On Valentine’s Day, many of us take time to show extra love to the special people in our lives. Stop in at any MPTC Campus Library from Feb. 7 – 18 to pick up your take-home Valentine kit and include some delicious Fair Trade chocolate!
Wouldn’t it be great if you could share that love with the farmers that help make this holiday extra sweet? Sign the virtual valentine for Fair Trade cocoa and flower farmers!
70 percent of cocoa is produced by small holder farmers in West Africa, primarily Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana. Indonesia, Brazil, and Ecuador are also major cocoa-producing countries.
Cocoa trees take about five years to reach peak production and can continue producing at that level for about ten years.
Chocolate is made from the seeds of cocoa pods, a tree-grown fruit. After harvesting, the seeds are removed from the pods and processed (fermented, dried, then roasted).
It takes about 500 cocoa beans to make one pound of chocolate. In an average year, a cocoa tree produces enough fruit to make about two pounds of chocolate.
An estimated two million children work on cocoa farms. Up to 40 percent of these children are not enrolled in school. Many Cocoa farmers are exposed to numerous hazards, including dangerous tools, dust, flames or smoke, hazardous chemicals, and physically demanding labor.
Fair Trade standards prohibit child labor, and community development premiums are often used to improve access to education. Fair Trade standards also prohibit harmful chemicals and provide a framework for environmental sustainability.
As decreed by U.S. presidential proclamation, January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. January is also known as Human Trafficking Awareness Month. This is the time for each of us to learn about human trafficking in our city, state, nation and world, learn to learn to spot the signs of trafficking, and how we can help.
Did you know that Wisconsin is in the top five states for sex trafficking? The Highway 41 corridor from Chicago to Twin Cities has long been a “hotspot” for trafficking through our state. The mission of the Wisconsin Department of Justice Human Trafficking Initiative is to make Wisconsin inhospitable to human traffickers and to support victim-centered strategies and partnerships throughout the state.
What is Human Trafficking?
Human trafficking is the misuse of other people. This often happens for the purpose of sexual exploitation or forced labor. Trafficking can occur at any age.
Human traffickers often recruit vulnerable youth with force or deception. They may exploit youth through fraud, abuse of power, control, violence, or physical abduction. They may also threaten the youth or their family. Economic pressure can make a person more vulnerable to being trafficked.
Trafficking occurs in cities, suburbs, and rural areas. It is a worldwide issue.
Many youth who are being trafficked do not see themselves as victims. They may not realize they are being trafficked. From WI Dept. of Children and Families.
Moraine Park Technical College is committed to community engagement and student success. The College supports these commitments through the opportunity for students to participate in student community impact and apply their classroom knowledge to an applicable, real-world environment.
We encourage students to participate in our community impact awards program where students can track their service-learning or volunteer hours, submit their reflections, and earn a Bronze Award for 25 hours, Silver Award for 50 hours,Gold Award for 100 hours, and President’s Award for 200 hours!
In the 2021 fall semester, despite all the Covid-19 challenges, 15 students earned awards and logged over 1,600 hours of service! Congratulations to our Fall, 2021 award winners!
Presidents Award
For Fall, 2021, three students earned the President’s Award for over 200 hours of service each in their time at MPTC! The three students are Corey Koch – Administrative Professional, Heather Quickle – Nursing, and Julianna Stuht – Paramedic. MPTC President Bonnie Baerwald celebrated with and congratulated each student, stating: “I’m extremely proud of the accomplishments of Julianna, Corey and Heather. Each has their own unique story and came to Moraine Park Technical College to explore and create new career opportunities. In addition to their work and college obligations, their volunteer efforts exemplify the college values of continuous improvement, collaboration, and impactful learning. I can’t wait to see what their futures hold for them!”
President’s Award winner Corey Koch said: “I spent my volunteer internship hours working on the new database/donor tracking system for the FDL Area Women’s Fund. I was excited to learn and plan how a good database could help bolster the Women’s Fund mission and goals. I helped with each Women’s Fund fundraising event, and put all previous and new donors into the database. I also worked on creating a guidebook for the software. I hope this book can be utilized by the next incoming person who will handle software management. I learned more about working independently and on a team. My Women’s Fund experiences were eye-opening and great practice for my future career.”
President’s Award winner Julianna Stuht said: “Volunteering as an AEMT/firefighter for my community gives me the opportunity to meet the citizens that reside in my service area, as well as further my skills as a healthcare provider. I am so excited to continue learning through this volunteer opportunity.”
Gold Award
Completing 100-199 hours of service-learning or volunteering.
Stuht, Julianna – Paramedic
Silver Award
Completing 50-99 hours of service-learning or volunteering.
Riemersma, Allison – Nursing
Beeks, Tonia – Medical Assistant
Manke, Zoe – Medical Assistant
Stuht, Julianna – Paramedic
Bronze Award
Completing 25-49 hours of service-learning or volunteering.
In celebration of Every Child a Reader – Children’s Book Week, 40+ student and staff volunteers at each MPTC campus sorted, stickered, bookmarked, packed and delivered 1,700+ books for rural elementary and middle school children in our district; including Campbellsport, Oakfield, Dodgeland, Hustisford, Jackson, Kewaskum, West Bend and Hartford. Each child received their very own new book focused on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).
FDL Area United Way Director Amber Kilawee said, “The Fond du Lac Area United Way is honored to have the opportunity to work with Moraine Park Technical College students and staff on this wonderful service learning project! Culturally relevant books help to engage all of our readers because they build on the lived experiences of students. We also know that it’s critical for students to have the opportunity to read books focused on DEI because they provide an advantage in terms of academic performance outcomes. According to a 2020 Oakland University study, when students read books with more culturally relevant experiences, they are 16% more likely to make personal connections between the book and their own lives. This is especially important for our outreach into the rural school districts. Thank you MPTC for partnering with United Way!”
“Moraine Park students and employees are committed to helping fulfill community needs, sharing their time and talent, connecting and volunteering to help and improve the communities where we live, work and go to school,” MPTC Communications Manager Kristina Haensgen said. “This United we Read with MPTC project is the perfect way for our community engagement sponsorship dollars to have a great impact for over 1,700 kids across our district!”
“When I contacted my friends at our United Ways this summer to talk about possibilities for a fall community volunteer project, I never imagined what a wonderful idea they would have; and how wide our impact could be!” Student Community Impact Coordinator Anne Lemke said. “Thank you so much for all the collaboration and teamwork to make this great project successful! Also an extra shoutout to 4imprint for their generous donation of bright green MPTC logo gift bags for each book to be delivered in!”
Last month, instructors and students from the MPTC Criminal Justice Program hosted 5-12 graders and staff from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Fond du Lac for a fun, interactive Dream Big event.
The Dream Big project started in 2017 with Boys and Girls Clubs of Fond du Lac and Tri-County Area teens learning more about the over 100 careers available through MPTC. This is a great community partnership opportunity for Moraine Park students to showcase their careers and make a true community impact and for area teens to get excited about career choices!
Fond du Lac Boys and Girls Club Teen Services Director Dillon Wiese said, “We love Dream Big opportunities for our teens! At Boys and Girls Clubs we work hard to prepare teens with life skills to get ready for the world of work. At this Dream Big Criminal Justice event, our students experienced handcuffing, jail cell searches, and what professional skills it takes to work in a criminal justice career. They also learned about the wide variety of careers within the Criminal Justice field. Our partnership with MPTC is a great way for teens to explore their interests, learn about careers, get ready for college and know they really can achieve their dreams! Thank you MPTC!”
In celebration of Every Child a Reader – Children’s Book Week, student volunteers at each MPTC campus library will sticker, bookmark, and pack 1,500 books for rural elementary and middle school children in our district. Each child will receive their very own new book focused on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
“Moraine Park students and employees are committed to helping fulfill community needs, sharing their time and talent, connecting and volunteering to help and improve the communities where we live, work and go to school,” MPTC Communications Manager Kristina Haensgen said. “This United we Read with MPTC project is the perfect way for our community engagement sponsorship dollars to have a great impact for 1,500 kids across our district!”
“When I contacted my friends at our United Ways this summer to talk about possibilities for a fall student volunteer project, I never imagined what a wonderful idea they would have; and how wide our impact could be!” Student Community Impact Coordinator Anne Lemke said. “Thank you so much for all the collaboration and teamwork to make this great project successful! Also a shoutout to 4imprint for their generous donation of bright green MPTC logo gift bags for each book!”
Legal Action of WI is coming to Moraine Park’s Fond du Lac Campus! Tuesday, October 26 from 3-6 pm, legal experts will be on-site to help our students. Sign up here for a time to get free, confidential legal help! Walk-ins will also be accepted.
MPTC is partnering with Legal Action of Wisconsin and the statewide Lawyers for Learners project to help our students overcome legal obstacles, and empower them to move forward to achieve educational and career goals!
Whether a student is already involved in a court case or has a question about a situation that could involve a legal problem, Lawyers for Learners can help! Legal experts will meet with students either virtually or in person to explain legal processes, answer questions and provide advice on topics such as driver’s license issues, traffic issues, criminal issues, bankruptcy, immigration, housing, family matters, and more.
“What an awesome community partnership opportunity for MPTC!” Jackie Morgan, MPTC Student Community Equity and Engagement Specialist said. “Many times, legal issues can cause a student to put their education and career on hold. Affording legal help is definitely a challenge for our students. Partnering with Legal Action of WI and the Lawyers for Learners Project connects our students with the legal resources they need.”
MPTC Paralegal and Criminal Justice students are volunteers for our onsite legal event, with ongoing service-learning and paid internships available thru Legal Action of WI.
“What a great experiential learning opportunity for our students choosing careers in the legal or criminal justice fields,” Anne Lemke, Student Community Impact Coordinator said. “Hands-on, real-world experience, plus a way to impact your community is the best way to learn!”
To reach Legal Action of WI, contact Claire at cms@legalaction.org or 920-393-9352.
Did you know Moraine Park is a Fair Trade College? Actually we are the very first Fair Trade technical college in the U.S. Way to go MPTC! We are now celebrating 6 years as a Fair Trade College!
October is Fair Trade Month! Celebrate Fair Trade Month on all 3 MPTC campuses with Fair Trade Pop Up Shops.
Monday, October 25 West Bend Campus Cafeteria 10:30 am-1:30 pm Featuring In the Meantime Gifts
Tuesday, October 26 Beaver Dam Campus Cafeteria 10:30 am – 1:30 pm Featuring In the Meantime Gifts
Fair trade supports farmers and artisans in developing countries who are socially and economically marginalized. These producers lack economic opportunity and often face steep hurdles in finding markets and customers for their goods. Fair Trade is about making a tremendous impact on artisan and farmer communities while offering great products to the public all around the world. Fair Trade certification promises quality products, fair pay for producers, environmentally sustainable practices, safe and empowering working conditions, no child labor, no human trafficking and more.
Fairly traded clothing, coffee, food, furniture, home decor, housewares, jewelry, tea, toys, personal accessories, and many other products are available from Fair Trade Organizations. At all three MPTC campuses, our bookstores carry Divine Chocolate and Good Paper greeting cards. Our cafeterias offer Farmer Brothers Fair Trade Coffee and Honest Tea!
We hope to see you at the Fair Trade Pop Up, learning more about improving lives together!
It couldn’t come at a more urgent time, given the dramatic surge in domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Greater awareness and collective action are critical to stop and prevent the abuse that is killing someone EVERY FIVE DAYS IN WISCONSIN, according to the most recent Domestic Homicide Report released last week by the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence. EVERY. FIVE. DAYS.
That’s why we all need to join in with the No More chapters around the world in launching the Join the Chorus campaign during October. Everyone — leaders, communities, bystanders — must lend their voice to say No More!
Fond du Lac Says No More is in the third year of community wide efforts, led by the FDL Area Women’s Fund to take a united stand as a community: NO MORE silence. NO MORE silent bystanders. NO MORE violence. TOGETHER WE CAN END DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & SEXUAL ASSAULT.
Brianna Moore, Medical Assistant student, setting up a Domestic Violence Awareness Month display for her service-learning project at Moraine Park’s FDL Campus
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