THE LATEST NEWS & INFORMATION FROM BASE
BASE Annouces FACF as 2020 Heart of BASE Recipient
BASE ANNOUNCES 2020 HEART OF BASE RECIPIENT
Badgerland After School Enrichment Program (BASE) , formerly the Boys & Girls Club of Fort Atkinson, has announced the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation as their 2020 recipient of the Heart of BASE Award.
The Heart of BASE Award was started in 2019 to recognize an outstanding individual, business or group for their achievement, leadership and vision in supporting BASE. The recipient is dedicated to BASE’s mission, has demonstrated extraordinary civic & charitable responsibility and their generosity inspires others. This award honors their sense of heart and devotion to BASE and the many youth BASE serves.
The Fort Atkinson Community Foundation was critical in the formation of the out- of- school- time program and has been a strong supporter of the organization throughout the past 15 years. In 2003, the late Ted Batterman challenged the Board of Directors of the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation to be more proactive and he suggested they identify and meet a community need. After several preliminary meetings with community leaders, they decided to rectify the community’s lack of an afterschool program for our young people. In 2005, the Boys & Girls Club of Fort Atkinson was chartered which has now evolved into an independent local organization. BASE is now serving youth in all four public elementary schools, hosts a wrap wrap-around summer program and is offering in person learning support programs and& virtual outreach during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over the years, the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation has supported many initiatives of the organization including expansions to new elementary schools in 2008, 2010 and 2015. They have awarded grants to support technology upgrades, teen program expansion efforts and even helped purchase rubber ducks for the organization’s annual Duck Race. Most recently, they awarded $20,000 to the organization’s COVID-19 programming efforts which allowed BASE to continue operations throughout the summer and school year.
“BASE is honored to recognize the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation as our 2020 recipient for our Heart of BASE Award,” stated BASE Board Chair Hannah Bare. “For 15 years, they have supported our organization to help us expand and develop our programs to serve kids who need us most. Now more than ever, we have benefited from their support as we navigate these unprecedented times and look towards our future.”
“The Foundation is delighted to receive the Heart of BASE award,” stated Community Foundation Chairman Scott Housley. “While we were indeed the organization behind the establishment of BASE, the current success of the program belongs entirely to BASE Executive Director Alicia Norris and a dedicated group of board members who know how essential this program has become to our community. Even during these challenging times, they have continued to offer their servicejs, albeit in a new and unexpected fashion. This resiliency and dedication to our students is wonderful to see. Our role at the Community Foundation is to foster success in our community. We are proud of the great success BASE has become.”
BASE provides quality out- of- school- time care that inspires local youth to be contributing, productive and responsible community members. For more information on BASE and how to get involved, visit www.basefortatkinson.org, Like them on Facebook and follow them on Instagram.
BASE. Helping Kids Connect.
For the past 16 years we have been welcoming kids back to after school for the start of another school year. While this year will be different for the obvious reasons, we are invested more than ever to support kids when they need us most. Today. Tomorrow. After School. During Summer. In Person. Virtually.
Like many after school programs, school districts, businesses and households- we are making the necessary changes to adapt to life during a global pandemic. Early on, BASE dedicated our efforts to make sure we could all still CONNECT. Connect to each other, youth to caring & supportive adults and our greater community. We feel passionate that connection is what will help us all get through this.
So for our fifth year celebrating our 3pm Campaign- a campaign created to bring awareness to the importance of our after school program we will be sharing ways for kids, families and our community to stay connected. We invite all our supporters to join in on the following events in the upcoming week. Take photos and share them on our social media posts so we can all feel the collective power of connection and our community.
Monday, August 10th- Mail a letter to connect with someone you care about but haven’t talked to in awhile.
Tuesday, August 11th- Connect with a book. Show us what you are reading or your favorite book.
Wednesday, August 12th- Connect through play. Challenge someone to a game of cards, a board game or a backyard pick up game.
Thursday, August 13th- Connect to a charity you love. Round up or make a donation to a cause that is important to you.
Friday, August 14th- Connect with BASE kids via a Zoom Dance Party at 3pm! Details will be posted on our website at www.basefortatkinson.org/3pm
Saturday, August 15th- Duck Race at Bicentennial Park at 1pm. Visit www.basefortatkinson.org/duckrace for all our event details.
We hope you will join us in celebrating the power of after school, connection and community-
Alicia Norris
Executive Director
BASE 2019 Annual Report
With the eventful start of 2020, BASE is reflecting back to 2019. A year filled with growth, development and plenty of fun memories & smiles. After our transition to an independent organization at the end of 2018, we were determined to get back to our mission and focused on our goal of creating quality programs.
We invested in our staff training programs and philosophy- streamlining onboard processes so we could focus our training on culture. We implemented a new wage system, increasing all of our front end hourly wages in addition to developing a system to provide continuous increases for returning staff.
We dug deep in our programs to determine what areas were most important to support our mission. Areas like recreation, education and community service became a focus. We hosted a family night and will continue to offer new family engagement opportunities. With the support of donors, we invested in hundreds of new books and flexible seating options for kids to encourage reading and purchased $1,500 worth of new recreation equipment.
We implemented a new survey system so we can receive feedback from our kids, families and team throughout the year. Our surveys are designed to gather feedback on program quality, enrichment opportunities and social emotional learning opportunities so we can cater our programs to what kids need most.
We also celebrated. Our BASE Kid of the Year celebration has been a real testament to the power of our out of school time programs. A feel good community event that showcases the power of our local kids. Our two staple fundraisers- Wings & Wheels and our Duck Race and Day for Kids continue to be a success and a ton of fun to host! We also welcomed 150 guests to our farm to table Harvest Dinner event in October to celebrate our local community and support our local kids. We were proud to introduce our Heart of BASE award at our dinner event to a long time board volunteer.
We could not have done these things without the support of our community. Together we are able to accomplish so much. Impact for our youth and future of our community. Thank you.
While we are unsure of what 2020 will bring, we are committed to providing quality enrichment opportunities for kids whenever and however we can.
With thanks,
Alicia Norris
Executive Director
Check out our 2019 Annual Report for more on all the great things happening when school is out!
2020 Special Events Sponsorships Now Available!
It is hard to believe that our special event season kicks off in two months! We are excited to host four great events that showcase and support the mission of our organization.
Sponsorship opportunities are now available- take a minute to browse through our 2020 Sponsorship Packet to see all the ways your business can get involved and make a difference!
SAVE THE DATES!
2019: Our Year in Photos
2019 was a year of dedication, fun and lots of smiles! With a new focus on quality, we provided over 400 kids after school & summer programs, new enrichment activities and a safe place to go during the critical hours school is out. BASE also hosted 3 fundraising events, our BASE Kid of the Year Breakfast, participated in Lemonade Day, Lights on Afterschool & the Great Lakes Apple Crunch and hosted our first ever family STEM Night. We appreciate the continued support from our community and the dedication to kids and their BRIGHT FUTURES. Your support makes a difference.
Here is a quick YEAR IN PHOTOS video-enjoy!
BASE Selling Stone Creek Coffee Products through 12/2
BASE is once again selling Stone Creek Coffee products including coffee, tea and hot chocolate throughout the month of November.
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 Monday, December 2nd. NEW for 2019- for every product sold, BASE will receive a new book for our BASE libraries to support after school literacy to expand minds & opportunities. Our goal is to sell 500 products in 2019!
Stone Creek Coffee products make great gifts for the holidays AND you are supporting a local non-profit and our mission to support kids. To infinity & beyond!
Our 2019 Custom Label which will be on all regular Cream City coffee orders
BASE Lights on After School Celebration!
Last Thursday, BASE joined the After School Alliance & 1 million people across the United States to celebrate Lights on Afterschool- a showcase of the importance and power of out of school time programs. We are proud to be one of the 10,000 events hosted across the country to highlight all the powerful things happening during the critical hours school is out. BASE knows the important role we play in making sure kids have the building blocks they need to be successful and are committed to providing quality out of school time programs to kids in our community!
Scroll down & check out pictures from our Family STEM Night
The event included 4 STEM stations with activities, Lights of Afterschool coloring activities & KIND bar snacks, BASE information and membership packets for the 2019-2020 after school program and a taco bar for all those who attended. The event was free & open to the public. We welcomed 104 BASE kids & their families and many community members.
Kids investigated the different properties of liquids at our science station, engineered a parachute and tested it’s effectiveness through test trials, played fun math games, took the technology quiz, talked with STEM/business professionals about STEM careers and skills, and talked to BASE staff members about joining BASE this school year.
Thank you to Nasco, Spacesaver, Amanda Wallace & Ben Knowles for helping us out with this event!
Know the Facts: National Statistics About After School
The parents of 19.4 million children (41%) would send their child to an afterschool program—if one were available.
Afterschool programs save at least three tax dollars for every one spent by reducing the need for remedial education and grade repetition as well as keeping kids safe and out of trouble.
9 in 10 Americans think afterschool programs are important.
8 in 10 parents (83 percent) support public funding for afterschool programs and want to see all levels of government to commit funding.
Nationwide, nearly 5 million children in grades K-8 regularly care for themselves.
Today, less than one-fourth of American families fit the “traditional” image of one parent at home caring for children full time, while the other parent provides financial support. In fact, 77 percent of mothers with school-age children are employed.
The gap between work and school schedules can amount to as much as 25 hours per week.
We can’t afford not to invest in afterschool programs.
The bottom line is this: afterschool programs keep kids safe, inspire them to learn and help America’s working families. The realities of today’s working world make afterschool programs an absolute necessity.
Source: After School Alliance
For more information on how you can support our local after school efforts, visit:
Celebrating our Harvest Dinner
Our 2nd Annual Harvest Dinner was nothing but amazing. We had a wonderful evening filled with delicious food, fabulous volunteers and great company- all to support critical out of school time programs for youth in our community.
We were also very excited to introduce and celebrate our new annual Heart of BASE Award. This award was created to recognize the dedication of a group or individual who goes above & beyond in their support of BASE and our mission. We were proud to announce Steve Schafer as our 2019 Heart of BASE recipient. Steve has served on our board since 2008, many of those years as our Board President. He has been a strong leader for the organization through it all and always has the best interest of youth when making decisions. Thank you Steve for all you have done to make BASE what it is today!
Please take a few minutes to check out our sponsors and the many great local companies who supported us- we could not have done this without them and make sure to support them when you can. Scroll down for our official event photos and to see how much we were able to raise to support critical out of school time programs for kids in our community!
Like, follow and shop these local Wisconsin businesses who supported our event!
Donated by the Dempsy Farm
Amount raised to support critical out of school time programs
$16,500
Thank you for making this happen. YOU make a difference.
Goodbye summer #7, hello school year #15
Packing up the summer supplies is never an easy task. After 11 weeks of summer programming- full of sun, smiles and lots of fun it is always hard to say goodbye to summer. This was our 7th (!!) full summer wrap around program and it was a great one- 105 kids, 22 junior staff, 10 trips to the Fort Pool, 2 field trips and an amazing team of staff to make it all happen. Although summer has come to an end (can’t wait for 2020!) we are excited about starting off our 15th school year next week!
We took this week to work with our fall team on training- from CPR/1st Aid to engaging, quality programs to keeping kids emotionally safe to active intruder training with the school district, we talked and explored a variety of topics to make BASE a unique and impactful place for kids during the crucial hours when school is out.
When 3pm comes around next week Tuesday, our sites will welcome our BASE kids for another amazing school year. After school programs are so important for our kids and community and BASE is dedicated to making our program a quality, safe and enriching environment for kids during these crucial hours. Thank you to our community for supporting our organization and the kids we serve. We could not do it without you!
Lastly, as we welcome September- we invite you to join us for our annual Harvest Dinner event on Saturday, September 28th at the Kutz Dairy Farm. This event features local foods, prepared by local chefs to support local kids! This fabulous evening is one you are not going to want to miss.
Have a great holiday weekend and thank you for supporting kids in our community!
BASE Duck Race and Day for Kids
Annual Duck Race and Day for Kids TO BENEFIT BASE
Our Annual Duck Race and Day for Kids event was held on Saturday, August 17th at Bicentennial Park. Badgerland After School Enrichment Program (BASE), formerly the Boys & Girls Club of Fort Atkinson raced their flock of ducks down the Rock River.
2019 Winners
1st Place ($500)- Duck #2153, Pam Armstrong
2nd Place ($250)- Duck #2032, Scott Lastusky
3rd Place ($100)- Duck #2088, Brooke Zimmerman
4th Place ($75)- Duck #2110, Dan West
The event also featured free kids activities including a bouncy house, yard games, balloon animals and dunk tank for BASE’s Day for Kids. Madison College donated free kids backpacks for event attendees and Badger Bank’s Kindness Crew helped with the kids area during the event.
Corporate sponsors dressed up large ducks to participate in the annual Beauty Pageant in which event attendees are able to vote for their favorite. This year’s ducks included a super cool Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle to glamorous peacocks to a lumberduck but taking the title for 2019 was IPEC’s Groovy Woodstock duck.
The main event sponsors were the Fireside Theatre and Fort Community Credit Union. Additional top sponsors include IPEC, Fort Health Care, JM Carpets, Jones Dairy Farm, W & A Distribution and the Fort Atkinson Wisconservation Club. Other event sponsors include Ball Corporation, Badger Bank, Badger Basement, Drift Skippers Snowmobile Club, Rock River Dental, the United Way of Jefferson and N. Walworth County and the Fort Atkinson Generals.
BASE provides quality out of school time care that inspires local youth to be contributing, productive and responsible community members. Badgerland After School Enrichment Program, formerly the Boys & Girls Clubs of Fort Atkinson was established in 2005 to provide the children of Fort Atkinson a positive place for afterschool. BASE programs help young people find positive alternatives to negative influences, especially during the critical after-school hours from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. when juvenile crime doubles. BASE currently serves over 250 members who attend Purdy, Luther, Rockwell and Barrie Elementary School. BASE is also offering a Junior Staff program to Middle School students interesting in volunteering at BASE Sites. For more information on BASE and how to get involved, visit www.basefortatkinson.org, Like them on Facebook and follow them on Instagram.