Ramaker welcomes you back as we share this season’s journey towards spreading some holiday cheer throughout our local communities.  Our 12 Days of Giving begin on December 8 and we have a lot planned this year!

2022 has been a year of reflecting on what life was like pre-pandemic while slowly easing into a new normal and re-establishing the day to day comfort we once knew.  Every holiday season, the team at Ramaker reflects internally – we continue to have a highly dedicated staff of employee-owners, with common interests in giving back within the communities in which we live and work.

We are grateful for our families and friends who support our professional endeavors; but most importantly we are beyond grateful for the communities in which we are entrusted to influence physical space and overall development for years to come.  With this in mind, we focus the efforts of these next 12 days towards making financial contributions and increasing community program awareness during the holiday season.

About Ramaker’s 12 Days of Giving

Ramaker’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) committee instituted the company’s ‘12 Days of Giving’ in 2020. Over a 12-day span in December, the company will donate a total of $12,000 to organizations that our employee-owners hold close to their hearts. Through these contributions, the company aims to highlight local organizations with a variety of missions and investments—including addressing food and housing insecurity, mental health, and community services—and to make sure they have the resources they need for the 2022 holiday season and beyond.

“We started the 12 Days of Giving as a response to the unprecedented strain placed on community resources during the pandemic, especially food.  As we begin our third year of this effort, we have continued to broaden our highlighting of additional community needs and aiming to bring awareness to community resources that may go overlooked.  We are excited to have turned this into an annual event, and look forward to kicking off year three,” said CSR committee chair Joe Gallagher.

Contributions for this year’s 12 Days of Giving will be announced between December 8 and December 23 on this page.

2022 Donations

Day 1

Sauk City, Wisconsin, is home for Ramaker and many of our employee-owners. This year, for Day 1 of Ramaker’s 12 Days of Giving, we’re again donating to an organization that fights food insecurity in the Sauk Prairie School District area: The Sauk Prairie Area Food Pantry.

We are also continuing the tradition of giving back to our local community organizations. Reach Out Lodi and People Helping People of Baraboo provide an outlet for food, personal essentials, clothing and more within their respective communities.

Want to get involved? All three organizations facilitate ample opportunities for volunteering to assist with community endeavors throughout the year.  Click their names to visit each organizations website to learn more about their mission and how you can help.

Day 2

The holidays can be stressful for many families who want to show their children the magic of the season. That’s why on day 2, we’re giving donations towards gifts of toys, books and clothes to children in the Sauk City and Madison areas as part of three community giving programs: The Sauk Prairie Caring Tree, Madison Reading Project, and Toys for Tots.

Day 3

For Day 3 we’re contributing to 6:8’s efforts to transform local communities through service. The organization’s programming and outreach initiatives aim to reduce the poverty rate and eliminate food insecurity in the Sauk Prairie School District area. Learn more about 6:8 on the organization’s website.

We are also donating to the Wisconsin Badger Camp.  Donations allow campers the opportunity to experience hiking, fishing, swimming, archery and arts and crafts during their stay at camp. Although camp is in Prairie du Chien, WI, campers come from all over the state as well as Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota.

Day 4

For Day 4, we are highlighting three more organizations that are making an impact on their communities: The River Food Pantry, the Goodman Community Center, and Feeding Friends.

The River Food Pantry serves more than 1,000 South Central Wisconsin households every week. Since 2006, the food pantry has partnered with local organizations to provide free groceries and meals for low-income families in the Madison area. For our 12 Days of Giving, we are contributing to River Food Pantry’s HOPE Holiday Food Drive. Learn how you can support the pantry’s mission here.

Through educational support and academic enrichment programs, career training services, health and wellness programming, and the Fritz Food Pantry, the Goodman Community Center provides vital resources and classes that help members of the Madison community thrive. Today, we are supporting the center’s Fritz Food Pantry. Find ways to donate and volunteer here.

The Feeding Friends program at Dodgeville United Methodist Church in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, brings various churches and local organizations together to prepare an average of 200 hot, nutritious meals each week for community members in need.

Day 5

For Day 5, we are highlighting two organizations that provide various support, counseling, and resources across South Central Wisconsin.

Kids ranch is an organization founded in 1998 which has established various programs and initiatives for children who are at-risk due to poverty, abuse, death of a family member or learning difficulties.  The organization connects children ages 6-10 with community member partners to help build self-esteem and self-respect through a variety of educational and recreational programming.  The organization is currently very active in the school districts of Baraboo, Reedsburg, Sauk Prairie and the Wisconsin Dells.

Friends of UW Health is a non-profit organization that has been funding programs and services since 1973 that improve the lives of the patients and families they serve and support special health-related needs in the Dane County area.  These programs include…

• Free wigs for more than 450 Carbone Cancer center patients to make coping with a cancer diagnosis a little easier.
• Hotel rooms for patients and families who travel for our care and lack financial resources to cover the additional expenses.
• Financial assistance to under-served and underinsured patients dealing with housing insecurity.
• A bridge supply of food for the first 3-5 days after discharge to food insecure or malnourished patients through the Critical Access Food Pantry.

Day 6

We are donating to two organizations that make a huge impact in South Central Wisconsin: The Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin (CAC) and JustDane.

The CAC’s goal is to transform local communities by fostering conditions that allow everyone to achieve social and economic security. The organization provides services and resources that combat food and housing insecurity and improve quality of life across Dane, Jefferson, and Waukesha counties. Find ways to get involved with the CAC here..

JustDane provides support and opportunities for individuals and families whose lives have been affected by the criminal justice system. Since 1971, the organization has helped transform lives and advocate for more just and equitable communities. JustDane’s Healing House is one of many programs created by the organization. It provides a place for families and children experiencing homelessness to recover after surgeries or medical incidents. Learn how you can support JustDane’s initiatives here.

Day 7

For day 7, we are directing our donations to two organizations fighting food insecurity in South Central Wisconsin: Middleton Outreach Ministry and the Deerfield Food Pantry.

Middleton Outreach Ministry strives to create food and housing security in West Madison, Middleton, and Cross Plains, Wisconsin.

The Deerfield Food Pantry at the Deerfield Community Center fights food insecurity in Deerfield, Wisconsin. The pantry distributes emergency food resources as well as holiday food baskets to families in need. Learn more about the pantry’s current needs here.

Day 8

We are contributing to organizations and programs fighting hunger throughout Wisconsin: The Green Cares Food Pantry, Mt. Horeb’s Neighbors Helping Neighbors, and Beyond Blessed Food Pantry.

The Green Cares Food Pantry in Monticello, Wisconsin, is a volunteer-run pantry that works in collaboration with the Southwest Community Action Program to serve frozen, fresh, and canned foods to low-income families in Green County, Wisconsin. Learn more about how you can help prevent food insecurity in Green County on the pantry’s Facebook page.

Mt. Horeb’s Neighbors Helping Neighbors is a non-profit organization which envisions to be a community resource hub offering services centered on compassion for, caring for, and loving our neighbor. Providing hope and a helping hand to eliminate hunger and homelessness by connecting our most vulnerable citizens with resources that nourish, clothe, and empower them to move from survival mode to a place where they are able to thrive and prosper.  Learn more about Mt. Horeb’s Neighbors helping Neighbors and how you can get involved.

Beyond Blessed Pantry is a volunteer-powered organization addressing food scarcity in Baraboo, Lake Delton, Wisconsin Dells, and surrounding communities.  Their mission is to “treat every individual with dignity and respect while addressing the food scarcity issues at hand”.  Ramaker’s donation will assist them in bringing Christmas cheer to over 600 households this year.  Learn more about how you can help by visiting Beyond Blessed Pantry website.

Day 9

Ramaker is donating to two more organizations; a Food Pantry in Spring Green and to We’ve Got your Back, an organization that provides backpacks to children.

Community Food Pantry in Spring Green, Wisconsin provides emergency food assistance and support for those living in the River Valley School District area.

We’ve Got Your Back’s mission is to provide fully equipped backpacks to underprivileged children for the opportunity to an education.  In January 2022, Ramaker’s Edgar Hernandez was able to travel with this organization to the Dominican Republic to see their work first-hand. Edgar said, “It was amazing to see the impact they have with materials that can be taken for granted here in the United States.”  Most recently, this organization started a scholarship program to supply children with their uniforms, shoes, school materials and more for an entire year.  To learn more about this organization please visit their website.

Day 10

Today we are donating to Tunnel to Towers Foundation: Since 9/11, they have been helping America’s heroes by providing mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children and by building custom-designed smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. They are also committed to eradicating veteran homelessness and aiding the victims of major U.S. disasters.  To find out more about this organization please visit their website.

Day 11

Today we are donating to two organizations that focus on mentoring individuals in Madison, WI; Mentoring Positives and Operation Fresh Start.

Mentoring Positives provides leadership, mentoring, and social entrepreneurship opportunities for the underserved youth of Madison’s Darbo-Worthington Park neighborhood.  These efforts have led to a growth of programs focused on social skills, confidence building and preparation for post-high school years.  Join us in donating to Mentoring Positives on the organization’s website.

Operation Fresh Start empowers emerging adults ages 16-24 on a path to self-sufficiency through education, mentoring, and employment training.  They are taught various construction skills through community-based projects including building affordable homes for low-income families, renovations for community services buildings, and more.  Find out more about this organization here.

Day 12

For the final day, we are donating to NAMI – WI (The National Alliance on Mental Illness).

NAMI Wisconsin is a state organization of NAMI. The mission of NAMI Wisconsin is to improve the quality of life of people affected by mental illness and to promote recovery. NAMI Wisconsin will accomplish its mission through the following:

• Promote public education and understanding of mental illnesses.
• Advocate at all levels of government and throughout the public sector to improve mental health care in Wisconsin.
• Support affiliates by providing follow-up advice and counsel; educational and training programs and materials; access to financial resources as appropriate; and by offering conferences, seminars, and presentations.
• Establish and strengthen local affiliates to keep with NAMI’s principles and guidelines.

Check out the websites of NAMI and NAMI-WI to find out more!

Over the past few weeks, we’ve learned a lot about organizations in communities where our employee-owners live and work. We hope you have too.

If you’re able, please consider joining us in supporting these causes.

About Ramaker CSR

Ramaker’s CSR committee partners with organizations that positively impact the places where the company’s employee-owners live and work. Since Ramaker is an employee-owned company, donations made by the CSR committee are not tax-deductible. Funds are distributed to benefit organizations in need, not to increase the company’s bottom line.

Are you involved with a local organization? We’d love to hear more about how you’re helping your community. Email csr@ramaker.com to get in touch with Ramaker’s CSR committee.