Our Vision and Mission:
REACH strives to bring about positive, lasting change in the lives of Waupun area youth.
REACH commits to improving the physical, social, emotional, and economic health and well-being of Waupun area youth through building relationships and providing opportunities.
REACH commits to improving the physical, social, emotional, and economic health and well-being of Waupun area youth through building relationships and providing opportunities.
Core Values:
- Building Community that gives everyone connection to community and encourages growth and improvement.
- Fostering Supportive Relationships that model empathy, compassion and acceptance.
- Offering Opportunity through education, mentoring and access to resources.
- Reducing Obstacles to increase resources and improve outcomes.
- Promoting Collaboration that builds strong partnerships among resources, organizations, businesses, schools, churches, and governments.
- Providing Awareness of the needs in our community.
- Encouraging Inclusiveness for all generations and socio-economic sectors.
Our History:
REACH was incorporated as a nonprofit on June 24th, 2015. REACH Waupun was founded by members of the community who saw the needs of area youth, and wanted to find a way to help meet those needs, and tear down barriers. The REACH One mentoring program was started to help combat obstacles through building relationships with caring adults. Following that, the REACH Relief program was created to help provide financial assistance for families, and now provides vital resources to students in need.
Meet the Team
Board of Directors
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StaffExecutive Director: Jayne Harmsen Program Coordinator: Vanessa Paul |
Staff
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Jayne Harmsen- Executive Director Jayne and her husband Todd are both life long residents of Waupun and have 3 adult children and 2 grandchildren. Jayne worked in various positions for the State of Wisconsin for 31 years, and truly appreciates the people she has met and experiences and knowlegde she has obtained along the way. Jayne has been involved in numerous events and committies and has hosted several exchange students.
"Im so very happy to join the REACH team. I love this amazing little town and have wittnessed so many wonderful accomplishments our community has achieved together. I am overwhelmingly excited to be a part of this orgianzation's mission to make important, positive relationships with our youth. Vanessa Paul - Program Coordinator
Vanessa grew up in Beaver Dam, working as a lead childcare teacher for over seventeen years. While working in childcare she maintained her early childhood education degree and is currently working towards an administrative coordinator degree. “I’m thrilled to join the REACH team and to help this program achieve its goals. It’s exciting for me to start a new journey that is strongly involved with the community and providing for the youth. This is a rewarding position for me, and I’m pleased to be an encouraging advocate for REACH. I truly appreciate this opportunity” Vanessa lives in Waupun with her fiancé Mike and three children – Vaidah, Julian, and Londyn. Her family spends lots of time swimming and taking trips to waterparks. They love having picnics at the park and playing board games. Weekends are spent visiting attractions and watching football. Vanessa is always interested in cooking and trying new recipes. |
Board of directors
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Grace Bruins - Board President Grace Bruins grew up in Dodge County and resides in Waupun with her husband Alex and two young sons. After graduating from Central Wisconsin Christian, Grace attended Dordt University and achieved a degree in Communication and Business. She works as the Marketing Officer at Horicon Bank and joined REACH originally as a Marketing and Fundraising Committee Member before joining the Board in 2023. “I’m thankful for the opportunity to serve the Waupun community through the hands and feet of REACH Waupun. Years ago, I served as a volunteer leader for Youth for Christ and saw first hand the need for strong mentors and advocates for our local kids. I love the heart of REACH and the work they are accomplishing. Our mentors are truly changing lives and our staff works tirelessly to support the overall health and well-being of kids in our community.” Charles Lehman - Board Vice President Charles and his wife Roseann have lived most of our 35+ year marriage on a small farm raising all manner of animals, everything from donkeys, to dogs to ostriches etc...just for the fun of it. Now with retirement looming they brought that chapter of their lives to a close and searched for a town to live in, somewhere with some services like a hospital. Charles worked in manufacturing management for the past 30 years, with the last several being a plant manager at a machinery builder in Columbus and that career has helped shape how he thinks about things regarding problem solving, resource management and goal setting, among others. "We really ended up picking Waupun to move to on a chance as we didn't know anyone here nor much about the town but a house isn't permanent if you don't want it to be so we gave it a shot and I'm pleased to say that we have really come to embrace the community. We enjoy hiking the Marsh, and driving around in the summer and discovering more of this band of the state that we know nothing about and all our local businesses. I like to do different sorts of volunteer work when I can and certainly one of the biggest blessings has been becoming a mentor in the Reach program." Sharon Bos - Treasurer Sharon Bos has lived in the Brandon area her entire life. She enjoyed working at The National Bank of Waupun for 42 years and retired in 2020. Sharon served as an original board member with REACH Waupun for five years from 2015-2020 when the program was first organized. She rejoined the Board in 2023. Sharon has two married children and 10 grandchildren. She enjoys reading, golfing, shopping with friends and spending time with her family attending many sporting events her grandchildren participate in. “The REACH Waupun program has always had a special place in my heart and I’ve seen the great ways we can affect the children that we serve.” Sharon has also worked with the Holiday Help program in Waupun and has been a member of the Waupun Kiwanis Club for many years. She enjoys being involved in the Waupun community. Jill Embertson-Majors - Board Secretary Jill has lived in Dodge County her whole life and in Waupun for over 8 years with her son, Dylan. She has been in banking for almost 20 years, with almost half of that time spent with Horicon Bank, currently as a Treasury & Commercial Payments Analyst. In her spare time, she loves spending time with her family, taking trips all over Wisconsin, and especially loves going to Dock Spiders Baseball games in Fond du Lac. She is also a current member of Waupun Fine Arts and Waupun Festivals. BJ DeMaa - Board Member B.J. is a lifelong resident of the Waupun area and graduated from Waupun High School in 1996. "God has blessed me with a beautiful and amazing wife, Katie, along with 2 daughters, Kaylin and Brianna. I love spending time away with my family and watching my daughters participate in the passions they have. My hobbies include occasional golf and anything related to the Waupun Fire Department." Amber McClinn - Board Member Amber and her husband Shawn live in Waupun with their four children; Justin, Josh, Jaron, and Jadyn. As a family, they enjoy traveling, exploring new places, and just hanging out together. Much of their time is also spent at the various sporting events that the kids are involved in. Amber works for the Waupun Area School District as the MVP ASK/ Family Resource Coordinator, where she was part of an initial group that brainstormed ways to address needs and bridge gaps within our community, out of which REACH was born. Hannah Casper - Board Member Hannah grew up in Mayville and currently resides in Fond du Lac with her husband and corgi. Hannah attended UW-Oshkosh, and upon graduation accepted the position of After School Program Manager at RRIS. Over the past 5 years managing the After School Program, she has developed many positive relationships with Waupun students and their families. This 2020-2021 school year, Hannah will begin her position as Waupun Area School District’s Family Advocate, as well as continuing to manage the After School Program at RRIS. “I am so excited to become a more integral part of REACH Waupun by serving on the board. The organization's mission to bring positive, lasting change to the lives of Waupun area youth is so important, I just have to be a part of it. I look forward to contributing my knowledge of the needs of Waupun youth to help improve students’ well-being.” Pat Jonker - Board Member Pat is a Waupun native, and graduate of Central Wisconsin Christian and Dordt College. She currently works at CWC as a MS/ HS resource teacher. Pat and her husband live on a small farm outside Brandon. Pat has four daughters and one son, along with two son-in-laws and two grandsons. Pat enjoys reading, hiking and being with her grandchildren. She also just started kayaking for fun! "I became involved with the mentoring program in 2016, and have loved building a relationship with a very special young lady. I believe REACH has the potential to be a positive influence in the Waupun community and want to be a part of that growth process." Jodi Tank - Board Member Jodi was born and raised in Waupun but currently lives near Alto. She has 3 grown sons Nate (Kayli), Matt (Kylie), Nick (Shannie), and 6 wonderful grandchildren. I am retired from the Waupun Area School District where she worked as a first grade teacher. Jodi now spends her days watching her grandchildren and working part time as the Nursery Director at Edgewood Community Church in Waupun. "I’m excited to serve on the REACH Board as I am passionate about their mission in helping the youth in our community." Derek Drews - Board Member Derek has been employed at FVSBank for the last 16 years. He is a 1997 graduate of Waupun High School and a 2002 graduate of Ripon College. He currently reside in Cambria with his wife Ami and 4 children Madisyn, Mason, Carter and Callen. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his family which includes many sporting events and family trips. "I look forward to giving back to the community that I grew up in. REACH is a wonderful program and I am excited to be a part of it!" |