Relay For Life Ceremony to Honor Cancer Survivors and Remember Those Lost

This year the American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Wausau is teaming up with The Neighbor’s Place! 

“Each luminaria represents the life of someone who has battled cancer. It is a beautiful sight when all the bags with candles are illuminated around the track,” said Dana Weigel, volunteer Luminaria chair. “The Luminaria Ceremony is a moving way to remember loved ones lost to cancer and to pay tribute to cancer survivors.”

The event planning committee will be accepting donations of canned goods from the community which will be used to anchor the Luminaria bags during the Relay For Life event.

Donations will be accepted prior to the event at the following locations: American Cancer Society office, Connexus Credit Union-Pine Ridge Blvd, CoVantage Credit Union-all branches and Rassmussen College. 

Donations will also be accepted during the event prior to the Luminaria Ceremony at 10:00pm. All canned goods collected will be donated to The Neighbor’s Place at the Closing Ceremony at 9:00am on June 9th. Information about the Luminaria Ceremony, how to donate canned goods, or how to become involved in the Relay For Life is available at RelayForLife.org/wausauwi or by calling 715-848-2882.

The Neighbors' Place Free Market, stocked by donations, offers clothing and furnishings to those in need. Every day, those who have extra belongings donate, and every day, those who are in need seek assistance. We’re glad to be able to bring the two together.

Individuals and businesses from throughout Marathon County donate good, usable items they no longer need. From furniture and housewares, to clothing and toys, we warehouse the items and offer them to others who find themselves in need.

Individuals and families who are in need are provided with items during personal, private visits. Periodically, we open up the Free Market to anyone in the community to browse through items not on the critical supply list.  

Donations can be dropped off at the back entrance to The Neighbors’ Place, off Jefferson Street. Enter through the bright green door, or talk to someone at the loading dock. Receipts for tax deductibility are provided upon request.

For hours and information on The Free Market, please contact Kathy Rubino at 715-845-1966 or kbr@neighborsplace.org.

The Neighbors' Place Christmas Assistance Program provides gifts to children who might otherwise go without. Each year, more than 1,000 children receive gifts – either through the sponsor program or our Christmas Store.

In our Sponsor Program, parents register their children to receive gifts fitting to their wish lists – normally in late October or early November. Often times, children ask for items many would consider necessities – shoes, mittens, clothing. The Neighbors’ Place shares these wish lists, which include the child’s photograph, first name and age, with individuals who volunteer to be Sponsors. The Sponsors buy a gift for the child and deliver it to The Neighbors’ Place by the deadline. Shortly before Christmas, parents pick up the gifts and bring them home to be opened as part of their family celebration.

The Christmas Store is an opportunity for families who were unaware of or unable to register for the Sponsor Program.  Held close to the Christmas holiday, the Christmas Store is stocked with gifts for children of all ages, from infancy through high school.  These gifts are all donated by area individuals, groups and businesses.  Parents who wish to shop for their children come to the Store, register, and are assisted with shopping by TNP volunteers.  Gift wrapping is available, volunteers are available for children’s activities (to keep them busy while their parents shop), and the big jolly guy from the North Pole has been known to stop by too!   

There are many volunteer and giving opportunities for individuals, families, friends, businesses and groups. Please consider getting involved!

                

Please contact Naomi at 715-845-1966 or naomi@neighborsplace.org for more information on The Christmas Assistance Program.

The Neighbors' Place is in need of donations of money, non-perishable food, and household items and clothing in good condition.

Bring food to The Neighbors Place food pantry, or contribute to the many food drives in our community, or at local super markets. We are in most need of canned or boxed foods, prepared meals, and staples like sugar and flour (Top 10 needed food items).

Drop off items only during our open hours, 9-5 weekdays.  Please do not drop off items at night or on holidays or weekends.

Household Donations Program

The Neighbors' Place collects and distributes clean, useable household items to people in need. Items such as clothing, furniture, small appliances, tools, dishes, glassware, and kitchen utensils can be brought to The Neighbors' Place during regular business hours (9 a.m. - 5 p.m., M-F). We do not accept items after hours or on weekends or holidays. 

Contact The Neighbors' Place at (715) 845-1966, or e-mail our director Tom Rau at tom@neighborsplace.org.

How to Volunteer

The Neighbors' Place depends on hundreds of volunteers.  It's easy to sign up. Just call (715) 845-1966, or e-mail our director Tom Rau at tom@neighborsplace.org.

What do we need? Folks with a caring heart and some extra time to help us with answering the phone, mailings, maintenance, and other important tasks.

Please consider a financial donation to help support the programs of The Neighbors’ Place benefiting those in need in our community. Your financial support provides the vital support to enable us to operate our food pantry, free market donations, adult and children education and community garden programs. All donations no matter what size are greatly appreciated and essential to supporting our programs.  All contributions to The Neighbors’ Place are tax-deductible.

Donate by Credit Card:

General Fund

Annual Appeal Fund

Donate by Check:

Checks can be made out to The Neighbors' Place, and can be mailed to us at:

Donations may also be designated to the following permanent funds established at the Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin to support The Neighbors’ Place:

The Neighbors’ Place Fund: click here to donate
A permanent endowment fund designed to help people in poverty in Wausau and Marathon County by addressing basic human needs.

The Neighbors’ Place Community Garden Fund: click here to donate
Supports the operating needs of a Community Garden program in the Wausau, Marathon County area, as determined by The Neighbors' Place Board of Directors.

Thank you for your support!

For 22 years, The Neighbors' Place has been making a difference in the lives of area children through tutoring, cultural programming, recreation and more. We work with other groups and agencies such as the Wausau School District, 4-H, Salvation Army, YWCA and YMCA, Boys and Girls Club, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters to connect the children in our community with their programs.

Call Naomi Peters at (715) 845-1966,

or e-mail naomi@neighborsplace.org for more information.

For many years, The Neighbors' Place has been teaching English to non-English speakers, and providing life-long learning opportunities to a diverse population of community members with a variety of literacy needs. Mothers with children, husbands holding down two jobs, young adults just coming to America...people from all these groups participate in our programs.

The classes offer a highly personal atmosphere, with a curriculum tailored to individual needs. It is the only program in our community offering experiential learning and  tutoring.

The Neighbors' Place is now helping adults obtain job and computer skills.

For information contact Tom Rau at
The Neighbors' Place (715) 845-1966,
or e-mail tom@neighborsplace.org.

"Sharing is Caring," a concept realized by all individuals participating in The Neighbors' Place Community Garden program last summer. The garden, 12 acres of land divided into 40' X 40' plots, is donated to The Neighbors' Place by 3M.

More than 300 families benefited from the generosity of this land donation and program on plots laid out by The Golden Kiwanis and tilled by The Hsu's. Each family plants vegetable seeds of their choice, maintains the success of the garden, and harvests the crops for their own consumption.

The program requires that the sharing is passed on. Ten percent of each family's harvest is to be returned to the community. In 2009, 15,000 pounds of produce was donated to the Food Pantry.

Gene Jacobson, garden coordinator, weighs the produce, turned in by each family, and collects them for distribution.

The Neighbors' Place receives produce for their food pantry which is open to everyone in need. On Fridays, however, Gene delivers fresh produce to The Salvation Army for their daily dinners. The Boys & Girls Club, of Wausau, receives cucumbers and peas upon its availability from the gardeners.

Impressively, the sharing goes even further. Two organizations, YWCA and Professional Services Group, benefit from the garden as well. "Buds and Sprouts," a program coordinated by the YWCA, gives young children the opportunity to have hands-on experience in gardening and sharing their harvests. Adolescents participating in a program, coordinated by the Professional Services Group, fulfill their community service by working in the garden.

We couldn't do the garden without the generous help and support from several area organizations. Thanks to the Golden Kiwanis Club for laying out the garden plots each year, to Hsu's Ginseng Enterprises for cultivating the ground, and Swiderski Equipment Inc. for the cultivating equipment.

More than 300 families visit our food pantry every week. We stock non-perishable items, such as canned and boxed foods, and staples like flour and sugar. We are the local distribution point for government surplus foods. Depending on the season, we sometimes have venison available.

Food pantry hours are:

* 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
* 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Wednesday

Families are eligible to visit the food pantry once every three weeks.

How to Organize a Food Drive
The Neighbors' Place depends heavily on the generosity of area organizations and businesses which conduct food drives on our behalf. To organize a food drive, contact The Neighbors' Place at (715) 845-1966, or e-mail our director Tom Rau at tom@neighborsplace.org.

You will need to:

* Publicize the drive within your group
* Inform participants of the kinds of foods needed
* Provide a collection point

The Neighbors' Place can pick up the food if necessary.

Top 10 Food Items We Need
1. Canned meat
2. Boxed dinners
3. Cereal
4. Mac and cheese
5. Pasta
6. Stews
7. Canned fruit
8. Juice
9. Canned veggies
10. Soup