When you see a need, fill it.4PETESAKE ANNOUNCES RECIPIENTS, DATE FOR DAY IN THE 2019 PARK
Spring Green, WI – What happens when “getting by” means not getting better?
When illness, injury, chronic pain or prolonged hospitalization destabilizes the life of an individual or family, financial stress can make recovery an even bigger challenge. Since 2005, generous contributions from area residents and businesses have allowed the Spring Green-based charity 4PeteSake to provide assistance to more than 90 River Valley residents facing economic hardship in the wake of a medical crisis.
Fall 2018/Spring 2019 4PeteSake recipients are: Amy Peterson and Rick Roll from Arena; Christine Nabors and Kathryn Quest from Clyde; Mikalah Banker, Bonnie Schouten and Daniel Wilson from Lone Rock; and Suzanne Cody, Linda Huff and Renee Tertin from Spring Green.
4PeteSake’s annual fundraiser, The Day in the Park, is scheduled this year for Sunday, August 18th.
4PeteSake thanks the River Valley Community for 15 years of generous support. To make an online contribution, visit 4petesake.com or send checks to P.O. Box 577 Spring Green, WI 53588. Checks should be made out to Christ Lutheran Church/4PeteSake.
Fall 2018/Spring 2019 Recipients
Mikalah Banker
When Lone Rock’s Mikalah Banker was in 8th grade, she started having fainting spells and anxiety attacks. She’d end up at the doctor’s office multiple times a week. For more than a year her doctor told her she was fine, that she was “just that age.” Then, by chance, she was seen by a new doctor – Dr. Kevin Whitney, now in Mauston – who sent Banker to the Mayo clinic to get tested. She was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), which affects circulation most often in teens. Symptoms like passing out, dizzy spells, chronic fatigue and chest pain can be triggered by changes in the weather or intense heat or cold. Banker had been managing her POTS for eight years when last spring she started to experience seizures. While doctors tried to figure out what was causing them, she got a no-drive restriction and was unable to work. Her landlord – Lone Rock’s Marilyn Jensen – told Banker and her fiancé about 4PeteSake. They were able to help Banker catch up on household expenses.“We didn’t want to ask for help. We wanted to do it on our own,” says Banker. “But they were amazing to work with and made things so much easier.” Banker and her fiancee are planning an August, 2020, wedding.
Suzanne Cody
Suzanne Cody is an Illinois native who has called the River Valley home since the early 90s. After a long career in sales that often had her out on the road, she took a job in town at Spring Green’s General Store so she could spend time with her two boys as her youngest finished high school. Rex (Derezinski) graduated from River Valley HS in 2012 and Benjamin in 2017. But then in December, 2017, Cody took a bad spill on some icy pavement resulting in a broken tailbone and, more significantly, a bad concussion. “I thought I broke my head,” she remembers. Doctors at the time warned her that she could experience concussion-related symptoms for at least a year. And they did. Dizziness, issues with balance, speech and memory. And intense headaches. And then just a couple of months later, in March, 2018, another fall, this time at her home late at night. Another concussion – and a busted up face from the cupboard that broke her fall. She missed work and bills started accumulating. Her mother-in-law finally convinced her to reach out to 4PeteSake. “If it wasn’t for 4PeteSake, I would have been out on my butt,” she says. For rehabilitation, Cody has turned to a long-time passion: art. The former graphic design major has a show scheduled for this October at the Spring Green Library.
Linda Huff
Born in Richland Center, but raised in Mazomanie, Spring Green’s Linda Huff relocated to the River Valley area to care for her mom. She loves the Spring Green community, the nice people, the library. But last spring Huff ended up spending the weekend in the hospital with trouble breathing. The cause was mold that had developed in the ceiling of her home. When Teri Pardee, a fellow parishioner at Spring Green Community Church, heard that Huff was having trouble paying for the repairs, she suggested that Huff reach out to 4PeteSake. After getting Huff’s application, 4PeteSake contracted Mike Layton of Layton Building Services to do the repairs on Huff’s home. “I wanted to cry,” says Huff. Her health has recovered.
Amy Peterson
Having lived through her mom’s battle with bladder cancer and her own breast cancer diagnosis a decade earlier, Arena-native Amy Peterson didn’t need a doctor to tell her that she was in for another fight. This time it was ovarian cancer. 7 small tumors that required a full hysterectomy. The surgery earlier this year eliminated the cancer, but it also meant that Peterson was out of work for eight weeks. A bus driver and office manager for Lamers, Peterson has two daughters – a senior who graduates this spring from River Valley HS and an eighth grader. She also has a new granddaughter. She had no income, but the bills kept coming. “I don’t like to reach out, but when your hands are tied, your hands are tied,” says Peterson. “You’re watching every dime and nickel.” She got in touch with 4PeteSake and they were able to relieve some of Peterson’s debt. Getting that financial relief, she says, “makes you feeling stronger.”
Renee Tertin
An arts and nature lover and a musician, all it took was a visit to American Players Theatre years ago for Tertin and her husband Chuck Wyman to fall in love with the River Valley. The pair played in a garage blues band for several years, with Tertin on bass. Then in January of last year, Tertin was laid out with a viral illness that first went into remission, then returned in a more debilitating form that proved difficult for doctors to diagnose and treat. She spent much of the year in and out of emergency rooms, with chronic fatigue, mobility issues, intense stomach and sinus pain and other symptoms. She couldn’t work. Bills piled up. When Chuck saw the call for 4PeteSake applications last fall, they decided to give it a shot. “I’ve been very aware of all of their good work from the beginning,” she said. “But I never thought we’d be the ones needing help.” 4PeteSake was able to help Tertin with some debt accumulated during her illness. “4Petesake is a godsend,” she says. “Every community should be so blessed to have an organization of caring individuals who do the right thing for no other reason than it is the right thing.”
Rick Roll
Arena’s Rick Roll tells a story about going in for treatment for his terminal bone cancer. He was irritable. Tired of waiting. When the nurse called him in, he said something nasty to her. Then he saw a 12 year-old in a wheelchair. Another cancer patient. “More tubes coming out of her than you would believe,” Rick remembers. “No kid should have to deal with that.” Rick’s 2016 diagnosis has given him perspective. It has also meant living in near-constant pain, with loose joints and brittle bones. A 25-year veteran of Madison Gas & Electric, Rick was forced to stop working, cutting his household income by two-thirds. He knew he needed help, but even after a friend told him about 4PeteSake, he balked, waiting months before submitting an application. “It was pride,” he says. “I didn’t want to belittle myself by asking for help.” But he’s grateful he did. 4PeteSake has been able to help Rick and his family get caught up on household expenses. “I’ve talked to other people, people with new cancer diagnoses,” says Rick, “and my advice to them is to reach out to 4PeteSake. Not to wait until things get really bad.”
4PeteSake’s 2019 “Day in the Park” – Sunday, August 18th
- The Day in the Park is 4PeteSake’s largest annual fundraiser, often bringing in over $40,000 to help River Valley residents in need.
- The 15th annual Day in the Park will be held on Sunday, August 18, from 11am to 7pm at The North Park in Spring Green.
- To help support 4PeteSake, all you have to do is show up!
- Enjoy music from local bands, food and drink, kids’ activities, a silent auction and a raffle drawing.
- The day also features a 5k run/walk and a 26k bike ride. Registration forms are available at 4petesake.com or register the morning of the event.
- Tickets for this year’s 4PeteSake raffle can be purchased at area businesses or from any 4PeteSake committee member. They may also be purchased on the day of the event.
- For more details about Day in the Park 2018, visit 4petesake.com.
Local Nights at The Shed
- On June 20th and August 8th, you can find 4PeteSake committee members and volunteers at The Shed’s Local Night in Spring Green.
- Purchase Day in the Park t-shirts and raffle tickets or drop by to learn more about how to help support the organization.
- Mark your calendars for Thursday, June 20th (with the Solstice Jazz Band) and Thursday, August 8th (with Psycherelic).
Volunteers Needed
- The 4PeteSake committee is always looking for volunteers
- There are many ways to help, and assignments can be adjusted based on the talents and time commitment you can offer.
- The Day in the Park
- Staffing and organizing activities
- Set-up and clean-up
- Selling raffle tickets
- Publicity
- Baking and preparing food
- Help organize and run smaller fundraising events during the year.
- If you would like to get involved, please contact 4PeteSake Committee member Jean Alt at jean.m.alt@gmail.com.
Donate
- To make an online contribution, visit 4petesake.com or send checks to P.O. Box 577 Spring Green, WI 53588. Checks should be made out to Christ Lutheran Church/4PeteSake.
- 4PeteSake thanks the River Valley Community for 15 years of generous support!
Apply for assistance
- The next funding cycle is tentatively scheduled for fall, 2019.
- Additional information and application forms are available online at 4petesake.com.
- Applications are also available at Arcadia Books, 102 E. Jefferson Street in Spring Green.
- Completed applications should be mailed to: 4PeteSake, P.O. Box 577, Spring Green, WI.
- Applicants may also write to the address above to request that an application be sent to them.
- Questions about the application process may be directed to 4PeteSake Committee Member Todd Miller at 608-588-4619.
4PeteSake provides funds for River Valley residents who, through no fault of their own, find themselves in health-related circumstances and are in need of financial assistance. Applicants must be residents of the River Valley School District.
