Caledonia Sergeants Hand Over Union Dues To Charities

After the sergeants on the Caledonia Police Department voted to disband their union, they decided to donate their union dues to causes they care about.

Five sergeants on the Caledonia Police Department , who used to be part of a union, are giving their dues to five charities. The sergeants had a union, but they opted to disband late last year after there weren’t enough voting members to be able to reconstitute themselves. “The provisions in Act 10 made it less advantageous for us to continue and we found out that we weren’t allowed to negotiate,” said Sgt. Brian Wall in March. “So when we found that out, that’s when our union representative came to us and said you’ve lost your ability to negotiate and we really can’t provide you anymore services, so why pay union dues?” All five members of the Sergeants’ union voted to disband the union. This month, the members decided the remaining dues…

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Brian Dey

7:04 am on Friday, March 1, 2013

More good people wake up to realizing wasting their money on union dues is no longer needed. Say goodbye to public sector unions. Thank you Van and Scott Walker. look forward to having a decent Senator again when Van beats Lehman.   more ›

Fighting Hunger is an “Art” for Empty Bowls

Attendees asked to bring a canned good donation and an Empty Bowl from a previous year.

Help the hungry by getting your bowl filled at the Empty Bowls event on March 4 at the Racine Masonic Center, 1015 Wisconsin Ave. The event features two serving sessions: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. Patrons will enjoy soup and bread from 60 restaurants and bakeries in the Racine area and they’ll receive a handcrafted bowl for $15. Local businesses, schools and potters donate the clay bowls, and local restaurants and individuals donate soups and breads. The event also features live music. Since 1997, Empty Bowls has donated more than $118,000 to hunger and homeless assistance programs in Racine. All profits raised at this event will be donated to HALO and the Racine County Food Bank. Parking is limited so visitors are encouraged to …

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Denise Lockwood

4:12 pm on Wednesday, February 20, 2013

@Sandy, The event happens March 4, but you can help decorate bowls at the Ceramic gardens tomorrow, Friday and all next week. I don't believe there's a minimum age.   more ›

Miles Of Smiles: Jefferson Student Collects Toothbrushes For Homeless

Maren DeSonia collects toothbrushes for the homeless and gets a lesson in community giving for her community service project.

Eight-year-old Maren DeSonia told her parents that instead of getting presents she really only wants her aunt to come visit her on Christmas Day. That’s the kind of kid she is. And it’s one of the reasons she took on her community service project so seriously when her second-grade teacher, Colleen Strain at Jefferson Lighthouse, assigned it to her. The project, part of the school’s International Baccalaureate program, focused on helping students understand their community better and to teach them to be risk takers. The class watched a video on homelessness, what causes it and how basic needs go unmet – like brushing your teeth. Amanda and Maren talked about HALO, and how they help homeless people. Maren said she would like to collect …

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Got An Extra Toothbrush? Student Organizes Drive To Help Homeless

Maren DeSonia wants to help her community by spearheading a drive to collect new toothbrushes to give to HALO, which serves people who are homeless. Here's how you can help.

Maren DeSonia, a second grade student at Jefferson Lighthouse, has a favor to ask the community for her community action project with her class. Here's her letter: My name is Maren. I am 8 years old. I am in 2nd grade at Jefferson Lighthouse School in Racine. My class is doing Community action projects. My idea is to give toothbrushes to the homeless people at HALO. I am asking people to please buy a toothbrush for my project. My goal is to get 50 toothbrushes and then my Mom will take me to HALO and we will give them to the kids and Moms and Dads that live at HALO. If you will buy a kids or big toothbrush this will help me with my project! Thank you for helping others! I am hoping some of my Racine friends/business owners will consider …

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Mike Itzenhuiser

9:18 am on Tuesday, November 27, 2012

It must have been a redneck that invented the toothbrush otherwise it would have been called a teethbrush. :)   more ›

Help HALO and Enjoy Wine at Grapes 2 Glass Saturday

More 1,200 people homeless every day in our community; 40% of whom are children. HALO is there for them, but needs our help with personal product donations. Come to Grapes 2 Glass on Saturday to taste wine and help HALO at the same time!

And the Empty Bowls were Filled

Thousands of bowls, hundreds of volunteers and a whole lot of help for those in need.

Organizers of the Empty Bowls event were hoping to again break attendance records during today at the Racine Masonic Center. And if the lunch crowd an indicator of their success, they were off to a great start. Heidi Fannin, a Caledonia resident and business woman, again helped to organize the community to raise funds for the Racine County Food Bank, which delivers over 400 tons of food to people in Racine County in a year. Empty Bowl is Fannin's baby and a year long effort that included many groups and organizations. To simplify the process of getting your 'empty bowl' filled, you pick out one that you find attractive from the thousands made especially for this event at local schools, artists and organizations. You then take your bowl to …

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Fill Up on Soup and Help the Hungry

Empty Bowls event set for tomorrow, bring your appetite.

If you want to help people in need, all you have to do is fill up a bowl with soup. Empty Bowls, a fund-raiser for the Homeless Assistance Leadership Organization (HALO) and the Racine County Food Bank, will be held Monday. A labor of love for hundreds of volunteers, organizers say well over 1,000 empty bowls are ready for the community to fill. “It’s community taking care of the community,” said Heidi Fannin, the chair for the event. Artists, children, and area businesses have donated the handmade bowls. Area restaurants and individuals, including Sebastian’s, of Caledonia, have made well over 100 different types of soup. Several area bakeries have made and donated bread.  And live music will be provided for entertainment. There’s also a …

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