[00:00:00] Fuzz Martin: This is a very special episode of Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz. Most episodes are special, but this one On this one, we get to talk about Dolly Parton, and I think the only thing that would make this one more special is if I were speaking with the Queen herself. Good day, everyone, and thank you for listening to Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz.
My name is Fuzz Martin, and this is a show about positive things happening in and around Washington County, Wisconsin. Each week, I showcase positive people, events, and organizations, That are doing good in our neighborhoods. And this week, the United Way of Washington County joins me to talk about their new partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Program.
Yeah, it’s super cool. I’m joined by Kristin Brandner, the CEO of United Way of Washington County, Brigette David, the site manager for Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast, and Joe Pichler, director of finance and administration at The Threshold. This is an amazing program, and I guarantee if you have kids under five, or if you know anyone with kids under five in Washington County, you’re going to be taking action as soon as we get done with this episode.
I know you’re going to listen all the way through, because You love the show. With that, here are Fifteen Minutes on Imagination Library with Kristin, Brigette and Joe on behalf of the United Way of Washington County, right here on Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz.
Kristin, Brigette, Joe, thank you so much for joining me today. So to start, could you please give our listeners an overview of United Way of Washington County’s mission?
[00:01:48] Kristin Brandner: Absolutely. United Way of Washington County, our mission is to improve lives and community conditions in a measurable and lasting way. So a couple of the things that we do in this community, we focus on top community issues, and we look at solutions to those issues, and some key features are, number one, we’re local.
Um, it’s the number one reason why people engage, the number one reason why people give to us. Is the fact that we are here to serve the local, the local community, our board of directors, you know, fully support and govern, so it’s really about we the people and focusing on what’s most needed here in our local community, which we believe we can get the best results with that.
The way that we’re able to be a top funder of non profit community. Programs is the fact that we run an annual campaign every year. We’re in the midst of that right now. We raised 1. 9 million last year. So we’re hoping to get 1 more, to support some of our new programs this year. And then we’re just effective.
We, we support over 25. programs. It’s not a popularity contest. It’s need based. We are here to support the nonprofit community as a whole to make sure that there’s enough nonprofit programming so that this community can continue to really thrive.
[00:03:07] Fuzz Martin: Sure. And speaking of that kind of programming, what sort of initiatives do you typically focus on here within the Washington County community?
[00:03:14] Kristin Brandner: Yeah, so all the the funding that that we Distribute is broken down into three key impact areas, and we call these the building blocks of a successful life for all. And so it goes into the area of education, financial stability, and, and health. And then we do have key initiatives under each one of those.
One that, we’re, we’re really proud of, we really brought the community together to say what is the, the most emerging need happening in this community? And this happened right before the pandemic, and it was our focus on mental health. We realized there’s not enough mental health programming right here in Washington County, especially from a non profit standpoint.
And so, we really had to, to take a look at mental health though and say, what’s the biggest need, because there’s so many it’s such a large issue and there just weren’t enough counseling programs for our youth Um there was waiting lists and we just didn’t want anybody to be on a waiting list if they’re in desperate need of help so we we, United Way, was able to develop two new programs through Catholic Charities and Youth and Family Project, and Catholic Charities helps all people, not just Catholics, um, but they have a, an incredible behavioral health program.
And so to bring them back to this community to be able to do programming, focusing, especially those that don’t have insurance. Sure. And then Youth and Family Project doing group counseling for youth. It really is about just getting services to our kids right away when they’re most in need. So that’s an example of us just looking at a top issue and bringing the communities together for solutions.
[00:04:53] Fuzz Martin: Excellent. So you’ve obviously played, you play a huge role in our community. How would you describe that impact, like that full impact that United Way has had here in over the years? I mean, obviously. You know, all the fundraising, you have a very significant board and all these initiatives that you take, what kind of impact does that make?
[00:05:15] Kristin Brandner: You know, we’ve been here since 1936, so I’m proud of our roots. A couple of community members came together. During the Great Depression, saying we need to be able to support people in need, and it’s about neighbors helping neighbors, and that has continued to be where we are today. So, proud of that, but proud of what we’ve been able to do, especially in the last decade.
We’ve been able to raise significant amount of money. And each year raising more money, we’re almost doubling the amount of money we’ve raised in the, in the last decade, but really the sweet spot and what’s most important is how we’re able to fund local programs. We have growing needs, we have a growing senior population.
But also needs across the board for all ages. And so, really challenging ourselves to say, as a community, we want Washington County to continue to thrive. And the best way we can do that is to make sure we have enough programs for people in need.
[00:06:11] Fuzz Martin: So there are obviously some unique challenges or maybe we can call them opportunities here in Washington County.
What are some of those that United Way is currently focused on? I mean, we spoke, you spoke of a few of them, but what are some others?
[00:06:25] Kristin Brandner: Yeah, I’m going to take this from more of a community leadership standpoint. We certainly have seen the need for the next generation of, of leaders to step up, our younger generation to get involved, to really take ownership.
You know, especially with so many retirements of baby boomers, our community aging, We’ve had so many great generations of leaders that have set a great foundation here in this community. But it’s really the next generation we’re trying to recruit, to get involved. And so I’m, I’m really proud of our emerging leader program at United Way.
It’s something that launched, a couple of years ago, when Kevin Steiner, the former president and CEO of West Bend Insurance was our campaign chair, and he certainly saw the need to get more of our young professionals, a leadership role and engaged. And, and so it’s since we’ve launched, we have so many different members that have come forward to the point that we actually have emerging leader alumni, and they’re chairing the campaign this year.
I see very exciting.
[00:07:26] Fuzz Martin: I see two from your main header graphic on your website are in our studio right now. And I recognize Amanda Novotny, and there’s one other that I don’t recognize.
[00:07:35] Kristin Brandner: Yes, Dominic Lab, who’s also with West Bend Insurance.
[00:07:38] Fuzz Martin: Okay, very good. So, so we’ve got 50 percent of those from your website, image in the studio.
So, welcome, you guys. So you have a, a new and very exciting partnership that we’re going to talk about here in a moment. But when you decide to partner with some of the, new part, you know, take on some of these new partnerships, or Take on a new program, here with the United Way of Washington County being, you know, significant.
Non profit here in our community, what’s the process for bringing, you know, making that come to be and what’s the process of making that happen here?
[00:08:10] Kristin Brandner: Yeah, so it, it is important that we’re always looking at our key focus areas, right? And staying with our priorities in that area of education.
Financial stability and health. We knew we wanted to launch an initiative under education. Early childhood development is just critical and important. There’s nothing better than, getting our, our kids ready for the future. And we’re also looking at, so it’s need based, but we’re also looking at long term impact.
You know, where can we really make a dent, really make a difference? Something that we know that is effective, that’s working in other communities, is always something we look at. So it’s a lot of different areas. And involvement, and this was one with our emerging leaders that we were excited that they really took a hold of, Imagination Library that we’re going to talk about is something that is working in a lot of communities throughout, the Wisconsin and the U. S. and actually has gone worldwide, but our, neighboring United Ways of Oshkosh and Dane County, West Bend, Kewaskum. In Dodge County and La Crosse area, they’ve, launched this program a number of years ago and really have seen great success in getting books to kids.
[00:09:20] Fuzz Martin: Great. So you mentioned it, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
So can you tell us how that partnership came to be?
[00:09:26] Kristin Brandner: Yeah, so as we look at every, new year, new campaign year, needs in the community, With the Emerging Leaders, alumni chairing, we wanted to, to really look at an opportunity to, have a signature, program that they could, really get excited about and one that this community, really needed.
And so as we talked to our board and volunteers, People got really excited as we talked about how this Dolly Parton Imagination Library program is effective in, in other communities in the state. And, and you could see people, at our board meeting were just like, this is a game changer. And if there’s any ability that we can have and make an impact, in that early childhood development area, truly believe this is, this is a starting point and a way for us to do it.
Thank you.
[00:10:15] Fuzz Martin: So, for those who aren’t familiar, could you explain how that Imaginary, Imagination Library program works? It’s, it’s super cool.
[00:10:25] Joe Pichler: Yeah, so I can speak to that from personal experience, actually. Before moving to West Bend in 2018, my family and I lived in, in Madison. And, my wife actually signed our two younger kids up, for this program through the United Way of Dane County.
And it’s, it’s really simple. You just go and sign up and books start coming in the mail and they’re, they’re really high quality books. I mean, there’s a, there’s a committee, with the Dolly Parton’s Foundation that, you know, vets the books and selects them. So, you know, they’re, they’re really high quality books.
[00:10:57] Fuzz Martin: And yeah, you brought some with you and they are, they’re hardcover. They’re big. I mean, they’re not even, they’re not, they’re not little books. They’re, I mean, some are like 12 by 12 books in there or maybe even larger in there. There’s some significant ones and they’re ones that some of us, I mean, know from growing up and some are new.
I mean, they’re pretty cool. So what age, I mean, obviously this doesn’t go all the way up to like 18. What age does the Imagination Library serve?
[00:11:24] Brigette David: Any child in Washington County birth to five is eligible to sign up for Imagination Library.
[00:11:30] Fuzz Martin: Okay, and so how does this, ensure that, like, each child is getting, age appropriate books that’ll, like, keep them engaged?
[00:11:37] Joe Pichler: So when you sign your kids up, you put in their birth date, so it gives age appropriate books as they, you know, to the age of five. So when they’re younger, they might be, you know, have fewer words and more pictures and then, you know, gradually, get a little more complex. Sure. And the first book is always the little engine that could, and then the last one is.
Look out kindergarten. Here I come.
[00:12:03] Fuzz Martin: Oh, excellent. Okay. No, that, that’s pretty cool. So, so the books grow with them as they, as they grow. That’s cool. So the, is the program available to all income levels and or is it just,
[00:12:14] Joe Pichler: it is, there is no income requirement. You don’t have to put in how much you make or anything like that when you sign up.
[00:12:20] Fuzz Martin: What kind of impact does United Way hope to see from this imaginary library program in terms of early childhood literacy, education development, those kind of things here in Washington County?
[00:12:32] Joe Pichler: So they’ve actually done research on this and have found that kids who have participated in this program have improved their reading level by nearly 29 percent compared to kids who have not.
So, you know, if you, if you think about it, kids that are read to when they’re young, are able to read more quickly as they enter school and it just helps keep them, you know, at that age appropriate level to, to learn as they continue to grow through school.
[00:12:56] Fuzz Martin: I know my youngest daughter, during the pandemic, my wife read all of the Harry Potter books to her, which is amazing.
Out loud, which is crazy to me. But it was the pandemic and we weren’t doing much. And now her, she’s nine now, and her, she’s like 97 percent in the rating in the state. And I think I attribute that to every single day my wife reading to her could you talk a bit about why reading at an early age like that is so critical for children and lifelong learning, future success, things like that.
How does a child’s experience with books prior to age five shape them in the future?
[00:13:34] Brigette David: So I think there are a couple ways you can look at this. One of them is, it’s just creating those building blocks of reading literacy, which they’ll carry through their education for the rest of their lives. Being able to understand what they’re reading is so incredibly important.
And then, you know, to piggyback on mental health crisis, so There’s nothing better than getting lost in a good book, right? So, if we can spark that interest of reading and that love of reading at an early age, it gives, older youth that reading out, like, okay, they can jump out of reality for a little bit, take a break, read a great story.
Feel mentally energized and then get back to it.
[00:14:11] Fuzz Martin: So, we talked about how the books come and they’re, you know, actual physical hardcover books. Or, or I think they may all be hardcover. I don’t know. Maybe some may be softcover, but they’re not e books, right? So, why is it so special for the kids to actually receive a physical book rather than perhaps an e book or a book on an iPad or something like that?
[00:14:34] Joe Pichler: You know, I think there’s just something special about having an actual book where you can turn the pages and, and, you know, look at the pictures. And especially at that age, you know, when it’s you as a parent reading to your child, that’s just a really important bonding time. I mean, I remember reading to all of our kids, you know, as they were Going to bed, you know, in their early years, and, you know, now they, you know, my, my eldest son is, is reading Harry Potter as well.
And, and they all love to read. And I, I think that really stemmed from those, those early days.
[00:15:05] Fuzz Martin: I didn’t listen when my wife was reading it. So I always lose Harry Potter trivia at dinner, every single night. So a lot of families obviously have, more than one child in the home. If they sign both kids up, do they receive the same book for, for both kids?
How does that work?
[00:15:21] Brigette David: So that’s actually one of the really cool things about this program is each child gets a book individually and it’s based off of that child’s age.
[00:15:29] Joe Pichler: Okay.
[00:15:29] Brigette David: So no shared books there.
[00:15:31] Joe Pichler: Okay. Awesome. And it actually has their name on a, on a sticker on the back of the book as well. So very personalized.
Yes.
[00:15:38] Fuzz Martin: What kind of response has the Imagination Library program received so far from parents and families who have heard about this, specifically in Washington County?
[00:15:46] Brigette David: It’s been amazing, actually. In Washington County, we already have 1, 300 families signed up, and this program just launched last month in October.
[00:15:54] Fuzz Martin: Wow. Okay. Is there a limit to how many people can sign up here in Washington County?
[00:16:00] Brigette David: We do not have a limit.
[00:16:01] Fuzz Martin: Okay.
[00:16:02] Kristin Brandner: We, as we were looking at this, there’s approximately about 5, 000, in that zero to five age group, so that will certainly be our target. We’d love to get, books in every single hand of, of kids.
And with us just launching last month, we feel like we’re off to a really good start. But certainly we want to continue to, to get the word out about this really valuable program.
[00:16:25] Fuzz Martin: Awesome. Awesome. So it’s available through the United Way of Washington County to families in Washington County. How can, how easy is it to sign up?
How do people sign up to do this?
[00:16:35] Brigette David: It’s really easy. You can just go to our website, United Way of Washington county.com and right there on the home screen, you’ll see a little box Imagination Library. Just click on it and it’ll take you to the registration.
[00:16:46] Fuzz Martin: Sounds good. Is it.com or.org?
[00:16:48] Brigette David: Dot org. Dot org.
Dot org.
[00:16:49] Fuzz Martin: That’s okay. Alright. United way, Washington county.org. Spell that all out. Um. Are there any opportunities for local community members or businesses to get involved with supporting the Imagination Library initiative?
[00:17:02] Joe Pichler: Yeah, so, you know, we’re in the middle of United Way campaign season, and as Kristen mentioned, Bridget and I are two of the co chairs.
So, this year, you know, every year you can donate to whatever programs are, you know, important to you. And so, that would include this one. So, it costs 26 per child to give them 12 books for a year, so, which I think is very reasonable if you’ve ever seen, you know, the book purchase programs come home from school, they’re a lot more expensive than that.
I would say
[00:17:35] Fuzz Martin: so. I would say so. Yeah, so we won’t name the names of the programs. But I may have donated a mint to them. Looking ahead, is there a window for how long this program’s going to be available to families? Is this simply something that’s going to exist moving forward, or how long is this going to be available?
[00:17:52] Joe Pichler: Yep, it will just be available on an ongoing basis going forward with funding provided by the United Way of Washington County.
[00:18:00] Fuzz Martin: We definitely have listeners, families, parents listening to this and grandparents listening to this. Do you have any tips for parents on fostering a love for reading with their children at home?
[00:18:11] Kristin Brandner: I think it’s just a reminder that kids are born learning. So right away, Take every opportunity, every day opportunity, turn it into a learning opportunity, sitting down, that quality time, having your, your baby, and your toddler in your lap, having that bonding time as we talked about, how important it is to connect, that parental engagement, grandparent engagement, guardian engagement is just, it’s so critical for, the success of a child long term.
And so any, any way we can get, these books in the hands of kids, but also just focusing on that parental engagement and just how invaluable that is, is, is just really important and just important to Unite Away, important to this community. And we can’t stress enough the importance of early childhood development.
You know, our brains are developed by 90%. By the time we turn five. So it just, I mean, I know as a parent myself, that’s, that puts a lot of pressure on ourselves to say, my gosh, we got to make sure we take so many of these years. Don’t take them for granted and how serious it is and how we can shape the future of our kids of this community.
And that’s through not only this program, but so many great nonprofit programs that we have, with, partners that are helping in, in this area, but, certainly we hope we can, we can have an impact, long term with this program.
[00:19:36] Fuzz Martin: Absolutely. Well, I think it’s amazing and I’m so glad you guys brought this to Washington County, that United Way brought this to Washington County.
And you’re obviously a huge supporter of families here. And, for an appeal to listeners, how can people get involved with supporting the United Way?
[00:19:52] Kristin Brandner: Yeah. So again, go to our website. We have, the ability for people to learn more, get involved. Donate, of course, is, is on our website, but also to get help.
I always want to make sure I do a plug anytime I’m talking. Anybody listening that also needs help, we do fund a helpline that’s called 2 1 1. We call it the first call for help to get people connected to local resources. So you’ll see all of that on our website, or you can always call our office at 1 800 262 338 3821.
And the last plug I want to give. is, to Dolly Parton. She is, she is just a special lady, and, and just a, a reminder, she, really has put literacy at the top and at the forefront of her charitable giving. She talks about on her website, if you go to Imagination Library, on, on the website, you’ll see that, you know, she, she talks about her father and what a hero he was, but he did not have the ability to go to school and be educated.
And literacy has just become her lifelong passion and just really her give back to her dad in honor of him. And, I don’t think there’s anything better than, than, than that story and just wanting to make the biggest impact. And she, she’s so giving to so many different charities. She just gave a huge amount for Hurricane Relief, but this is her, really her main priority signature project.
And we’re just so proud to partner.
[00:21:15] Fuzz Martin: Awesome. Favorite Dolly Parton song?
[00:21:17] Kristin Brandner: Oh, definitely Jolene.
[00:21:18] Fuzz Martin: Okay. Oh yeah.
[00:21:19] Joe Pichler: Jolene.
[00:21:19] Fuzz Martin: Jolene. Yep.
[00:21:20] Kristin Brandner: I third that. Oh,
[00:21:21] Fuzz Martin: I
[00:21:21] Joe Pichler: was going to
[00:21:21] Fuzz Martin: say, why’d you come in here looking like that?
[00:21:25] Joe Pichler: If I could just add one more thought, you know, what, for my family, my wife and I, we always made sure that our kids had plenty of books.
So these were really kind of a bonus for us, but for a lot of families, books are more of a luxury. And so. You know, if, anyone that can fund this program, you know, you could very well be providing books for kids that don’t have any other books. So I think it’s really important.
[00:21:45] Fuzz Martin: No, 100%. I, I think that’s uh, amazing and, uh, Bridgette, Kristin, Joe, thank you so much for coming in, uh, for sharing this.
And again, for bringing this amazing program to our community, it’s going to help, Children of all ages, income levels, well, of all ages from zero to five years old, but income levels and it will help them into their future. So thank you for coming in. Thank you for coming on the show and, uh, uh, really appreciate it.
[00:22:11] Kristin Brandner: Happy reading. Thank you.
[00:22:14] Fuzz Martin: again to Kristen Brandner. Brigette David and Joe Pichler for joining me on this week’s episode of Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz. Such a cool, cool program, and I hope all of you who are able to take advantage of it do so. And if you know somebody who’s able to take advantage of it, that you encourage them to do so.
Reading is such an important skill. And while slack jawing on a microphone is not as important of a skill, I like it. If you know someone who would make a good guest for this show, please reach out and let me know. You can email me fuzz at fuzzmartin. com. That is fuzz at fuzzmartin. com. Or you can use the Suggest A Guest form at fuzzmartin.
com slash guest. That is fuzzmartin. com slash guest. New episodes come out on Tuesdays. Next week we talk about the Gingerbread House program to help families in need this holiday season right here in Washington County. So with that, I’ll talk to you next Tuesday, right here on Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz.
