Startup Accelerator gener8tor and American Family Insurance’s Institute for Corporate and Social Impact Seeking to Increase Opportunities for Underserved Groups

MILWAUKEE – Nationally-ranked startup accelerator gener8tor and the American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact are running a program in Milwaukee this Fall to create more resources around recidivism and reducing incarceration. The two organizations will work with Milwaukee-based individuals and teams to develop new ideas to address these topics, and ultimately help them blossom into sustainable companies.

gBETA Social Impact Press Release

Chamber Announces Pressure Chamber Finalists

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Aug. 8, 2019)

Contact: Erik Greenfield, Communications Manager, 608-443-1952 (office), 608-669-7884 (cell)

MADISON – Today the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce announced the five finalists competing in this year’s Pressure Chamber startup initiative, which returns Aug. 27 during Forward Festival, an eight-day celebration of entrepreneurship and innovation in Madison.

At Pressure Chamber, emerging companies pitch in front of a panel of regional investors, business executives and a live audience. The winning company is decided based on a combination of judges’ scoring and audience votes.

The 2019 Pressure Chamber finalists are:

• American Provenance (Mount Horeb) – Manufacturer of handcrafted, natural personal-care and wellness products founded by a former middle school science teacher and launched on his fourth-generation family farm.
• Goods Unite Us (Madison) – Makes it easy for consumers to align their purchases with their politics, with a free app allowing customers to instantly see the politics of more than 4,000 brands and companies and to search by politician to see which companies are donating to them.
• NovoMoto (Madison) – For-profit social enterprise that provides clean electricity, with rent-to-own solar-powered systems, to off-grid communities in sub-Saharan Africa.
• OnLume (Madison) – Medical device company developing an intuitive platform for precise fluorescence image-guided surgery, providing surgeons with critical information on tissue types, features and function in real time during surgery.
• The Virtual Foundry (Stoughton) – Materials company that makes and sells metal 3D printing filaments that work in printers made for plastics.

“Once again this year, Greater Madison’s apex live pitch contest will feature a diverse array of top emerging companies ready to showcase their innovation,” said Chamber President Zach Brandon. “With all the success enjoyed by past winners and competitors, Pressure Chamber continues to send a strong message to the world that Greater Madison is a place of economic acceleration.”

The winning company receives the coveted “golden suitcase,” a trip to San Francisco this fall as part of the Chamber’s exclusive Madison-area startup delegation for meetings with top Silicon Valley investment firms. Past Pressure Chamber winners have credited the initiative for helping their company close successful funding rounds. Additionally, Pressure Chamber has been recognized by both the International Economic Development Council and Steve Case’s Rise of the Rest Summit as an entrepreneurship and economic development best practice.

Pressure Chamber returns this year as part of neXXpo, a showcase of Greater Madison’s most exciting companies that includes attendee voting for the fourth annual Most Innovative Company (MIC) Award. To register for these events, visit madisonbiz.com/nexxpo.

Pressure Chamber is presented by Michael Best & Friedrich, with support from the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, American Family Ventures, Baird Capital, 4490 Ventures, HealthX Ventures, LSB and Rock River Capital Partners.

Pressure Chamber finalists are available for interviews upon request.

For more information about Forward Fest, please visit http://www.forwardfest.org/

About the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce:
The Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce is the voice of business with nearly 1,300 organizations – ranging from one-person shops to corporations with more than 10,000 employees – working to bring the Greater Madison area to its full potential. The Greater Madison region is a leader in innovation. From cutting-edge technologies to distinctive retail shops to inventive services and products, our members vary greatly but are united by the region’s entrepreneurial spirit. More information can be found at madisonbiz.com.

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Mike Odden Joins State Bank of Cross Plains as VP-Mortgage Lending Manager

August 6, 2019, MADISON, Wisconsin— Mike Odden brings nearly 30 years of diverse banking experience in the Madison area to State Bank of Cross Plains (SBCP) as the new Vice President-Mortgage Lending Manager. In this role, Odden will mentor the bank’s mortgage loan officers, as well as help design new mortgage lending programs and products to match the specific needs of customers throughout South Central Wisconsin.

“Mike has spent his entire career helping people in and around the Madison market,” shares Scott Ducke, SBCP Chief Lending Officer. “He has a way of recognizing opportunities to serve his customers with innovative loan programs or simply suggesting we create something new to better fit what people are looking for in our local communities.”

Odden holds a degree in Finance from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Wisconsin Mortgage Bankers Association at both the local and state chapter levels. In addition, he has mortgage lending experience on both the operational side and working directly with customers to provide a well-rounded perspective to this leadership position.

For more information about how a mortgage from State Bank of Cross Plains might help you secure the home of your dreams – or the business or rental unit you’ve been working toward – contact the SBCP Mortgage Lender in your community at (608) 497-4640.

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Agrace Offers Four Grief Support Groups in September, Seeks Hospice Volunteers in Dane County

In September, four grief support programs will be offered at the Agrace Grief Support Center, 2906 Marketplace Drive, Fitchburg. The groups are open to the public and free to people whose family member was in hospice care in the past 12 months; fees can be lowered or waived for others, if needed. Unless otherwise noted, preregistration is required for all groups. Call (608) 327-7118 with questions or to register.

Bridges Grief Support Group for grieving adults meets Wednesdays, September 4 and 18, from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., and September 11 and 25, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. No advance registration is needed, and participants may attend as often as they feel the need for support.

Journey Through Grief is a six-week grief support group series for adults. It  meets Mondays, September 9 to October 14, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Spouse/Partner Loss Support Group is a six-week series for adults who are grieving the death of a spouse or partner. It meets Fridays, September 13 to October 18, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Family Grief Support Program is for families with children aged 5 to 18 who are grieving a death. It meets every other Tuesday, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., September through May. Dinner is included.

Also next month, volunteers are needed across Dane County to help in Agrace’s Madison-area thrift stores, office, kitchen and gardens. A training for these roles will be held Wednesday, September 11, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Agrace in Madison.

Volunteers are also needed to make companionship visits to local Agrace HospiceCare patients in patients’ homes, or in nursing homes or assisted living centers. Training for these roles will be held Monday, September 9, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Pre-registration is required for both trainings. Call (608) 327-7163 or visit agrace.org/volunteer to fill out an application.

Back-to-School Shopping for 21,100 Kids

For Immediate Release

Media Contact: Heather Manke, 608-663-8974

MADISON, WIS. — Having the necessary school supplies helps close the achievement gap and gives students the motivation to be successful in school, career and life. The need is far greater than you think and it has become harder and harder for families to find the resources to purchase the basic supplies needed to send their children back to school. That’s where School Supplies for Kids (SSFK) comes in.

For the past 26 years, School Supplies for Kids, a local non-profit charity, has been asking area businesses, foundations and organizations to donate funds to buy school supplies for economically disadvantaged school children in Dane County. In cooperation with area K-12 teachers, SSFK develops a list of the necessary school supplies students need for every grade level. With the donated funds, SSFK purchases supplies at a greatly discounted price. Thousands of pens, pencils, crayons, folders, papers and other basic school supplies are delivered to a staging area, sorted with the help of volunteers, and then delivered to public schools in Dane County.

A monetary gift has a far greater reach than the donation of items, and allows for elimination of duplication, control of consistency, and streamlines the logistics of collection and distribution. Last year, SSFK purchased roughly $55,720 worth of supplies and delivered to 141 public schools in Dane County. Through this effort, school supplies were made available to an estimated 21,135 economically disadvantaged students. This year SSFK is hoping to raise $60,000.

Donations are welcome both online and by check. All donations are tax-deductible and used entirely for the purchase of school supplies. Learn more by visiting www.schoolsuppliesforkids.org. Please like us on Facebook and follow our page to view our process. For media requests, please contact Heather Manke at 608.663.8974 or hmanke@vogelbldg.com

School Supplies for Kids (http://www.schoolsuppliesforkids.org/) has been serving economically disadvantaged students in Dane County for the past 26 years. The program started with helping just one neighborhood and has grown to include over 140 public schools.

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