Communities in Action

Literacy skills are a key predictor of an individual’s health status. After attending the 2009 Health Literacy Summit in Madison, WI, Literacy Network of Dane County developed English for Health, an award-winning program that helps adults with low literacy learn about good...

In 2012, WISDOM—a faith-based organization that includes representation from 145 congregations and 19 different religious traditions across Wisconsin—and its partners launched the 11 X 15 Campaign for Justice. The 11 x 15 Campaign has the vision of reducing Wisconsin’s prison population from 23,000 to 11,000 by 2015 by promoting...

Faced with widespread poverty in their rural county, a group of concerned citizens in Burnett County, Wisconsin, came together and formed Citizens Against Poverty (CAP). Many of the folks in the county were struggling to make ends meet; this had been the case, for some, for generations. Faced with the daunting task of tackling cyclical, generational poverty, the CAP taskforce began a...

When Kids Depot Childcare in Madison, Wisconsin, wanted to help kids be more active, they set an ambitious goal: two hours of physical activity every day. Teachers weren’t sure it could be done, but through Active Early, they learned how...

Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen helps farmers, small businesses, and schools turn fresh produce into meals and shelf stable food. Using the legal, state-inspected, commercial sized community kitchen, entrepreneurs can develop and process their products. Farmers can sell nutritious produce that might otherwise go to waste....

With Milwaukee teen birth rates more than twice the national average, the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and its partners publicly committed to a comprehensive, multi-component intervention campaign with an ambitious goal: in 2008, they pledged to reduce births among 15 to 17 year olds by 46% by 2015. To launch this effort, United Way gathered partners from across the greater...