New this year to Partners in Giving! Did you know there’s a series of Lunch & Learns each Tuesday throughout the campaign, introducing you to some of the 500+ charities that benefit from your Partners in Giving generosity?
The 1st Lunch & Learn took place October 11, featuring the topic “Housing and Shelter,” with Tenant Resource Center Executive Director Robin Sereno sharing a glimpse of the organization’s work to advance housing justice in Madison, in Dane County and across Wisconsin. (And did you know the Tenant Resource Center has an office right here on campus to help UW students learn about their tenant rights and responsibilities?)
Check out the Lunch & Learn schedule below, or on the Partners in Giving website.
What’s your Partners in Giving story? Which of the 500+ Partners in Giving charities has a special place in your heart? Share your story!
Why I give
Corissa Runde, Division of Information Technology editor and Partners in Giving co-chair, shares why she gives:
On the beautiful, terrifying night when my son Adam was born—3 months early—these words changed everything:
“Your baby is no longer safe inside your body.”
Even 14 years later, I’ll never forget the pained, compassionate look on my doctor’s face as he said them—nor the urgent flurry to whisk me off to the OR for an emergency C-section.
Fear. Terror. Anger. Panic. Foreboding. The awful, aching sense that my body had betrayed me—and had betrayed our beautiful, helpless, firstborn baby boy.
This isn’t how moms and dads should enter parenthood. This isn’t how a baby’s life should begin. And it certainly isn’t how a child’s life should end—as Adam’s did, just 25 days later.
This is why I support Partners in Giving, every single year. Because our donations help fuel organizations like the March of Dimes, which fights steadfastly for the health of all moms, babies and families. Supporting the March of Dimes has been a deeply meaningful outlet for our grief. But it’s also broadened my perspective and passions.
As a March of Dimes volunteer and former Madison board member, I have learned over the years about deep, entrenched, structural—and, frankly, horrifying—racial health disparities, both in Wisconsin and nationwide.
And the March of Dimes is taking action, working to end health equity gaps for all families. Last year, March of Dimes made a big impact on the 2021 Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, a package of 12 bills that builds on existing maternal health legislation—making a real difference for tens of thousands of undeserved women across the country.
And in my own family, March of Dimes-supported research investigating innovative progesterone therapy helped my husband and I bring our son Benjamin into the world 11 years ago—healthy, full term, and loved beyond measure.
Thank you for letting me share my story, and please consider a donation to Partners in Giving this year—maybe even for the first time. Even $1 a paycheck can be the difference it takes to make our community healthier and stronger.
Find a cause close to your heart! When you give to Partners in Giving, you may choose to give to umbrella organizations like Community Shares and several others. But you also have the option to browse the Partners in Giving booklet (or even search for specific keywords) to find organizations you’d like to support through your donation. Find out about the ways to donate here.
Partners in Giving Lunch & Learn series
Charity Topic: Disability Services
When: Tuesday, October 18, noon-12:3opm
Where: Virtual (register here)
Charity Topic: Education
When: Tuesday, October 25, 12:30-1pm
Where: Virtual (register here)
Charity Topic: Mental Wellness
When: Tuesday, November 1, 11:30-noon
Where: Virtual (register here)
Charity Topic: Veterans
When: Tuesday, November 8, noon-12:30pm
Where: Virtual (register here)
Charity Topic: Children and Family Services
When: Tuesday, November 15, 12:30-1pm
Where: Virtual (register here)
Charity Topic: Environment
When: Tuesday, November 22, 11:30-noon
Where: Virtual (register here)
Charity Topic: Community Improvement
When: Tuesday, November 29, noon-12:30pm
Where: Virtual (register here)
Charity Topic: Animal Welfare
When: Tuesday, December 6, 12:30-1pm
Where: Virtual (register here)