Pictured: Jody Glindt, Domestic Violence Services Coordinator at Solutions Center of Fond du Lac (Left) with Moraine Park Technical College Honor Society member, Darlene Andersen.

Thanks to Moraine Park Technical College Academic Honor Society and Phi Theta Kappa students along with all the people involved with MPTC who donated! Three area homeless shelters are now better able to provide for their clients.  A great job of collecting much-needed supplies, snacks, food, beverage and other items was done! The items were delivered to the Solutions Center of Fond du Lac, the Promise Housing Program of West Bend, and to the New Beginnings Homeless Shelter of Beaver Dam sites, and the centers were so grateful!

Jody Gindt, Domestic Violence Services Coordinator at Solutions Center of Fond du Lac, said, “These items are so needed! The snacks are great ice breakers when we get kids here and are really appreciated by every client all year long. Some of these supplies not only go to service our clients while they’re staying here, but we are also able to send some with clients who are able to eventually relocate. It’s so important to not only be able to help in the immediate, but during the transition period back to independent living, so truly, these things mean so much! Thank you to Moraine Park and the members of the honor society for seeing us, the need, and stepping in to help!”

Phi Theta Kappa and MPTC Academic Honor Society is open to students who maintain a 3.5 GPA or above after obtaining at least 12 college credits towards an associate degree. Check out our web page for more information on PTK and AHS.

— Written by Linda Huckaby

Moraine Park’s Fond du Lac (FDL) Student Senate and participating student clubs collected over 175 gifts for families in need this holiday season through Moraine Park’s new Holiday Helpers program.

The gifts were dropped off by Moraine Park Holiday Helpers on Dec. 16 as part of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Fond du Lac County’s Adopt a Family program. The donation supported 30 children and adults in need from the Fond du Lac area.

Big Brothers Big Sisters assists children with social, emotional and character development through one-to-one mentoring relationships with caring adults. The Adopt a Family program allows people in the community to purchase gifts for families who are unable to do so.

“A very special thank you goes out to Moraine Park Technical College for their support of our Adopt a Family program this year,” executive director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Fond du Lac County, Tammy Young, said. “Many of our children in the BBBS of Fond du Lac County program would not have presents under the tree if it weren’t for their generosity.”

After Moraine Park’s Holiday Helpers received the families’ wishlists from Big Brothers Big Sisters, each item was written on the back of an ornament and placed on Student Life boards around Moraine Park’s FDL campus. Students, faculty, staff and the public were encouraged to select an ornament, purchase the item, wrap the gift and return it to the Holiday Helpers to be donated.

“I was blown away by the response and generosity by our students, employees, and clubs with this program,” said Moraine Park student involvement specialist, Lucas Nieman. “All the ornaments were selected within two weeks, and the people I was able to meet and speak to about their reasons for giving gave me an even better perspective on the impact we were making in our community. Being a Holiday Helper wasn’t just about purchasing a gift for someone in need, it was about making a difference in the lives of others.”

Moraine Park’s FDL Student Senate organized the Holiday Helpers effort with ten student clubs including IT Club, Criminal Justice Club, Medical Lab Technicians Club, Cosmetology Club, Culinary Arts Club, Emergency Medical Services Club, Civil Engineering Technology Club, Student Nurses Association Club, Society of Manufacturing Engineering Club and Respiratory Therapy Club.

Thanks to Moraine Park Technical College Academic Honor Society, PTK students and the abundant generosity of all the people involved with MPTC who donated, 88 area kids will have warm mittens and gloves this frosty winter season! That is over 40% more donations than last year and really demonstrates what warm hearts can do together. Even some hats were collected this year!

A Mitten Drive holiday donation tree was placed at all three campuses throughout November, and the collected mittens and hats were delivered to the Boys & Girls Club of Fond du Lac, Boys & Girls Club of the Tri County Area, and Boys & Girls Club of Washington County sites.  Fifty pairs of adult gloves were also donated and delivered to the Solutions Center homeless shelter in Fond du Lac.

“We have so many kids from the community, and as it gets colder it is just wonderful to have these mittens on hand, or to be able to put out a table with them on it,” Johnsonville Elementary Director for the Boys & Girls Club of Fond du Lac, Aimee Christenson, said. “That way, kids can just take a pair if they need them without having to ask or feel embarrassed by their need. Our increased ability to provide mittens to all age groups of kids, thanks to the MPTC Honor Society and all of your donors is just so important, and we are so grateful for your help to keep little hands warm!”

Students who maintain a 3.5 GPA or above after obtaining at least 12 college credits are invited to join our local and/or national honor society. Check out our web page for more information on our leadership and community service opportunities.

Written by Linda Huckaby

Moraine Park Technical College students and staff will host a Christmas in a Shoebox drive, collecting items for our local troops who are serving our country overseas and away from family during the holiday season.

Donations will be accepted until Friday, Nov. 8, and can be dropped off at room K-323 on the Beaver Dam campus, or with the Student Veteran Specialist in room C-003.3 at the Fond du Lac campus Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Moraine Park’s goal is to collect enough items to fill 200 postal service large flat rate boxes and have them in the hands of our troops stationed overseas by the holidays.

The packages will be assembled on Nov. 13 on the Beaver Dam campus, and students and staff will also have the opportunity to fill out note cards to send a personal message of encouragement, or holiday wishes.

Donations should be new and no larger than shoebox-sized. Some suggested items are personal hygiene products like deodorant, eye drops, Q-tips, and baby wipes, or snacks such as beef jerky, sunflowers seeds, nuts, granola bars, and flavored drink mixes. Additionally, miscellaneous items like current magazines, batteries, paperback books, and small travel games are great ways to let the service members know they’re remembered and help to bring some joy to their holiday season.

For questions on Christmas in a Shoebox,  contact Steve Pepper, student veterans specialist,  at spepper1@morainepark.edu or 920-924-3489.

The West Bend Student Nurses Association raised $326 as a memorial for their beloved teacher, Deb Schmitz, and donated it to the Ozaukee Humane Society as she had requested.

Deb was born November 7, 1959 in Port Washington and passed away in May 2017. For the last 17 years of her life, Deb was a dedicated Clinical Nursing Instructor at Moraine Park Technical College and impacted many students.  Continue reading

Moraine Park’s Beaver Dam campus just wrapped up its 2016 “Christmas in a Shoebox” drive. The drive’s goal was to gather and send 50 boxes of donations to troops overseas this holiday season. Its was organized by the Beaver Dam Student Senate, and roughly 100 different students helped at various points of the project.

Continue reading

Well, that went well!

With the holiday season approaching, Moraine Park wanted to give back and show support for the men and women who are serving our country overseas.

In order to make their time a little more enjoyable away from home this holiday season, students and staff from Moraine Park’s Beaver Dam campus conducted a “Christmas in a Shoebox” drive (all donations – deodorant, eye drops, candy, snacks, books, movies, etc. – had to be small enough to fit inside a shoebox). The drive was organized by the Beaver Dam Student Senate, and roughly 100 different students helped at various points of the project.

In previous years, our record for overall donations was 35 boxes. This year, we aimed higher – hoping to gather enough for 50 boxes of donated items.

Turns out, we ended up with Continue reading

The Walk to End Alzheimer’s was hosted at Moraine Park Technical College’s Fond du lac campus on Saturday, Oct. 1.

And the event was a tremendous success!

In fact, new chairs Jody Goebel and myself, Donna Freund, couldn’t be happier to have steered a record-breaking walk for Fond du Lac County in our very first year at the helm! More than $52,200 has been raised to date!

Applause Applause to everyone involved for an incredible effort. Continue reading

Shown in this undated photo, Fond du Lac Vocational School students help unload a Giddings and Lewis truck.

The College has maintained partnerships with many business and industry entities today. In fact, Giddings and Lewis (now known as Five Giddings & Lewis) is still supporting our mission, and was among 18 businesses and organizations recognized this month by the Moraine Park Foundation for supporting its Forming Alliances to Cultivate Talent (FACT) program. Continue reading