Give the Gift of a BRIGHT Future!

It has been a year of growth and transformation at Badgerland After School Enrichment Program (BASE), formerly the Boys & Girls Club of Fort Atkinson. Through the transition to our new locally operated nonprofit, we have maintained operations because of the strong & consistent support of donors like you. We are inspired by the support of our community to strengthen our dedication to inspiring kids. This holiday season, consider giving a gift support BASE kids and their bright futures!

Meet Abby, BASE member since 2014. She recently used some left over yarn at BASE to make little hat ornaments. Abby loves animals, so she sold these ornaments to raise money for the Humane Society of Jefferson County. She was able to donate $65 to support homeless animals. We are so proud of Abby for her kindness and thoughtfulness.

Ms.Sam, our Purdy site coordinator had lots of positive things to say about Abby too! “ Abby has been very helpful with our younger members at BASE and has shown lots of positive growth in her years participating in our program.”

It is stories like this that highlight our mission to providing quality, out of school care that will inspire our local youth to be contributing, productive and responsible community members through intentional programming that supports positive character development and unique opportunities to grow as individuals.
 
We are asking for your support this holiday season so we can continue inspiring kids. As we welcome the New Year with a fresh outlook and commitment to kids & our community, we will utilize your donation to provide quality programs and positive experiences for every kid who walks through our doors positive. Your gift will make a difference in the lives of our community’s kids.

Happy Holidays!

Alicia Norris
Executive Director

NASCO Gives Back to BASE!

Recently, NASCO gifted a $500 gift card to Badgerland After School Program (BASE). This is a much appreciated gift, as many of our program & academic program supplies are purchased from NASCO. We love so many of their products for so many reasons. It is a great community retailer and offers a variety of products that help us enrich the experiences of our BASE kids every day.

We rely on the generosity of businesses and individuals. We are asking for your support this holiday season so we can continue inspiring kids. As we welcome the New Year with a fresh outlook and commitment to kids & our community, we will utilize your donation to provide quality programs and positive experiences for every kid who walks through our doors positive. Your gift will make a difference in the lives of our community’s kids.

Consider making a financial contribution or donating items that you can purchase at NASCO for us to use daily

WISH LIST ITEMS FROM NASCO

• Dry Erase Markers

• Tape (Masking Tape and Clear)

• No. 2 Pencils.

• Garden tools.

• White out

• White board easels

• Electric pencil sharpener

• Assorted construction paper

• Classroom box of markers, crayons or colored pencils

• Fuse beads

• Beads & string for bracelets

• Dodgeballs

• Playground balls

• Different color sharpies

• Organizers for marker and colored pencils

• Books

• Assorted board games & puzzles
  

Today is #Giving Tuesday!

TODAY is #Giving Tuesday - a global day of giving fueled by the power of  collaboration. 

Badgerland After School Enrichment Program (BASE) serves over 225 kids after school and over 100 kids during the summer. Our programs continue to grow to serve more kids, more often at our four elementary school after school sites. Every day at 3pm, our BASE kids have a safe place to go after school with caring adult staff.

Your support ensures we can provide them with academic supplies like books & pencils, program supplies for a variety of activities, field trips and most importantly caring staff.

As you look for ways to give this Holiday Season- be a part of a global movement this #Giving Tuesday and give the gift of a GREAT FUTURE to kids in the Fort Atkinson Community!

BASE Mission Moments

We often celebrate MISSION MOMENTS- events, activities, observations, conversations and simple moments that represent & remind us of our mission. These moments make all our hard work worth it and inspire us to keep going.

Our mission is to provide quality, out of school care that will inspire our local youth to be contributing, productive and responsible community members through intentional programming that supports positive character development and unique opportunities to grow as individuals.

This week was filled with lots of MISSION MOMENTS!

We started off the week by dropping of 67 pounds of candy to Rock River Dental Clinic for our first official LEND A HAND activity- Operation Gratitude. I am so very proud of our BASE kids AND our community who helped make this possible. Way to go!

17 pounds of this candy was collected at the Trunk or Treat event at Jones Park. We had a great time at the event and it was really great to see kids of all ages making candy donations to send to troops serving in the military.

It is so important to remember that giving back, volunteering and being an active member of your community is central to our culture as Americans. Never underestimate your impact in any kind gesture- big or small. It all makes a difference!

This week we also announced our October BASE Kid of the Month! Staff nominate kids who show great character, leadership and respect for this recognition. We are so proud of these kids and all they do to make BASE a great place!

We had a great week of programs- exploring the arts & science at Purdy. Our BASE Kids were busy preparing for Saturday, 11/10. Luther helped with our table decorations for this weekend, Rockwell painted our parade float signs and Barrie members will be helping with chili prep for the United Way Chili Cook Off!

Thank you for your continued support and dedication to our program! We rely on your generosity so we can continue our mission and making a difference for kids in our community.

Alicia Norris
Executive Director

Annual Stone Creek Coffee Fundraiser

We will be selling Stone Creek Coffee products through Wednesday, December 5th. You can place your order with any BASE Kid, Board Member or Staff! You may also download a form here and mail it to 734 Madison Ave by Wednesday, December 5th. A portion from ALL sales will be donated back to BASE to support our after school enrichment programs! Our goal is to raise at least $2,500!

This is a great opportunity to collectively make a difference for BASE. If 150 people sell just 5 bags of coffee, BASE would earn $4,500 in profit!

Stone Creek Coffee products make great gifts for the holidays AND you are supporting a local non-profit and our mission to inspire BRIGHT FUTURES!

Lend a Hand Community Service Program & Operation Gratitude

For many years, we have been promoting our after school & summer program kids to participate in community service projects. It is our mission to provide quality, out of school care that will inspire our local youth to be contributing, productive and responsible community members through intentional programming that supports positive character development and unique opportunities to grow as individuals.

We are proud to introduce our new Lend a Hand Community Service Program (previously Torch Club) which will provide our BASE kids invaluable experiences giving back to our community and beyond. We will be offering a variety of Lend a Hand programs to our BASE Kids on a consistent basis throughout the year.

In partnership with Rock River Dental, our first project will collecting candy for Operation Gratitude. We invite our BASE kids & members of the community to donate a portion of their Halloween candy to Operation Gratitude, who through the generosity and hands-on efforts of the American people, send Care Packages to all who bravely serve our nation. Operation Gratitude has sent over 2 million care packages to those who serve.

Candy collection will be from Monday, October 29th-Friday, November 2nd at all four BASE sites from 3-6pm. BASE will also be collecting candy at the Fort Atkinson Trunk or Treat event on Wednesday, October 31st from 6-8pm at Jones Park.

Have a community service project idea for BASE? Contact us today!

Harvest Dinner Thank You

The Boys & Girls Club of Fort Atkinson hosted their first ever Harvest for the Club Dinner on Wednesday, October 10th which featured local foods, prepared by local chefs to support local kids during the crucial hours after school. The event was held at Kutz Dairy Farm LLC. The master chef style event featured appetizers, a salad & soup and two entrees prepared by Jones Dairy Farm’s Shaun Edwards, Mike Scott from the Fireside and Sally Behling from Fort Health Care. Dinner was followed by a fresh baked Brickhaus Cafe cookie and pumpkin custard prepared by Mike Scott.

Although a first year event for the Boys & Girls Club of Fort Atkinson, it was the last official event hosted by the organization as they recently transitioned to Badgerland After School Enrichment (BASE) Program, a locally operated non-profit on October 15th. The organization unveiled their new BASE logo & mission statement at the event and provided updates regarding their transition to the new organization.  “We are so appreciative of the support of our donors and community as we transition to BASE. This is a significant opportunity to refocus our local efforts to support kids during after school hours. We felt confident and empowered by our local community and the generous support we receive to make this transition so we can best serve our kids. ” Said Alicia Norris, Executive Director of BASE.  

Community support has been as important as ever and the organization has several event sponsors to thank including MK Cellular, Fort Health Care, Fort Community Credit Union, Premier Bank, Badger Bank and Spacesaver Corporation. A special thank you to the Kutz Dairy Farm for their incredible hospitality. Thank you to The Fireside Dinner Theatre, Fort Health Care and Jones Dairy Farm for supporting this event by providing supplies and such supportive and talented chefs. Additional event support and in kind donations were provided by Jim’s Cheese, Hooks Cheese, Rushing Waters Fisheries, Festival Foods, The Rotary Club of Fort Atkinson, Wine & Roses, Regenerative Roots Farm, Good Times Farm, Berres Brothers Coffee, Brichhaus Café in Jefferson and the efforts of many volunteers.

BASE plans to continue the event in 2019. Additional information regarding their 2019 fundraising calendar will be available soon.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Fort Atkinson was established in 2006 to provide the children of Fort Atkinson a positive place for afterschool. BGC made the full transition to BASE on October 15th which continue to provide programs to help build bright futures for youth through after school programs during the critical after-school hours from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. If you would like to volunteer or have questions, please contact Alicia Norris at (920) 568-8858. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram or visit their website at www.basefortatkinson.org

Introducing BASE Fort Atkinson

Starting on Monday, October 15th, BGC began operating as Badgerland After School Enrichment (BASE) Program, a new local independent non-profit organization. This is an incredible opportunity for our new organization to focus on our local families. Now more than ever, we will be looking for community support to help build a strong and sustainable BASE moving forward. Please consider joining our Board, a committee, or making a financial donation to support BASE Program kids.

BASE will offer the same quality after school and summer programs to support kids in our community. Our operations, special events and fundraising efforts will continue as usual during this transition. Alicia Norris and Melissa Napiorkowski will continue as the leadership staff and our part time staff will remain as employees of BASE.

Our new www.basefortatkinson.org website is live and we are proudly displaying our new BASE logo. Our logo was designed by Jacob B. Morgan. Make sure to visit his website at www.jacobbmorgan.com, or follow him on Instagram @jacobbmorgan, to check out more of his design portfolio.

We appreciate the support of our staff, volunteers, donors and community partners through this exciting opportunity to strengthen the support of our local families. Please reach out to Alicia Norris at 920-568-8858 if you have any further questions.