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Our Story…

It is with very heavy hearts that the 4PeteSake Board has decided to cancel the Day in the Park on Sunday, August 15. We feel with the rise in cases of the Delta Variant, we can’t run the event safely for all that would attend. Even though it’s an outdoor event, we have many kids that come and also older people that may have health issues we don’t know about. We do not want to be responsible for spreading the virus anymore than it already has.

That being said, the health officials we contacted have no problem with us continuing with the Run/Walk/Bike as people will not be in close contact with each other. If you have already signed up for the Run/Walk/Bike and would like to participate live and in person, we will see you on Sunday morning. If you decide to do this event virtually and have already registered, please contact Megan Bond at meganpbond@gmail.com if you registered to run or walk or Lisa Roelke at lroelke3@gmail.com if you registered to bike in order to arrange t-shirt pick-up. If you haven’t registered and want to participate, you can go online at www.4petesake.com or simply show up at 8am at North Park on Sunday August 15. All events begin at 9 a.m. Commemorative t-shirts were only available with registration before August 1.

The Golf Outing at the House on the Rock Resort on September 17 will go on as planned. If you would like to register for this event, please go to www.4petesake.com for more information and the registration materials. If you have questions, contact Caryn Birkhauser at cbirhauser@4petesake.com.

The 4PeteSake Board will be meeting in the near future to decide next steps. We may have a smaller event in the Fall as we see how the COVID numbers are doing. Stay tuned for further announcements as we move forward in this difficult time. We certainly didn’t think this would be the direction we would be taking when we geared up for The Day in the Park in late Spring.

As always, if you would like to donate to 4PeteSake, you may do that online at www.4petesake.com or by mailing your donation to PO Box 577, Spring Green, WI 53588. Donations at this point are vital if we are to continue our work of helping those in need in the River Valley area.

Please stay safe and healthy and thank you for your continued support of 4PeteSake!

The 4PeteSake Board

Please feel free to Register for the events or Donate here:

Fall 2020/Spring 2021 Recipients

John Acker
Lone Rock’s John Acker used to go a million miles an hour. A self-employed
jack-of-all-trades since he was 18, John kept busy building, roofing, siding, doing car
repairs – whatever someone needed – for almost 40 years. And then last August a fluke
slip during a roofing job sent him tumbling 20 feet to the ground. He broke his femur and
his pelvis; and shattered his wrist and several vertebrae. And just like that, a lifetime of
activity came to a halt. Eager to recover after multiple surgeries and a month in the
hospital, Acker worked hard at rehabbing his broken body. He had to relearn how to sit,
to walk, to dress himself, and to shower – all while enduring excruciating pain. Nearly a
year later, he’s learning that willpower alone isn’t always enough. He can get on his feet,
but only for 20 minutes at a time. “Sometimes I feel like I’ve hit a wall,” he says. To keep
busy, he dusts and vacuums, does the dishes, plants flowers, listens to ‘70s rock and
roll, and minds his many bird feeders. “I’d make a very good wife,” he jokes. With John’s
work future uncertain, he and his wife Tracy reached out to 4PeteSake. “They saved our
house,” he says.

Donald Grass
Donald and Jordean Grass are natives of the Driftless area who settled in Lone Rock in
the early 2000s “for a change of life.” With health issues keeping them both from
working, that life is a low-key one now filled with card games and trips to the store.
Good budgeting has kept the Grasses on top of their monthly bills, but when their trailer
needed significant repairs earlier this year to meet the requirements of their lease, they
realized they needed help. After seeing an article about 4PeteSake in the paper, they
reached out. 4PeteSake was able to help the Grasses make the necessary repairs.

David Ray Davenport
Born in Verona and raised in Mazo, David Ray Davenport spent 32 years operating a
forklift at Norske Wood Works in Black Earth. He’s lived in Lone Rock since 1999.
Retired now and on a fixed income, Davenport reached out to 4PeteSake when his
furnace needed replacing. While he waits for cool temps to return, Davenport plans to
spend the summer scavenging garage sales for a bike to help him rehab an injured leg.

Natalie Nicoll
Natalie Nicoll is a fighter. She’d lost six siblings to cancer when she was diagnosed
herself in 2014. She beat it. “The doctor came in and told me ‘you’re cancer-free.’ I
couldn’t believe it.” But in August of last year, the cancer returned. “I’m turned 85 in
March – and I want to take one more trip,” she says. Nicoll had an itinerant upbringing,
moving from New York state as a child to places as far-flung as southern California,
Waco, TX, Douglas, AZ, and Goldfield, NV (now one of the country’s most famous ghost
towns). She settled with family in the River Valley in the early 70s. She currently lives in
Lone Rock with her son, her daughter-in-law, and her five-year-old chihuahua Faun.
She has plans to visit family in Oregon this summer. 4PeteSake has been able to help
with expenses while Nicoll undergoes treatment.

Regina Caldwell
Caldwell and her family moved to Spring Green in 2019. They love it here. 8th grader
Zach started a successful lawn and snow removal business. But then in April of last
year, Caldwell’s husband David suffered a heart attack, requiring triple bypass surgery.
It sent the family reeling. Uninsured and without a steady source of income, Regina did
what she could to keep the family of four fed and a roof over their head. She applied for
loans and used the food pantry. But she was still falling behind. That was when
someone suggested that Caldwell reach out to 4PeteSake. “If anyone out there needs
help, they should apply,” says Caldwell. “They helped us so much.”

Heloise Idstein
“The universe opened its helping hands for me,” says Spring Green’s Heloise Idstein.
Idstein – a native of South Africa, who moved to the area in 2015 with her husband
Frank Chaffee – received a cancer diagnosis in May of last year. She was uninsured. “It
felt like the bottom had fallen out,” she says. Scared and anxious about the financial toll
the diagnosis would take on her and Frank, she was also worried about not having a
reliable vehicle to get her to treatments. She recalls running an errand to People’s
Community Bank, where she was told: “There is help.” A day later, she got a call from
River Valley Commons, who put her in touch with 4PeteSake. “The people in this
community really help,” says Idstein. “They don’t just offer help, they jump right in.”
4PeteSake worked with Darlington’s Virtue Motors to get Idstein a car, which proved its
reliability earlier this year when she experienced a medical emergency. “We could have
taken an ambulance—or the car,” says Idstein. “We took the car.”

Shawna and Andrew Fromfeld
The Fromfelds and their 11-year-old twins were expecting 2020 to be a challenging
year, but what they got was so much more than they anticipated. In November, 2019,

Shawna was diagnosed with a brain tumor. In December, she learned that it wasn’t a
single tumor—it was two. Surgery was scheduled for April, 2020, but when Covid hit, it
was postponed. And that’s when the Plain family got more news: they were about to
become foster parents. “We were approved to foster in early 2019 and had been waiting
for a placement,” explains Shawna. “And just when my surgery got delayed, we learned
we’d been selected.” Two brothers, 7 and 9, soon joined the Fromfeld household.
Shawna finally had her surgery in June, but remained out of work for months while she
recovered. The family – now six – needed help. A school counselor referred them to
4PeteSake. “They understood that it wasn’t just the big things that we needed help
with,” says Shawna. “It was the daily bills that can get overlooked when you’re focused
on the biggies. They’re miracle workers.”

Andrew Pardee
Spring Green’s Terri Pardee has to laugh so she won’t cry. “Andrew needs to stop being
in the top ten percent of everything,” she says. Pardee’s son Andrew was the
valedictorian of River Valley’s 2016 graduating class. He went on to graduate with
highest honors at UW-La Crosse and just completed his first year of doctorate work with
a 4.0. But then earlier this year, during a routine checkup, doctors discovered a
pea-sized lump in Andrew’s neck. They said there was only a ten percent chance that it
was cancerous. Soon, Andrew was being scheduled for surgery. He had Papillary
Thyroid Cancer. While he takes radiation treatment and waits for the fall to find out if
he’s cancer-free, Andrew continues working toward the career he’s been preparing for
since he was in 4th grade: physical therapy. He’ll intern this summer in Reedsburg with
fellow River Valley alum Dr. Craig Johnson. 4PeteSake was able to help the Pardees
cover some medical expenses that weren’t covered by insurance.

Other Notes:
● Mark your calendars for Thursday, June 24th (with the Camela Widad) and
Thursday, July 15th (with The Solstice Jazz Band).
2021 4PeteSake Golf Outing
● Friday, September 17th at the House on the Rock Resort and Golf Course
● Limited to 36 teams. Registration – and sponsorship opportunities – at
4petesake.com
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 16 years of generous support!

Apply for assistance
● The next funding cycle is tentatively scheduled for fall, 2021.
● 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.
About 4PeteSake
Since 2005, 4PeteSake has provided over $1 million of assistance to more than 90
recipients.
4PeteSake is run by a 9-member, volunteer group. The independent committee is part
of the public outreach program of Christ Lutheran Church, which gives 4PeteSake
access to a 501(c) 3 organization, allowing contributions to be tax-deductible.
The committee chooses at least one recipient each year through an application process.
Recipients must live within the boundaries of the River Valley School District and find
themselves in circumstances, through no fault of their own, for which assistance is
needed. All recipients must have had medically related needs.
The group’s mission is to raise money to assist recipients in a way that can substantially
change their circumstances and impact their quality of life.
For more information on how to participate in 4PeteSake, visit www.4PeteSake.com.

2020-2021 4PeteSake Committee Members
Jean Alt | jalt@4petesake.com
Ellie Barta-Moran | ebarta-moran@4petesake.com
Pam Gauger | pgauger@4petesake.com
Caryn Birkhauser | cbirkhauser@4petesake.com
Megan Bond | mbond@4petesake.com
Svea Youngquist | syoungquist@4petesake.com
Natalie Iausly | niausly@4petesake.com
Evelyn Matten | ematten@4petesake.com
Jeannie McCarville | jmccarville@4petesake.com
Todd Miller | tmiller@4petesake.com

Eligibility and Selection

Recipients must live within the boundaries of the River Valley School District and find themselves in health-related circumstances, through no fault of their own, for which assistance is needed. All applications are reviewed by the 4Petesake Committee, who determine the number of recipients to be funded and the amount that each recipient will receive.

Our recipients are often completely overwhelmed by their circumstances; to be able to provide for their most immediate financial needs is such a relief to the constant anxiety they feel every day.

Sincerely,

The 4PeteSake Committee