The City of Whitewater and Downtown Whitewater, Inc. want to express our gratitude for the continued collaboration with the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater for Make a Difference Day (MADD). MADD is an annual volunteer event held each Spring. It is an excellent opportunity to care for the community and is the largest student-based service event of the year.

MADD took place on April 21, 2023, during Earth Week. Earth Day and Earth Week are annual events where people take time to demonstrate their support for protecting the planet and its environment.

Lisa Dawsey Smith, volunteer for Downtown Whitewater and member of the Whitewater Common Council, shares, “I look forward to the MADD annual event each year. This was my 6th year volunteering. MADD represents a unique opportunity to get to know the students who live in our community while working together to make a difference.”

Beginning in November, City staff and Downtown Whitewater volunteers begin to outline opportunities for projects. For 2023, there were 18 projects in the historic downtown district and park spaces within the City of Whitewater. Over 200 student volunteers, 20 additional volunteers from Generac and First Citizens State Bank, and more than a dozen city employees participated on Friday April 21, 2023.

John Weidl, Whitewater city manager, explains, “The city is grateful for the opportunity to partner with these other wonderful organizations to make a difference. What really sticks out to me is that the things we were doing to make a difference can be done every day and by almost everybody. We all can make a difference and by working together we can multiply the positive impact.”