Before our incredible April snowstorm, a co-worker and I drove to Sheboygan County Interfaith Organization (SCIO) on a sunny day in March to volunteer!
You might know SCIO from their year-round farmers market. I personally love going there for an egg roll and some flowers during the summer! SCIO is also the home for multiple programs that assist mothers and families obtain the knowledge and resources they need to be self-sufficient.
With their Bridgeway & Beyond Transitional Living Program, they are literally a home serving homeless women with children. Each mother in their program makes a commitment to certain goals and they were proud to share with us that 80% met their financial goals in the last year thanks to the tools of these programs.
In a separated portion of their building, they host their Supervised Visitation Program that connects family members that would otherwise have no way of seeing each other.
After a tour of the facility, a group of volunteers gathered around their table in the house kitchen to stuff invitations into envelopes for their Spring Luncheon Fundraiser on May 5th. This is the type of volunteer opportunity that you don’t even realize you’re volunteering! We had such a wonderful time learning about each other and about SCIO!
My favorite part of the building was their common area full of toys for all different ages of children. Thanks to many donors, they have a plethora of toys that children can play with while they stay at SCIO. Their positive and welcoming environment was enjoyable but I’m sure even more of a comfort to the families that they serve!
Walking in, I already had some background of the programs they offer but that day I gained a deeper awareness of the impact their programs have on these women and their families. It was a pleasure to get to spend a morning in their facility!
If you are interested in getting involved with SCIO or learning more about what they do, please contact Heidi Gudmundson, Executive Director SCIO, heidi@sheboygancountyinterfaith.org or (920) 457-7272 ext 118.
For April’s volunteer opportunity, I spent three hours in front of the Village Hall in Howards Grove collecting unused medications for Drug Take-Back Day. Each year, Healthy Sheboygan County 2020 hosts two Drug Take-Back Days, in cooperation with the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), at various locations throughout Sheboygan County.
This is a great opportunity for community members to drop-off their unused or expired medications that are sitting in your cabinets at home.
That day we received prescriptions and over-the-counter medications, ointments, patches, inhalers, creams and pet medications. I had many conversations with community members on how excited they were to hear they had a safe place to bring their old medications!
It was my pleasure to volunteer with Sergeant Lance Dassler and a few other volunteers that windy Saturday morning.
There are permanent medication drop-boxes, located at five police departments throughout Sheboygan County! So, if you missed this opportunity you can always safely drop-off your unused medications at the following locations:
- Elkhart Lake Police Department, 40 Pine Street, Elkhart Lake
- Kohler Police Department, 319 Highland Drive, Kohler
- Plymouth Police Department, 128 Smith Street, Plymouth
- Sheboygan Police Department, 1315 N. 23rd Street, Sheboygan
- Sheboygan Falls Police Department, 375 Buffalo Street, Sheboygan Falls
For more details, please visit Healthy Sheboygan County 2020’s website at www.healthysheboygancounty.org.
Visit www.uwofsc.org/volunteer for volunteer opportunities that might interest you and fit into your schedule. My May volunteering experience is with Bookworm Gardens for their Perennial Planting Party on May 31st.
Feel free to join me in the “Give Back Challenge” and volunteer your time and/or talents during the year. For more information, contact United Way of Sheboygan County by calling 920-458-3425 or emailing info@uwofsc.org.