Greg Gaarder Chairman | Tomah Memorial Hospital Inc.
Greg Gaarder Chairman | Tomah Memorial Hospital Inc.
Tomah Health Community Foundation has donated $1,200 to support a healthy snack program for children at the Boys and Girls Club of West Central Wisconsin. The donation is aimed at funding a summer program that will educate children on nutrition and food preparation.
The foundation's president, Brian Eirschele, formalized the donation with a ceremonial check, received by Kyle Crosby, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club, Katherine Rice, the Tomah Club site director, and club members. The summer program, set to operate at the Tomah Club located at 105 W. Milwaukee St. in downtown Tomah, will involve children aged 85 to 100 in snack preparation and nutrition education.
"Part of what we do every day here at the club is feed our kiddos, so over the summer, we’re looking to actually get our kiddos involved in the planning and preparation of our snacks," said Crosby. The program will serve more than 75 snacks daily over its 10-week duration.
Eirschele remarked on the alignment of the program with the foundation's mission: “This one is perfect for the foundation because they’re going to be teaching the kids good nutrition through eating healthy fruits, vegetables and then they’re going to have the kids participate in helping make that food."
Crosby emphasized the importance of such support: “Community partners like Tomah Health Community Foundation are vital for the organization. We are a donation-based nonprofit. We write some grants, but it’s primarily donation based through foundations and individuals and without that we simply couldn’t do what we do.” He added that the snack program is also part of the organization’s broader effort to address food access in the community. “For a long time, we’ve recognized that all of our communities we serve are considered food deserts to some capacity and just the access to food, so we’ve made it a priority at our organization for probably the last five or six years."
The Boys and Girls Club of West Central Wisconsin operates clubs in multiple locations, including Tomah, Baraboo, Reedsburg, and Portage.
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