Lend a Hand Community Service Program & Operation Gratitude

For many years, we have been promoting our after school & summer program kids to participate in community service projects. It is our mission to provide quality, out of school care that will inspire our local youth to be contributing, productive and responsible community members through intentional programming that supports positive character development and unique opportunities to grow as individuals.

We are proud to introduce our new Lend a Hand Community Service Program (previously Torch Club) which will provide our BASE kids invaluable experiences giving back to our community and beyond. We will be offering a variety of Lend a Hand programs to our BASE Kids on a consistent basis throughout the year.

In partnership with Rock River Dental, our first project will collecting candy for Operation Gratitude. We invite our BASE kids & members of the community to donate a portion of their Halloween candy to Operation Gratitude, who through the generosity and hands-on efforts of the American people, send Care Packages to all who bravely serve our nation. Operation Gratitude has sent over 2 million care packages to those who serve.

Candy collection will be from Monday, October 29th-Friday, November 2nd at all four BASE sites from 3-6pm. BASE will also be collecting candy at the Fort Atkinson Trunk or Treat event on Wednesday, October 31st from 6-8pm at Jones Park.

Have a community service project idea for BASE? Contact us today!

Harvest Dinner Thank You

The Boys & Girls Club of Fort Atkinson hosted their first ever Harvest for the Club Dinner on Wednesday, October 10th which featured local foods, prepared by local chefs to support local kids during the crucial hours after school. The event was held at Kutz Dairy Farm LLC. The master chef style event featured appetizers, a salad & soup and two entrees prepared by Jones Dairy Farm’s Shaun Edwards, Mike Scott from the Fireside and Sally Behling from Fort Health Care. Dinner was followed by a fresh baked Brickhaus Cafe cookie and pumpkin custard prepared by Mike Scott.

Although a first year event for the Boys & Girls Club of Fort Atkinson, it was the last official event hosted by the organization as they recently transitioned to Badgerland After School Enrichment (BASE) Program, a locally operated non-profit on October 15th. The organization unveiled their new BASE logo & mission statement at the event and provided updates regarding their transition to the new organization.  “We are so appreciative of the support of our donors and community as we transition to BASE. This is a significant opportunity to refocus our local efforts to support kids during after school hours. We felt confident and empowered by our local community and the generous support we receive to make this transition so we can best serve our kids. ” Said Alicia Norris, Executive Director of BASE.  

Community support has been as important as ever and the organization has several event sponsors to thank including MK Cellular, Fort Health Care, Fort Community Credit Union, Premier Bank, Badger Bank and Spacesaver Corporation. A special thank you to the Kutz Dairy Farm for their incredible hospitality. Thank you to The Fireside Dinner Theatre, Fort Health Care and Jones Dairy Farm for supporting this event by providing supplies and such supportive and talented chefs. Additional event support and in kind donations were provided by Jim’s Cheese, Hooks Cheese, Rushing Waters Fisheries, Festival Foods, The Rotary Club of Fort Atkinson, Wine & Roses, Regenerative Roots Farm, Good Times Farm, Berres Brothers Coffee, Brichhaus Café in Jefferson and the efforts of many volunteers.

BASE plans to continue the event in 2019. Additional information regarding their 2019 fundraising calendar will be available soon.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Fort Atkinson was established in 2006 to provide the children of Fort Atkinson a positive place for afterschool. BGC made the full transition to BASE on October 15th which continue to provide programs to help build bright futures for youth through after school programs during the critical after-school hours from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. If you would like to volunteer or have questions, please contact Alicia Norris at (920) 568-8858. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram or visit their website at www.basefortatkinson.org

Introducing BASE Fort Atkinson

Starting on Monday, October 15th, BGC began operating as Badgerland After School Enrichment (BASE) Program, a new local independent non-profit organization. This is an incredible opportunity for our new organization to focus on our local families. Now more than ever, we will be looking for community support to help build a strong and sustainable BASE moving forward. Please consider joining our Board, a committee, or making a financial donation to support BASE Program kids.

BASE will offer the same quality after school and summer programs to support kids in our community. Our operations, special events and fundraising efforts will continue as usual during this transition. Alicia Norris and Melissa Napiorkowski will continue as the leadership staff and our part time staff will remain as employees of BASE.

Our new www.basefortatkinson.org website is live and we are proudly displaying our new BASE logo. Our logo was designed by Jacob B. Morgan. Make sure to visit his website at www.jacobbmorgan.com, or follow him on Instagram @jacobbmorgan, to check out more of his design portfolio.

We appreciate the support of our staff, volunteers, donors and community partners through this exciting opportunity to strengthen the support of our local families. Please reach out to Alicia Norris at 920-568-8858 if you have any further questions.