The ThedaCare Medical Center-New London Quasi Endowment Fund recently awarded $131,722 in grants to 16 nonprofits and programs in the New London area.
The grant program helps support and enhance community health, health care outreach, education, patient care, rehabilitation and wellness services contributing to a better quality of life for people in the Wolf River Area. Communities include Clintonville, Embarrass, Fremont, Hortonville, Manawa, Marion, New London, Shiocton and Weyauwega.
“Providing support to New London-area nonprofits and programs is central to our mission of improving the health and well-being of the communities we serve,” said Jenny Derks, associate vice president of critical access hospitals, ThedaCare. “Through their work, these grant recipients help us address critical community needs by providing essential services such as mental health assistance, physical fitness and well-being opportunities, covering basic needs, emergency response, nutritious food assistance, and more.”
Sixteen organizations and programs were awarded grants for 2026. They include:
Allen Mattson Wheelchair Ramp Foundation, Inc.: Funds will help support efforts to build and install wheelchair ramps for residents with mobility issues residing in the Clintonville School District.
City of New London Parks and Recreation: Funds will support efforts to improve the Hatten Park trail system by adding standardized trail markers and a comprehensive map for enhanced safety, as well as interactive features like fitness QR codes and a Storybook Trail to promote multigenerational engagement and wellness.
Clintonville Area Food Pantry: Access to nutritious protein remains one of the greatest challenges for food-insecure households in the community. Funds will be used to secure fresh and frozen protein sources to meet consistent demand.
Clintonville Community Meal: Funds will help support the Clintonville Community Meal program. The program serves anyone in the community “a good, homecooked meal.” It also helps connect people in the community with services and social contacts.
Clintonville Public Schools: The financial support will aid the school’s athletic program as it upgrades equipment and revamps the student strength and conditioning program space. The program is working to increase student participation.
Community Clothes Closet: Funds will support the Clintonville Traveling Closet. The closet is a vital, access-centered program that brings free, functional clothing directly to residents of Clintonville and the surrounding rural communities. Such residents typically are facing financial hardship and barriers to accessing the Community Clothes Closet brick-and-mortar location in Menasha.
Compassionate Connections Center, Inc: Funds will help support the Nutrition Mission weekend food backpack program. The program was created to help address the growing need for food security among students in the Clintonville Area School District. Many children rely on school meals as their primary source of nutrition and weekends can leave families facing difficult gaps. The program ensures students have access to nourishing, reliable food when school meals are unavailable, supporting both student health and family well-being.
Embarrass Volunteer Fire Department: Building on the recent success of training four new Emergency Medical Responders, the department will utilize the funds to enroll and equip additional volunteers in order to achieve a 24/7 emergency coverage for the community.
Friends of the New London Public Museum: The funds will help the museum’s Healthy Spaces Initiative modernize essential health and safety infrastructure such as free menstrual product dispensers, AEDs and standardized first aid kits within the public facility and help them meet current community and municipal standards.
Goodfellows of Clintonville and Marion: Funds will support the association’s 2026 Kids Coat Distribution. The event provides winter coats, snow pants and boots to families in need living within the Clintonville and Marion school districts.
Manawa Rural Ambulance Service: Funds will aid the purchase a second LifeArm mechanical chest compression (CPR) device for placement on a backup ambulance, better ensuring both units can deliver uninterrupted, high-quality chest compressions, improve provider safety and maintain advanced life support capabilities on every cardiac arrest response.
New London Area First Responders: The funds will help support the purchase of updated radios that better ensure reliable emergency communication with 911 dispatcher centers and ambulance personnel, with the goal of improving response times and patient care.
Project Backpack New London: Funds will support Project Backpack’s efforts to make sure students don’t go hungry over the weekends when food may be limited at home. Each Friday afternoon or the last day of the school week, the program provides participating school children a backpack filled with healthy food and snacks. The child returns the empty backpack to their school to be restocked with food for the following Friday.
Rawhide Youth Services: Funds will support the organization’s Community Counseling Program which is dedicated to addressing critical mental health challenges among Wisconsin’s youth.
School District of New London: Funds will help support the Cartwheel initiative, a mental health resource that provides virtual support to students, families and staff in school districts nationwide.
Trinity Lutheran Church: Funds will help support Trinity’s Grab and Go Meals. The program provides free meals to New London-area residents in need.
The ThedaCare Medical Center-New London Advisory Board reviews applications and awards grants once each year.
Applications for funding in 2027 will open in January. For more information, please contact the Foundation at NLQuasi@thedacare.org.
Visit this link for photos of the 2026 New London Quasi Endowment Fund recipients.
