Capital Region Business Journal

Capital Region Business Journal, Kids in Nature, Outdoor Recreation, philanthropy / 04.03.2010

Eight-year-old Savanna Lee is discovering wonderful things about the world around her. “I learned that there’s a whole bunch of stuff under the water,” she said, “things like bugs and beetles, not just fish. It’s exciting!” A student at Glendale Elementary School in Madison, Savanna is among many local children that benefit from an environmental education program offered by the Aldo Leopold Nature Center. Every Monday afternoon for ten weeks of the year Savanna and her classmates explore nearby forests, streams and marshlands. Called Nature Nuts, the course creates safe and enjoyable outdoor experiences for area youth whose families cannot afford traditional after-school activities.
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Capital Region Business Journal, Madison, Magazines, Music, philanthropy / 15.02.2010

Gabrielle Seals is an aspiring piano student with big ambitions. “I want to go to Juilliard,” she says. “But for my career… my career, career I want to go to Harvard to be a forensic anthropologist.” This Madison sixth grader, age 11, only started taking piano lessons in September. And despite her family’s economic challenges she’s already making plans for the future. Thanks to a unique program called Piano Pioneers Gabrielle can include training in music on her application to the Ivy League. “I’ve done some research and Harvard is a really good school,” she says. “Graduating from there I’ll be eligible to go anywhere in the world.” Bright and precocious -she skipped the 1st grade- Gabrielle is one of many children in Dane and five adjacent counties who receive free piano lessons. They are also provided with a used instrument from the Steinway Piano Gallery of Madison so they can practice at home.
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Capital Region Business Journal / 12.10.2009

Don SchusterThere’s an old joke. Show me a farmer and I’ll show you a man out-standing in his field. For guys like Don Schuster excellence in agriculture has never been more challenging. Increased government regulation, low market produce prices and a changing global climate make for an intricate labyrinth of obstacles to navigate.

Owner with his wife Theresa of Schuster’s Playtime Farm, this fifth generation crop grower is constantly coming up with new ways to make the most of his patch of land on Highway 12 just outside of Madison in the town of Deerfield. Through the fall months at the height of the harvest season he opens his property to the general public to provide a fun educational experience that also helps to raise money for those less fortunate in our community.
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Capital Region Business Journal, Magazines, Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Radio / 09.06.2009

[caption id="attachment_115" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="David Overlin receives $10 to give away at Summit Credit Union in Fitchburg"]Click here to play audio: Pay It ForwardDavid Overlin receives $10 to give away at Summit Credit Union in Fitchburg [/caption] This story aired June 9, 2009 on Wisconsin Public Radio James_001>> Several weeks ago David Overlin was given a $10 bill. He was one of few thousand people in Southern Wisconsin asked by Summit Credit Union to pay the money forward. In other words, Overlin was tasked with giving the cash away to someone who could use it more than he could.
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Capital Region Business Journal, Magazines / 08.06.2009

Team-Joy-TripThere’s a fabulous business over in the Allied Drive community, just south of the Belt Line Highway called Dream Bikes. What’s really amazing about this little company is that it combines just about everything that The Joy Trip Project is all about. Supported by Trek Bicycle, Dream Bikes gets low-income families and individuals into the sport of cycling while providing practical job skills training. Young people from this economically challenged part of town not only get access to gainful employment, but they’re exposed to a healthy lifestyle activity that lets them enjoy recreation time outdoors. Working in conjunction with the Boy & Girls Club of Dane County, Dream Bikes provides both its customers and employees with exercise and non-polluting, sustainable transportation to school, work and play. A micro-lending program offers free financing toward to purchase of a bike for those with limited ability to pay. And because they specialize in used bicycles, the company helps to recycle and repurpose old equipment that might otherwise be left to rust in dusty basements or worse area landfills. Dream Bikes offers a great community service.
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