Holiday Happenings at Moraine Park!

The end of semester is always a busy time for students as they are working hard to finish up their end of semester projects and prepare for final exams. In spite of all this, Moraine Park students still found time to give back to their communities this holiday season.

Students in Moraine Park Technical College’s Electrical Power Distribution (EPD) Club rang bells for the Salvation Army at Racheck’s and Shopko in West Bend on Dec. 4, 2013. Pictured from left: Andy Luedtke, Tanner Holzhueter and Erik Hefner.

In Fond du Lac, Student Senate sponsored a diaper drive for the Fond du Lac Family Resource Center. The group also held a Bone Marrow Drive for Be the Match last month. During the drive students learned how to get involved in donating bone marrow through the Be The Match organization.  Many clubs around campus also held drives to collect hats, mittens and food that will all be donated to local organizations.

In West Bend, the Chiropractic Specialist Club, Cosmetology Apprentice Club, Electricity Club, Graphics/IMD Club, SAGA Club, Student Senate, SMARTS Club and the Student Nurses Association held a campus-wide food drive. The West Bend Student Senate and the Student Nurses Association collected items for the Kids2Kids Toy Drive. Kapco’s Kids2Kids toy drive collects over 20,000 toys for low-income children through Southeastern Wisconsin.

 

Winner of Mo-Vember at Mo-Raine Park, William Milbrot.

The Beaver Dam Student Senate found a creative way to raise funds and awareness for men’s health issues through a month-long event called Mo-Vember at Mo-Raine Park. Participants took before and after photos, one clean shaven at the beginning of the month and another at the end of the month and invited anyone to vote for their favorite Mo-Vember moustache for $1. The club also sold Kwik Trip gift cards with a portion of the proceeds donated to the Elks Christmas Baskets, which provides food baskets for families during the holidays. Between the two fundraisers over $700 was raised for the Elks Christmas Baskets. The Human Resources Club conducted a toy drive in conjunction with the Dodge County Toy Bank. The Electrical Power Distribution (EPD) Club rang bells for the Salvation Army. The Beaver Dam Student Nurses Association conducted a food drive for St. Vincent de Paul.

Students in the Beaver Dam and Fond du Lac chapters of the Multicultural Club collected school supplies and other donations this winter to support the Blue Mountain Project. The Blue Mountain Project is an organization committed to improving the health, education and economy in rural Jamaican communities. Some club members and other Moraine Park students will be bringing the items to Jamaica this January during their study abroad trip through Moraine Park’s International Education program!

I am so proud of the effort Moraine Park students have put into giving back to our communities. Their actions are so inspiring.  If you’ve been giving back this year, please be sure and share efforts in the comment section below!  

Moraine Park honored with American flag

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a special dedication ceremony for a flag given to Moraine Park by Nathan Huenink, son of Moraine Park Dean of Basic Education, Sandra Huenink. Nathan flew the flag at Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan during one of his tours of duty as thanks for the care packages he received from the Moraine Park Supports Our Troops effort.

Staff members Sue Wiese and Kathy Hass put together and send the packages to troops. They sent Nathan packages through his three tours of duty, two in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. In total, they have sent out 90 packages to 17 different service members. I know I say this often, but I am so incredibly impressed by the generosity and hard work of the staff at Moraine Park. These sorts of activities are not things that appear in someone’s job description, instead they are done out of pure kindness to support our staff and their family members. Thank you to Kathy and Sue for your time and effort put into this!

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our students and staff who are veterans. We currently have about 150 student veterans enrolled at Moraine Park. We are always looking for opportunities to provide the best resources possible for our students. In fact, just last year Moraine Park started a Student Veterans Club that was recently recognized as an official chapter by the Student Veterans of America.

I highly encourage everyone to take a look at the new flag located in the hallway outside of the Student Services Office. It is truly an honor to receive such a special gift and to be a part of honoring our veterans. Please feel free to leave me a comment below; I would love to hear from you!