Community Quick Notes

• Third Avenue Playhouse has received a $25,000 matching funds gift in recognition of the theater’s 10th anniversary. A longstanding donor will match contributions to TAP’s general fund dollar for dollar up to $25,000. The challenge, titled Dreams for the Next Decade, runs from January 15 – June 30.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to use our grassroots support to leverage significant dollars,” noted Henry Timm, president of TAP’s board of directors. “As we have proved with our previous fundraising efforts, many small donations, when joined together, can move mountains.”

The organization is asking for contributions of $25 or more to help the campaign reach its goal in six months.

“This is a matching funds challenge,” Timm said, “and so every dollar contributed is worth twice as much.”

Donations can be sent to Third Avenue Playhouse, PO Box 843, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235. To make a contribution using MasterCard, Visa or Discover, call the theater box office at 920.743.1760. A PayPal feature is also available on the theater’s Web site at http://www.ThirdAvenuePlayhouse.com.

• The Door County Community Foundation is inviting local charities to apply for financial support from the Community Foundation’s Children and Youth Fund.

The fund is one of several Community Foundation granting initiatives. Thanks to the generosity of year-round and seasonal residents, the Community Foundation also offers grants to charities out of its Arts Fund, Health and Human Needs Fund, Education Fund, and Environmental Fund.

“If the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams, then we can give no greater gift to a child than to nurture their ability to believe in their own potential and promise,” said Bret Bicoy, president and CEO of the Community Foundation. “We must encourage and invest in innovative ideas that help our children succeed in life.”

The Community Foundation welcomes applications from traditional children’s charities but also encourages non-children’s charities to bring forth ideas on how they might incorporate young people into their work.

Applications are available online at http://www.doorcountycommunityfoundation.org. Applications and all supporting materials must be received by Jan. 19. For more information contact Bret Bicoy at 920.746.1786 or email [email protected].

• The holidays were grand for one Sturgeon Bay shopper. The Sturgeon Bay Visitor Center announced that resident Nancy Roberts was the big winner of the Moo-La-La contest. Her name was drawn from hundreds of entries Dec. 23. For shopping local this holiday season, Roberts will now have $1,000 in special gift certificates to redeem at 17 Sturgeon Bay businesses.

The 12-day Moo-La-La Fa-La-La contest awarded daily winners additional gift certificates and prizes. The SBVC thanks all the businesses that sponsored the Moo-La-La contest as well as all the folks that shopped locally and entered the contest. The hometown support is appreciated.

• With snow-shoveling season here, the United States Postal Service reminds customers that post office boxes are available at your local post office. A post office box can save your back from the daunting task of removing snow surrounding your mail receptacle. Other benefits include security, convenient access, anonymity, flexibility and affordability. To get a box, fill out a simple form and present two valid forms of identification, one of which must be a photo ID. Annual fees range from $40 to $150, depending on box size.

“Post Office Box delivery is a great way to have safe, secure and convenient delivery for just pennies a day,” said Sister Bay Postmaster Karen Sunstrom. “No snow shoveling required!”

• The Door County Job Center is offering workshops and classes to help get displaced workers back in the job market.

An orientation class is held every Wednesday from 9 – 10 am and every Monday from 2:30 – 3:30 pm. The class will familiarize job seekers with the services and programs available at the center, including career planning, resume development, and job search help.

On Mondays from 1 – 2:30 pm a Job Club meets where job seekers discuss new opportunities, search techniques, challenges, and share leads. An Employment Specialist will discuss job search strategies with participants.

Finally, the Wednesday Job Club introduces students to ways to use the Internet and other technology to help in your job search.

Call the Job Cetter at 920.743.6915 to sign up for a class today. The Job Center is located in the Cherry Point Mall in Sturgeon Bay.

• The Door County YMCA encourages families to set some fun and healthy resolutions with the New Year upon us. The Y offered a few suggestions.

1. Prepare and eat meals as a family. Start with sitting down as a family for one meal a week, and if this is something that already happens in your home, aim for a meal together every day.

Studies have shown that kids who regularly eat with their parents are less likely to be overweight. They get better grades, have stronger self-esteem and enjoy better peer relationships during adolescence.

2. Volunteer as a family. It’s never too soon to teach children about the importance of giving. Find a volunteer opportunity that the entire family would enjoy. Clean your neighborhood park or volunteer at your community food bank.

3. Learn something new as a family. The New Year is the time for new beginnings. Decide as a family to try something that you’ve always wanted to do – learn how to golf, ski, or take pottery classes. Visit http://www.healthyfamilyhome.org for monthly ideas.

4. Create healthy family traditions.

5. Play every day! Incorporate physical activity into your daily routines, spend more time outdoors, walk places instead of driving, play musical chairs at the start of a meal, or visit the Door County YMCA.

For more information on ways to ring in the New Year with the YMCA visit http://www.doorcountyymca.org.

• Unity, leaders in hospice and palliative care, announced the donation of “Cave Point After the Storm,” an original digital photograph taken by local artist and Unity volunteer chaplain Tom Turriff for its 2009 holiday card fundraising campaign, Gift from the Heart. The fundraiser is one of two major annual campaigns to raise awareness and funds for support of the non-profit’s palliative, hospice and bereavement programs in Northeast Wisconsin.

“We are grateful to Tom for his donation of his photograph to our annual holiday fundraising project. Through his support, and the support of so many people in the community, we are able to care for all people who need our services,” said Nicole Curran, executive director of Unity.

Unity is based in the Green Bay area with offices in Marinette, Shawano and Sturgeon Bay. For more information call 920.338.1111 or visit http://www.unityhospice.org.