News updated May 12, 2012 ??

 

Friendship Center is playing host to a wonderful team of young people from the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) from May 3rd through June 7th.  The NCCC is a federal team-based national service program for men and women between the ages of 18 and 24.  Corps Members serve a full-time, ten-month term, working on projects to meet community needs in five main program areas:  disaster services, energy conservation, environment, infrastructure improvement and urban and rural development.

The nine Oak II team members are part of the AmeriCorps NCCC North Central Region.  They work a full-time week on projects such as:  painting the lower level walls and ceiling, picking garlic mustard and removing other invasives such as honeysuckle, multi-flora rose and prickly ash, removing box elder trees near the creek, developing a trail near the creek, removing old barbed wire surrounding the property, mowing and brushing, painting the building exterior, laying ceramic tile on the lower level floors, repairing the road, building a rock wall and flower bed and many other tasks and projects that the FC volunteers would never be able to finish on their own. The team is living at Friendship Center during their service time.

In addition to their 40 hour week, the team will be offering community service to nearby Folklore Village and work with some local youth on a specific project.  These wonderful young people are only a week and one day into their five weeks of service and have already completed an astounding amount of work.

Friendship Center volunteers are providing supervision for the projects and work along side these energetic team members.  Head coordinator is Dave Pearson and helping with supervision are Gretchen Pearson, Karen Tennessen, Jane Kavaloski, Bill Briska, Dave Phillips, Nancy Pickett and Mary Wacker.

Be sure to check back here for updates and photos of their progress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ice Climbing

Two groups of Indiana University students drove from Bloomington, Indian eight hours each way to stay and Friendship Center and ice climb at Governor Dodge St ate Park.  With such an unusually warm winter and lack of lasting snow, the first group got lucky and actually had some ice to climb!

 

Friendship Center Featured in Local Newspaper

Jean Berns Jones of the Dodgeville Chronicle produced a lovely feature article for the October 6th newspaper.  To view the article (pdf file), click HERE.

Remodeling Update

Friendship Center received donations of two bunk beds for the new bedroom and a large futon for the living room.

Mary Wacker and Ellen Miller spent a weekend at Friendship Center cleaning the kitchen and painting the walls.  New metal shelves were added to the kitchen to allow additional, needed storage.

Dave Pearson installed an exhaust fan in the upper level bathroom and Bill Briska painted the bathroom walls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to everyone who helped make Friendship Center more user friendly, clean and efficient.

 

Spring Spruce-up Success

Seven  students and one Mom from Dodgeville High School Key Club and National Honor Society picked mountains of garlic mustard.  Four students from UW Platteville  Circle K Club mulched trails, mowed, help paint lattice work on the near bunkhouse, and helped clean the two bunkhouses.  Other volunteers painted the south side of the house, replaced deck boards, cleaned the lower and upper levels of the house, cleaned bunkhouses, cleared trails of fallen branches and trees, built a wood storage area near the house, stacked wood and provided a huge lunch.  Thank you!!

There are always maintenance jobs to do at Friendship Center – indoors or outdoors.  For instance, the office and bedroom area need priming and painting before June 4th (see next news item)  If you can help out with a particular project, call or email:  (608)935-3613 info@friendshipcenterwi.org

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More Improvements

Dave Pearson, Jerry Koerner and Bill Duwell modified the old office into two rooms.  The small back room will be used as a sleeping area for a person who is unable to navigate the trails to the bunkhouses.  The outer room will be office and storage space for Friendship Center and The Center for Independence.

Dave and Tom Boehm have installed an exhaust fan in the upper level bathroom.  Thank you to these volunteers for their time and expertise for these needed improvements.

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Friendship Center  Tote – You’ll want to own one!

Order your beautiful Friendship Center tote today.  This medium sized tote is 17 1/2 by 13 inches and made of heavy duty canvas with long handles for carrying over-the-shoulder.  Colors are off-white with dark forest green trim with the Friendship Center logo in  browns and greens.  On the back is printed “. . . to inspire learning and love of the natural world”.

Price is just $15.00 plus mailing cost.

Contact us at info@friendshipcenterwi.org or call 608.935.3613 to order your tote.

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Something New at Friendship Center

Why is Gus Quade smiling?  After months of planning and weeks of construction, Gus has completed his Eagle Scout project. . . and lucky for Friendship Center, his project is a new, safe fire pit, beautiful benches around the fire pit, a wood storage unit a few feet from the fire pit and railings up a steep and rocky part of the hill to the fire pit

Neighbors Bill Briska, Dave Pearson and Phil Mayer cut some large trees to be made into half logs for the benches.  Gus and his family held a bake sale and a rummage sale to help finance the project.  They also were able to get some donations.  Bill, Dave, Gus’ Dad, Mitch and Gus prepared the logs in July and the rest of Troop 165 assisted, under the direction of Gus, to assemble everything up the hill.  They spent two Saturdays working at the Center with a camp out Saturday night as their reward.

Thanks to the troop leaders and friends, Gus’ parents and sisters, the boys of Troop 165, Dave, Bill and Phil for a beautiful addition to Friendship Center.

For pictures of this wonderful project click here.   However, you really need to see it in person!

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Camp Improvements

The lower bunkhouse spruced up with a screen door, window screens and small porch.  Thanks go to Tom Boehm, Gary Olson and Dave Pearson. With all the rain this year, the insects have multiplied so these new screens will make sleeping more pleasant.  On the left is the bunkhouse with its new screens, door, small porch and stairs.

The bunkhouse was originally built back in the late 70′s and has been re-roofed and painted over the years.  It’s still a favorite bunkhouse for some – nestled in the woods against a hill.

 

With so much wind and rain lat year, several trees fell along the path to the upper bunkhouse.  Neighbors Phil Mayer, Tom Boehm and Dave Pearson quickly dispatched the problem with their chain saws while Karl Pearson-Cater, who just happened to be visiting his parents, piled the logs on the sides of the path.

For those who have used Friendship Center in the past, you know the bathrooms were in dire need of improvement.  Thanks to many friends of Friendship Center who donated to our maintenance  and improvements fund, the bathrooms  have been updated.

 

Dave Pearson, Brian Pruka and Bill Briska painted, caulked and skillfully installed new sinks, high rise toilets and counters (made by Bill).   Jane Hammat Kavaloski made colorful  new curtains for the stalls.

Counter, sink and cabinets for the upper bathroom were donated by Mary Wacker and installed by Bill Briska.

Thank you all for your hard work, expertise and donations.  Also, thank you to those of you who answered our appeal letter last fall and sent funds to do these projects.

Friendship Center Scholarship Fund

Board members Vince Kavaloski and Dave Pearson have started a special scholarship fund for children who have attended Friendship Center’s children camps in past years and in the future. The fund has been invested in a socially responsible PAX World Balanced Fund and will be available to campers who have participated in our Children’s Camp and have completed High School, assisting them with higher education expenses, whether college or technical school. It is hoped that the FC Scholarship

Fund will further motivate FC Campers to do well and stay in school. If you would like to donate to this fund, please send your donation to: Friendship Center 3973 Evans Quarry Road Dodgeville WI 53533 Friendship Center is recognized as a Charitable Organization by the State of Wisconsin, License #780, and the Internal Revenue EIN 23-7112657 as described in section 501(c)(3). Your donation is greatly appreciated and is also tax deductible. Thank you to all who have contributed to this fund.
nfo@friendshipcenterwi.org