Second Harvest is Providing $200k in Funding for Capacity-Building Grants to Improve Food Equity

MADISON, Wis., January 31, 2022 – Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin announced that they will be providing up to $200,000 in community-directed capacity-building grants to area groups or organizations. These grant dollars are available to advance efforts to increase food equity, as defined by our community. The overarching goal is to learn from and build long-term nutrition distribution strategies with racially diverse communities to address health disparities and advance food equity.

“Everyone in our community should have equitable access to nutritious and culturally-significant food,” said Second Harvest president/CEO Michelle Orge. “We’re excited to see and support the ideas that come from the groups and organizations who will apply for a grant. Their insights on how to increase food equity in our community will help us increase collaboration and strengthen our entire network”.

The grants are designed to increase the distribution of food to racially marginalized communities through new methods, increased product availability, and deeper collaborations.

To be considered for one of the capacity grants:

• Eligible applicants are designated as a registered 501c3 -or-
• Organizations, mutual aid groups, collectives, and tribal organizations that are fiscally sponsored by a 501c3 non-profit
• Applications should support community(ies) within the 16 counties in the Second Harvest service area
• Efforts should be led by, or conducted in partnership with, racially diverse communities impacted by food insecurity

Grant request submissions for a minimum of $2,500 up to a maximum of $75,000 will be accepted until 11:59 pm on March 14. Award amounts will vary according to the strength of the application’s focus on equity and access. Grant funds must be used between April 2022 – June 2023

For more information about the grant, including the grant application packet, visit SecondHarvestMadison.org/Grant.

It’s official: EUA Expands Reach and Services through Merger with Performa

EUA, a leading architecture and design firm has expanded its reach and service offering by announcing a merger with Performa, a De Pere, WI and Atlanta, GA based Architecture + Engineering firm. EUA’s core strengths are in architecture, planning and interior design for industries such as education, workplace, healthcare, senior living, industrial, mixed-use, community, aerospace and science + technology. Combining with Performa’s strengths in architecture and engineering in the corporate office, industrial + manufacturing, higher education and faith and mission-based markets, will give EUA an even stronger regional and national presence.

Click here to learn more about the merger.

Wisconsin Union: Chelsea Manning to Discuss Her Fight for Government Transparency, Transgender Rights at Free Event on Feb. 17

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  
Feb. 3, 2022         

Contact Information: 
Shauna Breneman, Wisconsin Union
Phone: (608) 262-8862
Email: sbreneman@wisc.edu 

CHELSEA MANNING TO DISCUSS HER FIGHT FOR GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY, TRANSGENDER RIGHTS AT FREE EVENT ON FEB. 17

MADISON – Activist and former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning will speak about her fight for transgender rights, data privacy, public service ethics, and government transparency during a Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) Distinguished Lecture Series (DLS) Committee Q&A on Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. in Shannon Hall at Memorial Union. 

All, including those with no UW–Madison affiliation, are welcome to register to attend the free, in-person event here. A ticket will be required for entry to the event. 

Manning’s experiences as a transgender person and as someone who spent seven years in prison, in part, fuel the passionate activist work she will discuss during the Q&A. 

In May 2010, the United States Army arrested Chelsea Manning, then known as Bradley Manning, for leaking almost 750,000 classified government documents to media organization and library WikiLeaks, including battlefield reports on Iraq and Afghanistan and U.S. diplomatic cables. 

She said she illegally downloaded and shared the documents with WikiLeaks, because she wanted to expose the government for its wrongdoings, including the ill-treatment of prisoners and the unreported killing of civilians during military operations. Manning has said that she did not intend to cause harm to United States services members or to the country. 

In 2013, she was convicted of 20 charges, including espionage, computer fraud and theft. The Supreme Court sentenced her to 35 years in military prison. 

“I take full and complete responsibility for my decision to disclose these materials to the public,” Manning said in 2016 on Medium.com. “I have never made any excuses for what I did. I pleaded guilty without the protection of a plea agreement, because I believed the military justice system would understand my motivation for the disclosure and sentence me fairly. I was wrong.”

One day after sentencing, Manning shared her intent to transition from male to female and that she would pursue hormone therapy. 

During her time in prison, Manning fought for gender transition services and support, including hormone therapy; the right to grow her hair long, which was against the male hair standard policy in the prison; and gender affirmation surgery. While ultimately granted hormone therapy and gender affirmation surgery, she faced frequent legal obstacles and endured mental health struggles, which included multiple suicide attempts. 

After seven years in prison, then President Barack Obama commuted Manning’s sentence, resulting in her release from prison in May 2017. 

For Manning, her experiences further illuminated the need to advocate for transgender people’s rights. 

“I believe that defining ourselves in our own terms and in our own languages is one of the most powerful and important rights that we have as human beings,” Manning said. “Presenting myself in the gender that I am is about my right to exist.”

During her WUD DLS Committee-hosted talk in Madison, Wis., Manning will share a look at how she has fought and continues to fight for government transparency and accountability while defending the rights of transgender people. 

Additional upcoming WUD DLS Committee events include UW-Madison Black History Month keynote “Melanin in Media: Ruth E. Carter” on Feb. 27 and “Helen Zia: The Power of Unity and Re-Envisioning America” on March 31. 

The WUD DLS Committee hosts events featuring engaging, influential people to encourage conversations. WUD includes 11 committees and six Wisconsin Hoofers clubs that program thousands of events each year.

Currently, by UW-Madison Office of the Chancellor order, all must follow the UW–Madison health and safety protocol of wearing a face covering when indoors on campus, unless actively eating or drinking.

Those interested in attending the upcoming Q&A can register here.  

-###-

About the Wisconsin Union Directorate Distinguished Lecture Series Committee

The Wisconsin Union Directorate Distinguished Lecture Series Committee contributes to the educational experience of University of Wisconsin–Madison students, Wisconsin Union members and community members by bringing engaging and influential people to campus. Founded in 1987, the series aims to expose the campus community to a diverse and vibrant array of people, backgrounds, and ideas. Learn more: union.wisc.edu/dls.

[Click here to download a photo of Chelsea Manning. Photo provided by Chelsea Manning.]

To read this release online, visit union.wisc.edu/about/news/chelsea-manning.

EUA recognized as Top Workplace USA

EUA is honored to be recognized as a Top Workplace USA by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Top Workplace USA nationally recognizes companies for prioritizing their people first, creating a positive work environment within the company.

With three offices located in Milwaukee, Madison, and Denver, and active expansion efforts underway, EUA continuously strives to maintain a culture of transparency and flexibility to provide employees with opportunities and professional growth.

See more here

One City Schools: Dane County Schools Announce New EdFest 2022 for Families: Collaboration not Competition

Contact:
Ms. Devon Davis
Head of Schools, One City Schools
Phone: (608) 531-2128
Email: ddavis@onecityschools.org

Dane County Schools Announce New EdFest 2022 for Families: Collaboration not Competition

Dane County, WI: Twelve Dane County public and private schools have joined forces to launch Edfest 2022, a new free school information event for the families of children ages 4K through 12th grade residing in Dane County, Wisconsin. View our announcement carried by WKOW Channel 27 by clicking here.

After learning of similar events in other U.S. cities such as Washington, DC, enthusiastic Dane County school leaders from 12 district, public charter, and private schools collaborated to create a free opportunity for families in Dane County to learn about education options available to their children.

EdFest 2022, sponsored by Galin Education and organized by One City Schools of Madison/Monona, will be held virtually from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm CST on Saturday, February 12, 2022. Participating schools will have school representatives and information available for families hoping to learn about the school options available to their children. One City Schools is happy to be an organizer and the chair of this year’s inaugural event.

To register and learn more, visit www.danecountyschools.org. Please share this website with your family members, colleagues and friends.

Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the following schools: 

1. Clark Street Community School (Middleton)
2. Eagle School (Fitchburg)
3. Hickory Hill Academy (Madison)
4. Madison Community Montessori (Middleton)
5. Madison Country Day School (Waunakee)
6. Madison Waldorf School (Madison)
7. Milestone Democratic School (Madison)
8. Nuestro Mundo Community School (Madison)
9. One City Schools (Madison/Monona)
10. Verona Area School District (Verona)
11. WI Virtual Academy (McFarland/Statewide)
12. Wingra School (Madison)

“We wanted to give families the opportunity to learn about a variety of education options available to their children in Dane County,” explained One City Head of Schools Devon Davis. “This group of schools looks forward to further collaborations with all schools in Dane County. We are all here to empower our children to be the best versions of themselves, and different schools do this in different ways. We are all excited about this opportunity to work together to meet the diverse learning needs and interests of every child in Dane County.”

The mission of Dane County Schools is to provide information that empowers families to understand and access a quality education that meets the unique needs and interests of their child(ren) from pre-kindergarten through high school. The group hopes every school in Dane County will choose to participate in EdFest 2023 and beyond, and envisions leaders from each school collaborating on resources and events designed to provide information to parents and families about all Dane County school options.

###

About One City Schools One City Schools, Incorporated is a nonprofit organization that currently operates two schools: a tuition-based independent preschool that serves 2 and 3-year-olds and a tuition-free public charter school, authorized by the University of Wisconsin System, that will eventually enroll children from 4-year-old kindergarten through 12th grade.