WAOW - Newsline 9, Wausau News, Weather, SportsFaith In Action looks for volunteers and gears up for 'Holiday Care-o-ling'

Faith In Action looks for volunteers and gears up for 'Holiday Care-o-ling'

by Natalie Sparacio

WAUSAU, WI (PRESS RELEASE)--  Faith in Action is a non profit organization that service elderly and disabled residents of Marathon County. FIA brings people together from many faith backgrounds to care for their elderly or disabled neighbors in need.www.faithinactionmc.org

Many of the people that we assist are at or well below the poverty level.

Often times they find themselves having to choose between medical care and paying the utility bill or groceries. By providing services at no charge, our clients are able to get to their doctors or pharmacies etc, without having the additional charge for transportation. Our volunteers pick up food at the neighbors place and deliver to home bound care-receivers. Just having a friend who cares helps so much in alleviating depression which so many elderly and disabled individuals suffer from.

Faith in Action volunteers come from all faith backgrounds as well as the community at large. Volunteers help those in need by providing non-medical assistance, at no charge to the care receiver. Services include: Friendly Visiting, Light Housekeeping, Short-Term Respite Care, Shopping with or for a person, Telephone Reassurance Calls, Medical Transportation, transportation for errands, Assistance reading and with paperwork, Seasonal Yard Work, Minor Home Repairs and Construction of Wheelchair Ramps. All of these services are provided at no cost to the care-receiver. However, there are costs associated with providing these services. We rely on funding from grants and fundraiser's and donations from individuals, congregations, corporations and foundations.

The transportation that is provided by Faith in Action is different from the WATS transportation program. Faith in Action volunteers go to the care-receivers door and helps the client into their car, drives them to the medical building, helps them to find the right department, and waits until their appointment is done to take them back home. The county transportation system is curb-to-curb service and if the person is unable to stand outside of their home to wait for their ride, this transportation is un accessible to them.

 Our goal is to help the often forgotten members of our community to maintain their independence by helping them to remain in their homes for as long as possible.

While there is no charge for the services provided by our volunteers, , there are costs associated with providing these services. We rely on funding from grants, fundraiser's and donations from individuals, congregations, corporations and foundations.

Our upcoming fundraiser, Holiday "Care"-o-ling for Faith in Action brings together choirs and instrumental groups throughout our community. This year we have D.C. Everest Jr. High Jazz Band, Wisconsin Valley Lutheran High School Chorale, Wausau Area Ecumenical String Ensemble (which includes High School students from the area), and the choirs from Immanuel Lutheran Church Wausau, St. Anne's Catholic Church Wausau, Lighthouse Pentecostal Church Wausau, and Zion Lutheran Church Aniwa as well as a soloist or two.

The concert begins at 7pm, at Wausau West High School Auditorium this Friday, November 20 and is sponsored by Surgical Associates. Admission is free however, donations will help us to continue to serve elderly and disabled residents of Marathon County. In addition, during intermission there will be a bake sale. If anyone would like to donate their baked goods, we could still use donations of baked items.

These baked items can be dropped off at our office, inside Immanuel Lutheran Church 630 Adams Street Wausau (across from the old East High School) on Thursday Nov 19 between 9-3pm and on Friday Nov 20 between 9-noon. If you need your items to be picked up please contact our office at 848-8783.

We are always in need of volunteers. The volunteer schedules are set to the availability of the volunteer. So if you want to volunteer one day a month, one day a week or just once a year, we have volunteer opportunities for you.

At the moment our greatest need is for volunteer drivers, people to do light housekeeping, volunteers to make deliveries from the Neighbor's Place, and those with carpentry skill to assist with construction of handicap ramps.

I am the Program Director and have been for the past 3 years. Faith in Action of Marathon County was started by a group of concerned citizens in the Wausau area in 2004. Since that time the program has grown to 300 clients and just under 300 volunteers.

Visit us on the web at

Online Reporter: Natalie Sparacio