Platteville Optimist Club

Christmas for Kids-Southwest Wisconsin is bringing joy to children this holiday season. As  Jaqueline Varholik explained to our Optimist Club when she spoke to us in July, they believe every child deserves Christmas. They are working hard to help struggling families make that happen. Shown above, Optimist members, Mark Essex and his wife Karen and Kim Woodworth and his wife Barb volunteered at a recent Wrap Party. Another Wrap Party will be held at Peace Lutheran Church on S

Platteville Optimist Club President Terri Ellis, left, presents a check to Danielle Lynch, representing the Platteville Holiday Project. The organization assists families in our community who are in need of assistance during the holiday season. They organize the annual "Coats For Kids" drive and distribution where they collected 184 coats this year and distributed them to 58 families. They also manage the "Adopt-a-Family Program" where individuals and businesses can help i

Royal Palmer Doreen Hlavaty, Royal, President Terri Ellis Royal Palmer Royal Palmer, co-owner of the Driftless Market & Deli spoke to us about the challenges of being a small business owner in rural Wisconsin.  In late 2019, Royal left his job with Target Corporation in Minneapolis and moved to Platteville with his husband Tony.  Together with Royal’s sister Robin and her husband they purchased the Driftless Market in February of 2020. The timing of the purchase could no

L-R: Optimist Member Doreen Hlavaty; Monica Mueller, FASD Community Resident; Epiphany Garner, CNA; Angie Coffman, FASD Community Resident Epiphany Garner, CNA, spoke to our club about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), which are lifelong physical, developmental, behavioral and intellectual disabilities caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol and drugs. It can impact as many as 1 in 20 children in the U.S., more than twice the rate of autism, according to the CDC. The