with his brother. Anthony joined Rotary to connect with like-minded individuals that want to impact their community. He's currently reading How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.
Read More
Speaker Mayor Boyd
Monday, March 14, 2022
Our speaker on March 14 was City of De Pere Mayor, James Boyd. Mayor Boyd gave us the state of the city, with information and updates on the resiliency of the city throughout covid, the Mulva Family Cultural Center, Nelson Family Pavilion, significant business and residential growth, and of course discussion around the highly anticipated Southern Bridge project.
Speaker Police Chief Chris Davis
Friday, March 11, 2022
Our speaker on March 7th was City of Green Bay Police Chief Chris Davis. Chief Davis discussed his background, how he got into and why he has stayed in policing, and his vision for the Green Bay Police Department.
Chief Davis has spent 28 years in policing and, prior to Green Bay, was the Deputy Chief in Portland, Oregon. Davis took a break from earning his Bachelors of Science in Justice Studies at Arizona State University to become a police officer with the university's Police Department.
Chief Davis has stayed in policing because of the value good police service can have. He illustrated this concept with a story of a man he arrested for drug possession who later told him "when you arrested me, you saved my life." After being arrested, the man went through recovery programing and became a successful photographer. Davis hopes we don't lose sight of the value of good police service, while still holding space for things the department needs to do differently.
Chief Davis' vision for the Green Bay Police Department is a department that works with our community to solve problems and address the root cause of those problems. Two major root causes Chief Davis identified were addiction and mental health. Davis was adamant that responsibility for this vision falls on everyone in our community. He envisions an organization that respects people and promotes and protects the rights of everyone in our community. Chief Davis wants to look in terms of what the department promotes, not what it prevents.
Davis believes we have the opportunity to set the example in Green Bay of how 21st century policing can be done. Davis and the department will always be looking for new and better ways to work, and the Chief acknowledged we have tremendous people to get the job done. It is important to Davis to take a restorative, corrective orientation to police misconduct and be intentional in how the department promotes the wellness of its employees so officers can be in the best head space possible to provide the best service.
Click here to learn more about Police Chief Chris Davis.
Read More
Speaker Andrea Jorgensen
Monday, February 28, 2022
Our speaker on February 28 was Andrea Jorgensen, Marketing & Communications Director for the Greater Green Bay Habitat for Humanity. Habitat's mission is seeking to put God's love into action. Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope.Greater Green Bay Habitat for Humanity was started in our community in 1987. In its 34 years, they've built 126 homes in Brown County, impacting over 200 adults and over 360 children. They will dedicate their 127th home to the Smith family this week Wednesday.
Greater Green Bay Habitat for Humanity operates two programs; their homeownership program and The ReStore. Through their homeownership program, Habitat builds homes and sells them to qualified applicants at no profit. A common misconception is that Habitat gives away homes for free, but that is not the case. Homeowners benefit from simple, decent, affordable housing, and the community benefits from an increase in tax revenue. ??The ReStore is a retail operation that collects and sells donated home goods and building materials. Profits from the ReStore are used to build homes in Brown County.
Habitat for Humanity has a great impact on our local community. Their homeowners pay $335,402 in property taxes each year, adding a total of $13 million to the tax base since 1987. Habitat spends $1.9 million annually with local suppliers and contractors. Since 2009, 10,317,527 pounds of material has been diverted from landfills.
Housing is central to ending the cycle of poverty and it can play a key role in positively influencing a family’s education, employment, and health opportunities. Habitat surveys their local families and has found that 97% of surveyed families reported feeling better about their children's future and 90% of surveyed families felt that their children are safe since moving into their habitat home.
For more information on the Greater Green Bay Habitat for Humanity, and to find ways to get involved, please visit their website.
Read More
Speaker Emily Tyner
Monday, February 21, 2022
Our speaker on February 21 was Emily Tyner, Director of Freshwater Strategy at UW-Green Bay. Emily is currently leading an initiative to receive designation as a National Estuarine Research Reserve System, or NERR.NERR is a national network of 30 sites across the coastal US, including the Great Lakes, designed to protect and study estuaries and their coastal wetlands. The mission of the NERR System is, “To practice and promote stewardship of coasts and estuaries through innovative research, education, and training using a place-based system of protected areas.”
Green Bay is the world's largest freshwater estuary and the concept of siting a NERR in the Bay has been in discussion for some years. At the local level, a Green Bay NERR will offer a coordinating force to manage, restore, and protect the Green Bay ecosystem, with a programmatic focus on four sectors: research, education, stewardship, and training.
New National Estuarine Research Reserves are designated through a six step process that typically takes 4-6 years to complete. The first step was taken with a letter from the Governor’s office to NOAA on March 25, 2019. A response from NOAA was issued July 19, 2019, advancing the initiative and completing step one of designation. The Green Bay NERR is currently in step two of the designation process, the evaluation of potential sites. This stage includes broad-reaching public outreach and stakeholder engagement; establishing the criteria used to select a site; the determination of candidate sites; and the nomination of a final site to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Click here to learn more about this project and how you can get involved.
Read More
Speaker Julie Cook
Sunday, February 20, 2022
Our speaker on February 14 was Julie Cook, Freshwater Fisheries Volunteer with the U.S. Peace Corps in Guatemala. In 2014, Rotary and the Peace Corps developed a global strategic partnership between our organizations. There is similar alignment between the goals of the Peace Corps and Rotary's areas of focus.
During her time in the Peace Corps, Julie was based near Escuintla, which is where our club is working on a water project with a local hospital. Julie worked with freshwater fish projects, building Tilapia ponds to help provide food for families. The goal of these ponds was to increase the consumption of protein, since most families' diet centered around corn tortillas. Outside of her agricultural work, Julie also helped with vaccinations and community health outreach.
To learn more about the Peace Corps, please visit their website.
Read More
Rotary Foundation of Green Bay Seeking New Committee Members
The mission of the Rotary Foundation of Green Bay is to be a catalyst for proactive change for youth, education, and health initiatives in Brown County by providing grants, awards and scholarships for sustainable, impactful and collaborative projects that support these initiatives. The Foundation is currently looking for members to join its Board of Directors. Board meetings will be held from 3-4:30 p.m. at the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation on the third Tuesday of January, February, April, May, July, August, October and November. The next meeting is October 18. Our club will vote for new board members on Monday, October 17. If you are interested in running for a board spot, please email Miranda Bonde at mbonde@anchor-financial.com by Monday, October 10. Speaker Lee Rasch
Our speaker on Monday, September 19 was Lee Rasch, executive director of LeaderEthics. LeaderEthics is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting integrity in the American Democracy through ethical leadership practices among elected officials. LeaderEthics believes ethical leaders are: truthful, transparent with public information, unifiers rather than dividers, and willing to represent the collective interests of their constituency.New Member Induction
We are excited to welcome and officially induct new Rotarian Steve R. to our club! Steve is a Commercial Banker at Johnson Financial Group. Welcome Steve!Tanzania Project Update
We received a letter from Erica Smith, Executive Director of Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach, regarding an update on the Tanzania project. The container of medical supplies to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Arusha, Tanzania, left last week! Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach and the partners in Tanzania who will receive these supplies are grateful to our club for making this possible and are very appreciative!Empowering Girls and Young Women
Rotarians are invited to donate items, lend time, and make connections to support the creation of activity packets and hygiene kits for Girl Scouts! We are looking for a group of individuals to assemble kits and packets on Friday, November, 4, 2022 from 10am-3pm at the Girl Scout Service Center in Green Bay.Once created, these are distributed to Girl Scouts from low to moderate income families through Girl Scout outreach programs. We plan to create 400 hygiene kits and 1,800 activity packets across 3 dates. The first date is coming up in November!
Donations: We are looking for other items to be donated, including:
- Deodorant
- Feminine Hygiene – pads and tampons
- Lip Balm
- Soap/Body Wash
- Hand Sanitizer
- Lotion
- Shower Cap
- Shower Gel
Friday, November, 4, 2022
10am-3pm
Girl Scout Service Center: Green Bay
112 N Adams St.
Green Bay, WI 54301
Interested in volunteering or donating? Contact Brittany Pyatt at bpyatt@gsnwgl.org or 920.955.3450.
If you have any connections to get large quantities of supplies donated, please contact Kate Florek at kflorek@thelandingwausau.com or 510.684.8109 or Gwen Taylor at gtaylor@gsnwgl.org.
Read More
Leadership Green Bay Speaking Team
Our speaker on August 15 was a team from Leadership Green Bay who received a grant from our club's Foundation. As their team project, they are renovating the program space for We All Rise, an African American resource center in downtown Green Bay. The vision of We All Rise is to create and help restore a vibrant African American community. Through uplifting, skill building, and intentionally targeting root causes of systemic oppression, they actively promote the healing of all. Click to learn more about We All Rise and Leadership Green Bay.Speaker Monica McClure
Sunday, August 14, 2022 By: Kathryn A KrollOur speaker on August 15 was Monica McClure, Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast WI. Monica discussed the great need their organization has for "bigs", especially men, as they have a large waiting list of "littles" looking for a match. Click here to learn more about BBBS and how you can get involved!Speaker Sarah Sugden
Our speaker on Monday, July 11 was Sarah Sugden, Executive Director of the Brown County Library. It was easy to see the passion Sarah has for her work, and our community is lucky to have her at the helm of our library system. Sarah gave us a behind the scenes look at all the library does in our community and gave us the inside scoop on upcoming library projects. Click here to learn more about the Brown County Library.Speaker Steve Dorosz
Our speaker on April 18 was Steve Dorosz, Director of Resource Development for NeighborWorks Green Bay. Since their founding in 1982, NeighborWorks has served Green Bay neighborhoods and the broader community with homeownership preparation services, down payment and closing cost assistance lending, community-interest real estate development, and other services.Over the years, they have educated and counseled 19,678 aspiring home buyers and existing homeowners and have helped 3,661 families achieve their dream of homeownership. They have renovated or built 440 homes and apartments and developed more than 50,000 square feet of nonprofit office, service, or retail space. In total, since their founding, through real estate development and homeownership services, they have leveraged modest resources into $537 million of investment in our community! To learn more about NeighborWorks Green Bay and how you can get involved, check out their website.
Read More
Speaker Lydia Davison
Our speaker on April 11 was Lydia Davison, Circles Recruitment Coordinator at Green Bay Community Church. Circles is an effective poverty reduction initiative that revolves around building intentional relationships across income lines. After 18 months, participants achieve an average 71% increase in their income.
Circles participants are called Circle Leaders because they lead themselves out of poverty. Each Circle Leader is matched with two Allies, middle-and upper-income volunteers who help Circle Leaders use their unique gifts and skills to reach their personal and financial goals.
Social capital is often the missing link between short-term relief and long-term stability. Many who live in poverty are hardworking and motivated, so when two Allies join them, advice is offered, social networks are shared, and the obstacles that keep people in poverty start to disappear.
There were great questions asked by Rotarians about poverty statistics. The Circles USA website is a great resource for stats on a National level. You can also check out Circles USA Impact Report for more statistics.
To learn more about Circles Green Bay and opportunities to get involved, check out their website.
Read More
Speaker Denise Misovec
Our speaker on April 4 was Denise Misovec, Vice President for Program Services at Curative Connections. For more than 70 years, Curative Connections has been there to help families, seniors, and people with disabilities find support and care due to aging, dementia, brain injury, or other disability.
They meet each person – no matter where they are in their journey – and help them navigate options that support their goals for independence. Allowing them to build skills while providing enriching opportunities for healthy aging.
Curative offers a proactive approach to care and a clear focus on individual needs. Where people are engaged in activities that help maintain their independence and improve and extend their quality of life, while doing things they enjoy and value.
To learn more about Curative Connections, and how you can get involved, please visit their website.
Read More
Speaker Sarah Griffiths
On Monday, March 28 we heard from Sarah Griffiths, Staff Attorney at LOTUS Legal Clinic. LOTUS Legal Clinic empowers survivors of sexual violence and trafficking. They provide direct, comprehensive legal services, advocacy and community education, and they invest in survivors as change agents.Sarah is a staff attorney based at LOTUS’s Fox Valley office at Reach Counseling in Neenah. Prior to joining LOTUS, Sarah worked in human services, higher education, and private law practice that focused on the immigration needs of vulnerable populations. A graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School and St. Norbert College, Sarah holds membership in the State Bar of Wisconsin and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). She serves as secretary of the volunteer board of directors for Literacy Green Bay, a non-profit organization that supports adult learners in the community. Sarah is fluent in Spanish. In her free time, she loves spending time outdoors with her family and their dog, running, traveling, and trying new recipes.
Read More
Classification Talks - DeJuan & Anthony
Sunday, March 27, 2022This week we got to learn a little more about two of our newest club members - DeJuan Plummer Jr. and Anthony Tremblay.DeJuan was born in Gary, Indiana. His goal is to have an impact on the healthcare industry. DeJuan is very empathetic and likes to relate to people and understand the source of who they are. He joined Rotary to build a network, join others who enjoy serving people, and create a brighter future for himself and others. DeJuan works to inspire people that it they want to change the world, it starts with yourself. He's currently readying The Man Who Tapped the Secrets of the Universe by Glenn Clark.
Anthony grew up going to Catholic school, where he learned respect from the nuns who taught him. He's currently in school full-time online taking 19 credits this semester. Anthony's currently developing brief, immediate surveys for the restaurant industry to solicit more relevant feedback. In his free time, he enjoys playing hockey with his brother. Anthony joined Rotary to connect with like-minded individuals that want to impact their community. He's currently reading How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.
Read More
Speaker Mayor Boyd
Monday, March 14, 2022Our speaker on March 14 was City of De Pere Mayor, James Boyd. Mayor Boyd gave us the state of the city, with information and updates on the resiliency of the city throughout covid, the Mulva Family Cultural Center, Nelson Family Pavilion, significant business and residential growth, and of course discussion around the highly anticipated Southern Bridge project. Speaker Police Chief Chris Davis
Friday, March 11, 2022Our speaker on March 7th was City of Green Bay Police Chief Chris Davis. Chief Davis discussed his background, how he got into and why he has stayed in policing, and his vision for the Green Bay Police Department.Chief Davis has spent 28 years in policing and, prior to Green Bay, was the Deputy Chief in Portland, Oregon. Davis took a break from earning his Bachelors of Science in Justice Studies at Arizona State University to become a police officer with the university's Police Department.
Chief Davis has stayed in policing because of the value good police service can have. He illustrated this concept with a story of a man he arrested for drug possession who later told him "when you arrested me, you saved my life." After being arrested, the man went through recovery programing and became a successful photographer. Davis hopes we don't lose sight of the value of good police service, while still holding space for things the department needs to do differently.
Chief Davis' vision for the Green Bay Police Department is a department that works with our community to solve problems and address the root cause of those problems. Two major root causes Chief Davis identified were addiction and mental health. Davis was adamant that responsibility for this vision falls on everyone in our community. He envisions an organization that respects people and promotes and protects the rights of everyone in our community. Chief Davis wants to look in terms of what the department promotes, not what it prevents.
Davis believes we have the opportunity to set the example in Green Bay of how 21st century policing can be done. Davis and the department will always be looking for new and better ways to work, and the Chief acknowledged we have tremendous people to get the job done. It is important to Davis to take a restorative, corrective orientation to police misconduct and be intentional in how the department promotes the wellness of its employees so officers can be in the best head space possible to provide the best service.
Click here to learn more about Police Chief Chris Davis.
Read More
Speaker Andrea Jorgensen
Monday, February 28, 2022Our speaker on February 28 was Andrea Jorgensen, Marketing & Communications Director for the Greater Green Bay Habitat for Humanity. Habitat's mission is seeking to put God's love into action. Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope.Greater Green Bay Habitat for Humanity was started in our community in 1987. In its 34 years, they've built 126 homes in Brown County, impacting over 200 adults and over 360 children. They will dedicate their 127th home to the Smith family this week Wednesday.
Greater Green Bay Habitat for Humanity operates two programs; their homeownership program and The ReStore. Through their homeownership program, Habitat builds homes and sells them to qualified applicants at no profit. A common misconception is that Habitat gives away homes for free, but that is not the case. Homeowners benefit from simple, decent, affordable housing, and the community benefits from an increase in tax revenue. ??The ReStore is a retail operation that collects and sells donated home goods and building materials. Profits from the ReStore are used to build homes in Brown County.
Habitat for Humanity has a great impact on our local community. Their homeowners pay $335,402 in property taxes each year, adding a total of $13 million to the tax base since 1987. Habitat spends $1.9 million annually with local suppliers and contractors. Since 2009, 10,317,527 pounds of material has been diverted from landfills.
Housing is central to ending the cycle of poverty and it can play a key role in positively influencing a family’s education, employment, and health opportunities. Habitat surveys their local families and has found that 97% of surveyed families reported feeling better about their children's future and 90% of surveyed families felt that their children are safe since moving into their habitat home.
For more information on the Greater Green Bay Habitat for Humanity, and to find ways to get involved, please visit their website.
Greater Green Bay Habitat for Humanity operates two programs; their homeownership program and The ReStore. Through their homeownership program, Habitat builds homes and sells them to qualified applicants at no profit. A common misconception is that Habitat gives away homes for free, but that is not the case. Homeowners benefit from simple, decent, affordable housing, and the community benefits from an increase in tax revenue. ??The ReStore is a retail operation that collects and sells donated home goods and building materials. Profits from the ReStore are used to build homes in Brown County.
Habitat for Humanity has a great impact on our local community. Their homeowners pay $335,402 in property taxes each year, adding a total of $13 million to the tax base since 1987. Habitat spends $1.9 million annually with local suppliers and contractors. Since 2009, 10,317,527 pounds of material has been diverted from landfills.
Housing is central to ending the cycle of poverty and it can play a key role in positively influencing a family’s education, employment, and health opportunities. Habitat surveys their local families and has found that 97% of surveyed families reported feeling better about their children's future and 90% of surveyed families felt that their children are safe since moving into their habitat home.
For more information on the Greater Green Bay Habitat for Humanity, and to find ways to get involved, please visit their website.
Read More
Speaker Emily Tyner
Monday, February 21, 2022Our speaker on February 21 was Emily Tyner, Director of Freshwater Strategy at UW-Green Bay. Emily is currently leading an initiative to receive designation as a National Estuarine Research Reserve System, or NERR.NERR is a national network of 30 sites across the coastal US, including the Great Lakes, designed to protect and study estuaries and their coastal wetlands. The mission of the NERR System is, “To practice and promote stewardship of coasts and estuaries through innovative research, education, and training using a place-based system of protected areas.”
Green Bay is the world's largest freshwater estuary and the concept of siting a NERR in the Bay has been in discussion for some years. At the local level, a Green Bay NERR will offer a coordinating force to manage, restore, and protect the Green Bay ecosystem, with a programmatic focus on four sectors: research, education, stewardship, and training.
New National Estuarine Research Reserves are designated through a six step process that typically takes 4-6 years to complete. The first step was taken with a letter from the Governor’s office to NOAA on March 25, 2019. A response from NOAA was issued July 19, 2019, advancing the initiative and completing step one of designation. The Green Bay NERR is currently in step two of the designation process, the evaluation of potential sites. This stage includes broad-reaching public outreach and stakeholder engagement; establishing the criteria used to select a site; the determination of candidate sites; and the nomination of a final site to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Click here to learn more about this project and how you can get involved.
Green Bay is the world's largest freshwater estuary and the concept of siting a NERR in the Bay has been in discussion for some years. At the local level, a Green Bay NERR will offer a coordinating force to manage, restore, and protect the Green Bay ecosystem, with a programmatic focus on four sectors: research, education, stewardship, and training.
New National Estuarine Research Reserves are designated through a six step process that typically takes 4-6 years to complete. The first step was taken with a letter from the Governor’s office to NOAA on March 25, 2019. A response from NOAA was issued July 19, 2019, advancing the initiative and completing step one of designation. The Green Bay NERR is currently in step two of the designation process, the evaluation of potential sites. This stage includes broad-reaching public outreach and stakeholder engagement; establishing the criteria used to select a site; the determination of candidate sites; and the nomination of a final site to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Click here to learn more about this project and how you can get involved.
Read More
Speaker Julie Cook
Sunday, February 20, 2022Our speaker on February 14 was Julie Cook, Freshwater Fisheries Volunteer with the U.S. Peace Corps in Guatemala. In 2014, Rotary and the Peace Corps developed a global strategic partnership between our organizations. There is similar alignment between the goals of the Peace Corps and Rotary's areas of focus.
During her time in the Peace Corps, Julie was based near Escuintla, which is where our club is working on a water project with a local hospital. Julie worked with freshwater fish projects, building Tilapia ponds to help provide food for families. The goal of these ponds was to increase the consumption of protein, since most families' diet centered around corn tortillas. Outside of her agricultural work, Julie also helped with vaccinations and community health outreach.
To learn more about the Peace Corps, please visit their website.
During her time in the Peace Corps, Julie was based near Escuintla, which is where our club is working on a water project with a local hospital. Julie worked with freshwater fish projects, building Tilapia ponds to help provide food for families. The goal of these ponds was to increase the consumption of protein, since most families' diet centered around corn tortillas. Outside of her agricultural work, Julie also helped with vaccinations and community health outreach.
To learn more about the Peace Corps, please visit their website.
Read More