Voices from the Valley: A podcast of the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region

What happens when we uncover lost stories and tell them in new ways? And how might shared experiences, between people who are different from one another, bring us closer together? In today’s very special episode we’re going to take you back to a story that happened over 50 years ago. It's the story of an exchange of Black and White high school students in Wisconsin in 1966, right in the middle of...

In many rural areas of the Fox Valley region, there are often serious gaps in services such as transportation, healthcare, and other services meant to help individuals and families that might be struggling economically.  Clintonville's Compassionate Connection Center, a nonprofit we partner with here at the Community Foundation, is working to bridge those gaps. In this episode we learn how an enti...

We’ve probably all faced an emotional crisis. Something that rocks our world and sends us into a feeling of despair. Just in the last two years alone, people have experienced increased feelings of anxiety, depression, and uncertainty. It's that collective trauma of living in a world that is no longer predictable. The growing need for emotional support is urgent. In this episode we’re going to talk...

The Fox Valley is renowned for our outdoor activities, from lakes and parks to more than 340 miles of trails for use year round. But many people might be surprised to learn that not every member of our community feels safe or welcomed in our outdoor spaces, especially people who are considered historically marginalized, such as people of color, people who speak different languages, people with dis...

People of all walks of life have been impacted by the Community Foundation since its founding in 1986. We hear their stories, and we want you to hear them too! Our Voices from the Valley: A Podcast of the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region podcast launched in September, 2021, and we've come a long way in telling the eye-opening, heartstring-pulling stories people and nonprofits in our...

The Building for Kids Children's Museum opened in downtown Appleton in 1992 at the site of the former Prange's building. Thirty years later, the Community Foundation is honored to celebrate being a part of "BFK's" history! Generous gifts from donors with funds within the Community Foundation have supported the museum over the years. The museum receives around 120,000 visitors annually from all ove...

"Period Poverty" is a startling reality in the Fox Valley. Did you know that a lack of access to menstrual health products can cause students with periods to miss or be late to class, or feel anxious about period care? Menstrual products are expensive in the U.S., which makes it difficult for people, especially teens, to afford period products. Instead, they may rely on what is supplied by school...

Today we discuss the Fox Valley’s changing workforce and some new initiatives in the works to make sure we’re building and retaining a thriving and diverse workforce. There are lots of job openings, but we're learning that not everyone who wants to work is able to access the jobs we know are open right now. Covid has impacted some things, like hybrid office schedules. How do we navigate those, whi...

Did you know that black women in our area are five times as likely to die in childbirth? That's according to the state's Department of Health and Human Services. Factors that lead to these life-threatening disparities include the quality of health care, chronic conditions and structural racism and bias, according to the CDC. In Brown County, Black women receive the lowest rates of first-trimester...

What makes Waupaca a special place to live, work and play? The answer can be found in its people, working together to bring this already thriving community to a whole new level of cultural attractiveness. In this episode, we hear from people making a big impact thanks to generous donors. The Waupaca Area Community Foundation recently awarded grant s totaling a record $170,822 to 18 area nonprofit...

This summer’s Fox Cities LIFE Study  finds one of the largest shifts in the Census data is in our local Hispanic population. In fact Hispanics make up the largest minority group in northeast Wisconsin.  Hispanic and Latino residents of communities along the Interstate 41 corridor between Oshkosh and Green Bay increased by 46% between 2010 and 2020.   The growing number of Hispanic and Latino peopl...

The most recent data from the new Fox Cities Leading Indicators for Excellence (LIFE) Study   and the U.S. Census Bureau shows us what we all can see: Racial and ethnic diversity in northeast Wisconsin is increasing. The number of Black, Asian, Native American, multiracial and Hispanic people increased 57% over the past decade. And it is wonderful to see! But much more important than the numbers a...

What should we be thinking about when it comes to making improvements so that more people can enjoy all that our communities have to offer? The Fox Valley region is full of walking and biking trails that connect our communities. But who uses them and are they accessible to all?  How do we begin talking about terms like, "Environmental Justice," and "Transportation Equity?" In this Voices from the...

In this episode we revisit the fascinating story of how one small town in our area, Gresham Wisconsin, is making dreams come true for its youth. In a town of fewer than 600 people, that means a lot. For the past 21 years, young people graduating from Gresham High School have been given an opportunity to pursue their dreams. And it’s all because people in Gresham and its surrounding neighbors have...

We’ve probably all faced an emotional crisis. Something that rocks our world and sends us into a feeling of despair. Just in the last two years alone, people have experienced increased feelings of anxiety, depression, and uncertainty. It's that collective trauma of living in a world that is no longer predictable. The growing need for emotional support is urgent. In this episode we’re going to talk...

In 2015, it was estimated that 115,000 people in Wisconsin had dementia. By 2040, that number is expected to increase to 242,000 people with dementia, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.  Kaukauna native J.J. Smith met his wife Joyce in the Air Force nearly 60 years ago and were looking for resources to help with Joyce’s memory loss. “Sometimes it’s frustrating for me,” says...

In this episode, we continue our conversation about how a new two-year pilot program is embedding an Outagamie County clinical therapist within the Appleton Police Department to improve the way first responders handle crisis situations involving mental health. The idea is to have the therapist immediately available as a co-first responder to mental health crisis when law enforcement are called. Ho...

The challenge and complexity of mental health issues in our community is growing and – since the onset of the COVID pandemic – has now reached a critical stage. How do we as a community respond to and provide help to people in the middle of a crisis?  The Appleton Police Department and Outagamie County Health and Human Services recently launched a new two-year pilot program that is taking a unique...

How do we make our local nonprofit organizations in the Fox Valley strong and equip their leaders with the knowledge and tools they need to serve our community? We take our leaders to school! The idea is to build better leaders so that together we can build a better community. Leadership Institute is an innovative programs offered through our Nonprofit Leadership Initiative, and last week 15 local...

One of the oldest nonprofits in our area, Appleton's History Museum at the Castle, is turning 150 years old. Imagine what it was like living in the Fox Valley in 1872! This community gem has a unique way of bringing our history and its bygone eras back to life. We can learn about our rich past through the many opportunities we have at the Castle, from cemetery tours, to learning tricks from our fa...

When the pandemic hit in March of 2020, everything changed. Our communities were in a crisis. Many vital services which so many people rely upon were suspended. The Community Foundation and United Way Fox Cities immediately put together the Covid 19 Community Response Fund. This fund has granted $1,776,497 to 118 local nonprofits, thanks to the enormously generous people, business and other organi...

One of the largest shifts in the Census data is in the Hispanic population. In fact Hispanics make up the largest minority group in northeast Wisconsin.  Hispanic and Latino residents of communities along the Interstate 41 corridor between Oshkosh and Green Bay increased by 46% between 2010 and 2020.   The growing number of Hispanic and Latino people in northeast Wisconsin outpaced Hispanic growth...

The most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows us what we all can see: Racial and ethnic diversity in northeast Wisconsin is increasing. The number of Black, Asian, Native American, multiracial and Hispanic people increased 57% over the past decade. And it is wonderful to see! But much more important than the numbers are the people behind them and their stories. We hear from Timber Smith,...

There's a shortage of more than 119,000 rental housing units in Wisconsin, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. It says that a typical Wisconsin household needs to make a combined annual income of almost $36 thousand dollars to afford a two-bedroom rental home. The Appleton Housing Authority ’s programs are making a positive impact in our communities, through its Section 8 vouch...

Domestic abuse and domestic violence cases have exploded in the Fox Valley. It's happening to people in all races, ages, religions, economic status, and it's happening to people you and I might know – to people in our neighborhoods, in our schools and churches,  in our workplaces, perhaps even in your home. This episode may be difficult to hear. Our hope is that we can have a conversation about do...