News & Events

Photos courtesy of Tom Ganser

Editor’s Note: The following was provided by Whitewater Unites Lives.

The Whitewater community has the opportunity to help fill the shelves of local food pantries to serve those in need on Saturday, May 11. There are two ways to donate food and help our hungry neighbors.

– For more than 30 years, USPS has conducted an annual nationwide food drive on the second Saturday of May- the largest one-day food drive in the country.  In Whitewater, the food drive is supported by the Hunger Task Force to help the Whitewater Food Pantry. Residents will be receiving postcards and/or plastic bags in the mail as a reminder of the food drive. Just put your nonperishable contribution in or near your mailbox on Saturday, May 11, and your mail carrier will take the food to the Whitewater Food Pantry. Questions? Laurie Giorno, lead volunteer in Whitewater, can be reached at 262-903-9416. 

– The Community Space in Whitewater has been in operation for just five years, but has already ramped up to give out more than 300,000 pounds of food a year through its collaboration with Feeding America and other organizations and its dozens of volunteers. Whitewater Unites Lives is hosting the food drive at the Community Space this year to help meet the increased demand TCS has experienced. To help, bring your nonperishable donations to TCS on 834 East Milwaukee St., drive around the back, and WUL volunteers will happily collect your donation from your car between 8:30 and 11:45 a.m. on Saturday, May 11. Questions? WUL co-founder Rosalinda Martinez can be reached at 920-222-0749 and co-founder Marjorie Stoneman can be reached at 414-861-4126.

Suggested donations to both pantries include peanut butter, jelly, individual packets of oatmeal, canned tuna, dried cereal, canned fruits and canned vegetables.   

Whitewater Unites Lives (WUL) is a locally-focused civil and human rights group that works to connect the people in our community and to create opportunities for all people to learn and support each other in our common humanity.

For more information about The Community Space, visit their website at communityspacewhitewater.com/

For more information about Whitewater Community Food Pantry, visit facebook.com/WhitewaterFoodPantry/

Editor’s Note: The following was provided by the Whitewater Community Foundation (WCF.)

The Whitewater Community Foundation (WCF) has announced that the Rock River Community Clinic (RRCC) was the recipient of the WCF Action Grant from last fall, and has received $3,500 for website design and development improvements with more accessible materials and clear, simple navigation in both Spanish and English.  The grant will also aid in completing the poster project and finishing the Community Resource Wall in the Dental Office.    

Olivia Nichols, CEO and Executive Director of the Rock River Community Clinic, said, “We are so grateful for the support of the Whitewater Community Foundation to advance these two projects at RRCC, both of which will support our efforts to continue finding effective ways to support our patients. Partnership support is critical to our organization’s overall community outreach and education efforts, and we are incredibly appreciative of the WCF’s willingness to serve in this partnership capacity for our organization.” 

At RRCC, all community members are welcome and accepted. BadgerCare (Medicaid) and Medicare are accepted at all RRCC locations and help support RRCC operations and services. As a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), RRCC receives higher reimbursement rates for BadgerCare and Medicare payer groups, which helps cover discounted prices for patients who are uninsured or underinsured (high deductible plans). Many commercial insurance groups are also accepted at RRCC, and further support the mission.

Care coordination services are also available at RRCC to help patients overcome barriers to accessing healthcare, including prescription assistance programs, transportation support, and behavioral health referrals. Care Navigators also assist in enrolling eligible families in BadgerCare to attain needed health insurance for individuals, families, and children. Over one-third of RRCC medical staff are bilingual (Spanish & English) to further support patient care and communication.

By increasing access to health care services, offering care at affordable costs, and providing care coordination services, RRCC works to create a healthier, more equitable, community. For clinic hours and directions, visit www.rockrivercommunityclinic.org

Rock River is one of many organizations that have received Whitewater Community Foundation Action Grant funds over the years.  The next grant application process deadline is April 30.  

Qualified projects should be intended for educational, cultural, charitable or benevolent purposes that will benefit and improve the greater Whitewater community.  Consideration will also be made based on the results of the 2023 Civic Summit, when more than 30 community members, business leaders, educators, nonprofit organizers, and others determined key areas for improvement in Whitewater:

• Communicating to Whitewater’s diverse population in English and Spanish, making signage bilingual, coordinating communication to all groups, and providing opportunities for people of different backgrounds, age groups, etc. to integrate to help meet community needs;
• Housing assistance, affordability and accessibility for families and professionals seeking to purchase homes;  
• Marketing Whitewater by coordinating and cross-pollinating events, calendars and volunteer opportunities.

Projects are expected to be accomplished within a specific period of time (generally not more than one year) and should be creative, innovative and address community needs.  Interested organizations can find more information and fill out an application at: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bx6_oS4QSIAeR3BoVjNTeVJfQzg 

The deadline for submitting applications is April 30, 2024.

Organizations interested in pursuing a Whitewater Community Foundation Action Grant should check out the Whitewater Community Foundation web site https://whitewatercommunityfoundation.org/community-action-grants/ or contact Kat at 262-473-1403.

The Foundation continues to provide and host scholarships for Whitewater High School students and also offers fiscal sponsorship to organizations that are seeking 501(c) (3) status or require temporary pass-through funds for worthy community projects.

More information about the Whitewater Community Foundation can be found at whitewatercommunityfoundation.org and on Facebook. 

The Whitewater Community Foundation’s mission is to “enhance quality of life in the Whitewater area via educational, cultural, charitable or benevolent expenditures.”

Updated 4/15 @ 11:40 p.m. – Typical sale items and prices added

Typical Sale Items and estimated prices:

Apple Laptops (Macbooks)- $200* (limit 1 Apple computer or laptop per person)

Apple Desktops (iMacs) – $150* (limit 1 Apple computer or laptop per person)

PC Laptops – $125* (limit 1 per person)
PC All-In-Ones – $75

PC Desktops – $50

Projectors – $125

Printers – $50

Monitors -$20

Video Cameras – $25

Cameras – $20

M.2 SSD – $10** (limit 2 per person)

SATA SSD – $5

HDD – $1

RAM – $5

Misc. Devices – $5 -$200 (prices as marked)

All pricing includes tax.

*Limit of 1 Apple computer (laptop or desktop) and 1 Windows laptop per person.

**Limit of 2 M.2 SSDs per person.

Accepted payment options:

• Cash (For the quickest checkout, bring cash.)
• Check
• Credit Card / Debit Card
• Purple Points

Receipts will be provided for all purchases. Individuals with tax-exempt status should bring in a physical copy of their signed tax exemption form to process tax-exempt purchases.

Items are not reserved and are available on a first-come, first-served basis. All devices are sold as-is and may not be returned or used at UW-Whitewater for any reason. Devices are not subject to warranty, support, or return once the sale is processed.

Members of Whitewater High School Ferradermis FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition Team #6574 will be heading to Houston, Texas for the April 17-20 FIRST Championship, a culminating, international event for the youth robotics competition season and a celebration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This year’s championship will include slightly over 600 teams, including 9 teams from Wisconsin.  Last year’s Championship included teams from 50 countries. The full list of qualifying teams can be found at https://frc-events.firstinspires.org/2024/CMPTX.

The teams will play on 8 fields in Houston, each named after a famous scientist; Ferradermis will play on the Hopper Field, named for computer science pioneer Grace Hopper. The 75 teams assigned to Hopper hail from 28 states and 7 other countries including Australia, China, the Netherlands, Canada, Israel, Turkey, and Mexico. Once qualification and playoff matches are complete on each field, the winning alliance from each field will come together on the Einstein field for a new set of playoffs to determine the world champion.

Ferradermis’ current membership includes 28 students and about 20 adult mentors. Twenty-one students and 9 adults will be making the trip to Houston.

The Ferradermis ticket to the FIRST Championship was punched at Northern Lights Regional Competition in Duluth when it was the Impact Award Winner from among 55 teams from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa. The Impact Team will present again in Houston for the chance to become a member of the FIRST Hall of Fame.

This season, the robots have been put to the test in a music-themed challenge that requires retrieving round, orange “notes” from the floor, depositing them in an “amplifier” or launching them into a “speaker” while running on a prepared program or under the control of a student “driver.” The Ferradermis robot is named “Chief Lee the Tangerine,” inspired by the prominence of orange in his components.

The qualification matches for the competition will be livestreamed on Thursday, April 18, and Friday, April 19, from 8:00 am until 6:00 pm at https://www.twitch.tv/firstinspires_hopper. Playoff matches will take place beginning at 8:30 am on Saturday, April 20. You can also follow the team’s journey to Texas on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ferradermis/.

Ferradermis would like to thank the nearly 75 sponsors who stepped forward in the last 6 weeks to help the team fund their trip to the FIRST Championships. Every donation, whether it was $15 or $15,000, helped the team make this journey possible. Thank you, Whitewater!

Go Team, go!

Article and Photos by Tom Ganser, Supplemented by Laura Masbruch
Whitewater High School Robotics Advisor
lmasbruch@wwusd.org

APPLETON, Wis. — Four Lawrence University volleyball players were chosen for the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team.

Taylor Hughes (Wausau, Wis./West), Cora Linos (Janesville, Wis./Whitewater), Hilirie McLaughlin (Mosinee, Wis./SPASH) and Bailey Nez (Pinehill, N.M./Pine Hill) were all selected for the team.

McLaughlin, a junior outside hitter, was chosen for the second consecutive season. McLaughlin has a 3.65 grade point average and is majoring in physics with a pre-medicine track. Nez has a 3.97 grade point average and is a sophomore outside hitter. She is an environmental science major.

A junior setter, Linos has a 3.91 grade point average and is a government major. A junior defensive specialist, Hughes has a 3.84 grade point average and is a creative writing major.

To be eligible for the team, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore and have a minimum 3.5 cumulative grade point average. The student-athlete must also meet the playing time requirements.


PLAYERS MENTIONED
#4 Hilirie McLaughlin
OH/MB 6′ 0″ Junior
#2 Taylor Hughes
DS/L 5′ 3″ Junior
#8 Bailey Nez
OH/RS 5′ 7″ Sophomore
#17 Cora Linos
S/RS 6′ 2″ Junior