Moraine Park Technical College’s Diversity Relations Office raised funds for ASTOP Sexual Abuse Center by decorating a holiday tree for the Festival of Trees at THELMA Sadoff Center for the Arts. The event was December 9th and 10th, and all who attended could vote for their favorite decorated tree!

The event showcased local nonprofits that decorated a unique tree for display around the THELMA facility. The decorated trees were listed for silent auction bidding and funds raised supported the nonprofit.

The Diversity Relations tree, Candy Cane Lane, was one of over 35 trees decorated for the event! In support of MPTC’s mission of growing minds, businesses, and communities through innovative learning experiences, attendees were to encouraged to view our tree and envision students from all ages and walks of life choosing their path/lane to learn a trade, earn a degree, obtain a certificate, participate in training or simply gain knowledge. White signified an opportunity for a new beginning, a blank page of a notebook that waits to be written upon. Red signified the chance to take action to pursue a professional or personal passion with energy and confidence.

“Moraine Park’s students and employees are active in the community and dedicated to volunteerism. I am proud to work for a organization that is so involved and to work on a team that rises to the occasion when there is a need or want in the community,” said Leslie Laster, director of diversity, accessibility and support services.

Moraine Park is a recipient of a $2,500 grant from the United Way of Dodge County to help support Dodge County students experiencing financial emergencies.

“I am grateful for the United Way of Dodge County’s generosity to award MPTC funding to help our Dodge County and Beaver Dam campus students who experience financial hardships. These dollars make an impact and help keep these students enrolled in school during times of need,” Jackie Morgan, Moraine Park’s Student Community, Equity and Engagement Specialist, said.

The grant dollars will support students in the form of gas cards, grocery store cards, and meals from the on-campus food service.

“Working with our campus food service partner is yet another way we can ensure students’ basic needs are met,” Morgan said.

Find more about the United Way of Dodge County and the work they do to improve lives and empower caring.

Moraine Park Technical College’s Diversity Relations Office is raising funds for the Solutions Center of Fond du Lac by decorating a holiday tree for the Festival of Trees at the Galloway House and Village in Fond du Lac. The event is December 11th and 12th, and all who attend the event can vote for their favorite decorated tree!

The Diversity Relations tree, Merry McSnowflake, is one of over 30 trees decorated for the event. The event showcases local nonprofits that decorated a unique tree for display around the historic village. These decorated trees are listed for silent auction bidding, and funds raised support the nonprofit.

Tree bidding is occurring now through December 16th. Visit the donation website for more information or contact the Galloway House at 920-922-1166 or info@fdlhistory.com.

“Moraine Park’s students and employees are active in the community and dedicated to volunteerism. I am proud to work for a organization that is so involved and to work on a team that rises to the occasion when there is a need or want in the community,” said Leslie Laster, associate director of Diversity Relations.

Students in Moraine Park’s Marketing and Social Media Management program applied their video editing skills and created 19 videos to promote local United Way agency partners in Fond du Lac, Washington and Dodge counties.

“The MPTC Community Resource Project Team was in the middle of planning an in person community resource/volunteer fair for each MPTC campus when COVID put a halt to our plans.  A new idea was how about doing it virtually?  We reached out to our Marketing and Social Media Management Instructor Sarah Ninmer, who was eager to have her Fall, 2020 students work on a service learning project.  Next we reached out to FDL, Dodge and Washington County United Ways to ask their agency partners who would like to make a video with our students?”  Anne Lemke, Student Community Impact Coordinator.

“Anne contacted me with her project needs and I was so excited our class could help her and the United Way Community. The students ended up dedicating over 160 hours of their time and gained valuable real-world experiences”. Sarah Ninmer, Moraine Park Marketing and Social Media Management Instructor.

Students learned so much from this project!

“Completing this project was a great way for me to use my skills to give back to my community as well as learn more about creating ads for small business. Overall, I loved this assignment and hope to get similar experience in other classes!” Emma H., Moraine Park Marketing and Social Media Management Student

“Overall, I feel that this project was successful in helping me improve my digital design skills and it opened my awareness to new opportunities in the community.” Peyton W., Moraine Park Marketing and Social Media Management Student

United Way partners are so pleased with the project results!

“Wow!!!  What a great job on the videos. Thank your students and teacher for us. I have gotten a lot of feedback from Arc members and they are loving it.”  Bernie Hafenstein, The Arc of Dodge County

“United Way is grateful to the students and faculty at MPTC for producing a video series.  Each video features a local nonprofit agency that is funded by United Way.  They highlight the great work being done every day by nonprofit agencies to help our residents in need.  United Way funded programs served over 15,000 individuals and families last year.  United Way fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in our community #UnitingForceForGood.” Kristin Brandner, Executive Director, United Way of Washington County

Community Impact is a strategic priority at MPTC. Connecting the college and community for the goals of fostering collaboration and connectivity among business, alumni and community partners, increases the visibility of the college impact to the communities we serve.  Moraine Park students and employees are also 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.

In the summer of 2018, MPTC started posting and tracking service learning and volunteer opportunities online for students and staff. To date, we are so proud to report over 11,000 hours of community service have been tracked with a total economic impact of close to $286,000 throughout the MPTC district of Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Dodge and Washington Counties. Way to go MPTC!

Here is a little breakdown of the service hours so far:

• 250+ students and staff have participated

• 360+ community partners have been served

• As of Spring Semester 2021, 135 students have earned Community Impact Awards

• As of April 2021, 15 employees have earned Community Engagement Awards

Please join in celebrating this important milestone of our college commitment to making an impact on our communities. Together we are truly making a difference!

The 2019-20 school year saw Moraine Park establish and present its inaugural Employee Community Engagement Awards.

In all, seven employees were recognized, with recipients earning gold, silver and bronze awards. “The goal of community engagement at Moraine Park is to make an impact on and give back to our communities, and to build and grow partnerships within our communities,” said Judy Urben, communications manager for the College. “We were very pleased to be able to present this award to a solid group of employees in just our first year.”

Award winners were announced in May 2020 with awards presented in fall. “Being engaged with your community is rewarding and a great way to give back,” said Brenda Raad, dean of General Studies, who received the Gold Award. “I appreciate working for an employer that encourages community engagement. My service has given me the opportunity to grow as a leader and has served as the impetus for many mutual collaborations between MPTC, the YMCA, Froedtert Health, and the U.S. Naval Sea Cadets.”

The following MPTC employees received awards at the designated levels based on hours earned from January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019:

• Gold – 100-199 Hours:  Brenda Raad, Dean of General Studies
• Silver – 50-99 Hours:  Bradley Mitchell, Recruiter; Anne Lemke, Student Community Impact Coordinator; Amy Wiedmeyer, Disability Resources Specialist
• Bronze – 25-49 Hours: Donna Freund, Payroll Manager; Kim Spartz, Admin Assistant, Health & Human Services; Rachel Tease, Basic Ed Instructor.

Feature photo caption: MPTC employees were awarded for their 2019 Employee Community Engagement efforts. Pictured left to right are Steve Pepper, Community Engagement cross functional team member and award presenter; Kim Spartz, Admin Assistant, Health & Human Services, Bronze; Anne Lemke, Student Community Impact Coordinator, Silver; Donna Freund, Payroll Manager, Bronze; Brenda Raad, Dean of General Studies, Gold.

Growing up in a small town, going to the county fair was something my friends and I always looked forward to! It was the place nearly everyone from the community gathered to check out a child, friend or neighbor’s 4-H project, listened to music or visited the barns to see animals.  

This year, Moraine Park was proud to be a fair sponsor at three of the counties that make up the MPTC District. Moraine Park Day at the Washington County Fair was a lot of fun and gave us a chance to engage with young and old alike. Visitors were able to spin the Diversity Wheel for prizes, (Did you know more than 22 different languages are spoken at our three campuses?), talk to our Veterans Specialist, try their skills on our virtual welder, play a game of bags or share a high five with MPTC mascot, Maximus!  

We were thrilled that Alex Prunty, 2018 Slinger Speedway Super Late Model Champion, and MPTC alumnus, hung out with us for the day with his #11 race car. Visitors were able get Alex’s autograph, collect some APR swag and even get inside his car! Alex was a big hit!  

We also were pleased to sponsor the tractor and demo derby at the Green Lake County Free Fair and the Pig, Duck and Goat races at one of three Family Stages at the Dodge County Fair. That’s the best thing about a county fair – there’s fun for everyone! If you were at any of these three fairs, I hope you were able to stop by our booth and say hello, or enjoy the great entertainment these community events have to offer. We were glad to be able to be a part of it!

Even amidst year-end projects, assignments and final exams, students found time to volunteer for three community service projects.

Over the course of three days, more than 35 students participated in Student Senate’s sponsored Habitat for Humanity build days. On May 2, members of the Electrical Power Distribution Club worked on silt fencing and stone veneering for an almost-finished house in Juneau. On May 10, different members of the same club painted a shed and backyard fences for a home in Beaver Dam.  And the day before, May 9, members from the Student Nurses Association, Donut Club, Beaver Dam Student Senate, and Welding club painted fences for a home in Beaver Dam. Continue reading