Waunakee Neighborhood Connection

WNC is always looking for ways to partner with local businesses, churches, schools, groups, and individuals to provide unique and fun programs for our clients.  

Our annual program calendar below includes all of the major programs WNC runs every year with different partners in our community.  But that is just a portion of the work that is done with WNC.  Please also read our Past Activities List to see all the different ways we can work with you and your group. 

We hope this information helps you find a place you may wish to get involved.  If you didn’t find anything or are unsure what you want to do contact us and we’ll work with you to find a unique way for you or your organization to partner with WNC to help our neighbors. 

ANNUAL PROGRAM CALENDAR

FEBRUARY

Super Bowl Raffle & Buffet -  Held at Rex’s Innkeeper on Super Bowl Sunday, WNC conducts a raffle for large screen TV’s, as well holding a great buffet during the game.  The drawing is held at half-time.  All proceeds go to WNC, and are used to cover the operational costs of our free store, covering such things as rent and utilities.  We are always looking for help in January to sell raffle tickets, and would welcome donations of other items to raffle. 

MARCH

Village Health, Activities & Energy Fair - WNC participates with a booth at the Village health, activities & energy fair, held the first Saturday of March at the Village Center from 9a-1p.  We typically need volunteers to cover shifts.

Easter Meal & Spring Cleaning Buckets  – One of two major free SHARE meal events WNC holds annually, the Easter meal is coupled with a bucket of free cleaning supplies.  We need people to partner with us to provide items for the meals or cleaning buckets, create cards for clients, donate money to cover the cost of the meals and bucekts and we need many volunteers on the day of assembly and distribution, typically the last Saturday of March.

APRIL

Friends for Family Bowl-a-Thon – Our newest annual fundraising event is a 16 team Bowl-a-thon at WaunaBowl.  We annually will need corporate sponsors, team captains and bowlers, as well as those willing to pledge to the bowlers to raise money for WNC families and seniors in need.   We can also use volunteers to help with coordination and running the event. 

MAY

Garage Sales - During the Waunakee Garage Sale weekend, WNC holds their own sale thanks to wonderful donations from our community.  We need many volunteers to help take in donations, setup the sale, run the sale, and clean up and sort through donations after the sale.  WNC also provides opportunities for those having their own garage sale to donate unsold items from their sale to our organization. 

Mother’s Day Gift of Gratitude Program - Started in 2009 by a WNC volunteer, this program collects donated items and creates cards to assemble a box of “treats” given to approximately 170 WNC women clients for Mother’s Day.  We need partners to donate items for the gift boxes, volunteers to help with assembly and card creation, as well as individuals to donate money to provide boxes to women in need in Waunakee. 

6th Grade Car Wash - Now held annually at Summit Credit Union, this event was created & is  held by Mrs. Spahos’s 6th grade class at the Waunakee Intermediate School.  The students plan, advertise and then clean the cars to help raise funds for WNC.   A bake sale is also done in conjunction with the car wash, and donated baked goods are always needed.  The students provide input on what they would like to see the funds go towards to satisfy the greatest need of our clients.

JUNE

Fun in the Sun - A sand pail of needed summer items such as bug repellent and sun screen, along with a few summer fun items for children such as bubbles and chalk are provided to all WNC clients through our store.  Each year we need donations of items to give to clients, including the sand pails.  You can also volunteer to help assemble the buckets, which is something fun for kids to get involved in doing with their family or group.

School Supplies Drive - WNC assists the Waunakee School Disctrict to collect, assemble, and distribute donations of school supplies before school starts each fall.  We need partners to help provide items on the school supply lists, especially more expensive items such as calculators and back packs.  We also wouldn’t be able to fulfill the needs without the generous donations of miscellaneous supplies from our community members.  Volunteer assembly days occur each of the summer months and are great for children to participate in.  We also collect used supplies at the end of the school year, and then need volunteers to help assembly kits of used supplies to be used during the school year. 

JULY

WaunaFest Food Booth & Parade Float - WNC has a food booth at WaunaFest to help raise funds for our organization.  We need partners to help donate food items to sell, and many volunteers to help sell the food that weekend.  We also create a float for the WaunaFest parade, and could always use help creating, building and even walking with the float.  Partners to provide supplies to build our float are also needed.

AUGUST

National Night Out Awareness Event - Coordinated by the Waunakee Police Department, this national awareness event for safety is a great community night for the family.  We need volunteers to help with our booth at this event annually.

SEPTEMBER

Annual Client Gathering - Multiple meetings offered for existing and new clients to gather to hear about new or changes in policies and procedures, as well as time to register to receive services for the next school year.  We appreciate help from partners to provide items for the meeting or for our clients (such as water, phone cards, pens, etc.).  We also need volunteers to help with client registration, and our largest client shopping day of the year!

Diaper & Laundry Soap Drive - This annual donation drive provides us with the hundreds of containers of laundry soap and packages of diapers we need for our clients for a full year.  We need partners to be donation drop-off locations throughout Waunakee, as well as partners to hold collections for us with their employees, school, church, group, sporting events or meetings.  We also need volunteers to help us with the delivery & pick-up of our donation bins and collection of donated items. 

NOVEMBER

Mocha Cocoa Monday  – Created by 4th graders at Arboretum Elementary School, this event is now held annually at First National Bank, and is a fund raiser for WNC.  The students do all of the planning, marketing, and provide all the volunteers for a morning of cocoa, mocha, and coffee sales.  Additional partners are always welcome to join this event.

DECEMBER

Christmas Meal & Kids Christmas Shopping - The second of WNC’s annual free SHARE meals for families & seniors in need, this meal is also combined with free shopping for children to shop for their parents or guardians.  We need partners to help with providing extra items for our clients’ meals, which can be anything from food, to cards, to coupons, to gift cards.  We also need donations of adult gifts, wrapping paper, and wrapping supplies for the children’s shopping.  We of course couldn’t provide this program without the many volunteers needed on distribution day to help assemble and deliver meals as well as help the children shop and wrap their gifts, and the hundreds of donors that provide funds to cover the cost of the meals. 

Adopt-a-Family at Christmas  - Families, classrooms, churches, businesses and groups adopt WNC families or seniors, in need during the holidays, purchases items on their need lists, wrap the items and return them to WNC for distribution.