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Our Story…

4PeteSake is taking applications until March 27th, 2025.

The 4PeteSake Board will be accepting applications for its Spring Funding Round until March 27, 2025. Applications can be found on the website at  www.4petesake.com, picked up at Arcadia Books in Spring Green, or requested by mail at PO Box 577, Spring Green, WI, 53588.

Please contact Todd Miller at [email protected] or at 608-588-4619 with any questions.

Applicants must live within the boundaries of the River Valley School District and find themselves in health-related circumstances, through no fault of their own, for which assistance is needed.  All applications are reviewed by the 4Petesake Board, who determine the number of recipients to be funded and the amount that each recipient will receive.

2024 Fall Funding Recipients
You matter. The River Valley community cares about each other. This is never more apparent than when I look at the cycle of help and hope provided by 4PeteSake in our community each year.

March 27th is the spring deadline for applying to be a 4PeteSake recipient of that help and care and hope. If you, or a loved one, face extraordinary financial need and are unable, through no fault of your own, to provide for yourselves. Your community is here for you.

The generosity of people in the River Valley has brought comfort to the following community members over the last year. I invite you to read their stories and know that they are forever grateful for the contributions you have made in the past. You made a difference.

Jayne Beresford

Tenacious. Joyful. God-loving. These are the words running in my thoughts as I leave my visit with Jayne. In spite of the uncertainty from her medical condition (she has a seizure disorder that is not being controlled in spite of maximum dosage of anti-seizure medication), Jayne has a sweet sense of humor, is gentle and thoughtful, and has a remarkably positive attitude.

She told of a hard day in which she chose to challenge herself to come up with 100 things that bring her joy in order to help herself get off the couch. She humbly shared how quickly she was able to do so. When she thinks about surviving a head-on collision, she doesn’t ask, “why did this horrible thing happen to me?”, but rather, “why did I survive?” and then she feels grateful. Her gratitude leans heavily on her belief in, and love for, God, and her constant sense of his love for her. Christian music brings her joy, as does her love of reading.

Jayne moved to Spring Green in 2022 where she then married her husband, Nathan. She came from Beaver Dam where she had grown up, and has found our community to be very welcoming, full of good people, and interesting events. She refers to it as a “Mayberry” feel in all the good ways: neighbors know each other and look out for each other, a meal at Anita’s means conversations with multiple acquaintances, and events, such as the Country Christmas activities, and the 4PeteSake Day in the Park all are completely open and welcoming. She is grateful this is her community.

In spite of no longer being able to drive, she still goes to Middleton where she works at a Chiropractic office. This means relying on Nathan, or others such as his long time friend, Jessie, to drive her to and from work, a 4 hour daily commitment. Her demeanor when talking about her work family is filled with more gratitude, appreciation, and joy, a theme in all that she shared.

She doesn’t claim to be strong, that feels cold to her; instead she says that she is tenacious, she keeps on going with the help of her communities here and in Middleton. For her, that is because life is good, and God is good. For Jayne, being soft and vulnerable is a sign of caring, and she would rather be seen that way than as strong and therefore, in her mind, hard.

Jayne is grateful to 4PeteSake for helping her try to get to a better place. She feels that the organization has encouraged her to say, “Yes, you can do it,” and that helps motivate her. She also wants to thank the people in the community who have contributed to the organization and made it possible for her to hang on to her tenacity. In addition to the community at large, she wants to thank the people at the Spring Green Community Church for their support, too. She feels very blessed by all of you.

Laura Robson

Laura came to the River Valley in 2019. She had found her to-be husband online, and that burgeoning relationship led her to leave her home and family in the suburbs of Chicago, where she lived with her sister, Ashley, and settle in our Valley. In spite of the isolation of the Covid 19 shutdown happening just after she moved up here, this young woman was welcomed into the community by her new family. You may know her very own “Grandma Mary” from Grandma Mary’s in Arena–Laura’s story was part of Mary’s motivation to retire from the restaurant and give her energy to helping Laura and her new great grandbaby when Laura was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2024.

For Laura it was a bit of an adjustment coming from a city of over 78,000 people not far from Chicago to a town of only 844! Grocery shopping took on a whole new meaning! And yet, Laura, a self described homebody, settled in just fine, quickly becoming a part of the extended Robson family. She likes to bake cupcakes and cookies, and do puzzles–ones that she can complete in a short amount of time because she doesn’t like the mess of leaving a puzzle on the table! Her home is welcoming, with a view of the fields on the edge of Arena. Laura says she likes to watch the tractors working those fields, she finds it peaceful and beautiful.

Devin, the “smiliest baby ever” was born in December of 2023, and is clearly the light in her mom’s heart. Like any 15 month old, she keeps everyone busy. Apparently her favorite thing to do as she walks determinedly around their home is to throw things away…including a recent trick of throwing away Grandma Mary’s phone found ringing in the garbage after much searching! At the same time, the fact that so much of Devin’s first year was spent visiting her mom in the hospital, quickly brings tears to Laura’s eyes. Grandma Mary, unobtrusively working in the kitchen as I talked with Laura at the dining room table, pointed out that of the many days in which Laura was in the hospital, they were able to bring Devin to see her all but three days. For Laura that meant the world. Being with her beloved Devin makes her happy. And, at the same time, when I asked what makes her sad, she immediately teared up and said, “missing out.” So much of her baby’s first year, she didn’t even have the strength to hold her. Being a mother is a complex role in the best of times; doing it while fighting for your life is nearly incomprehensible.

The Robson family, and the community of Arena have rallied around Devin during this time. It did not matter that she was relatively new to the area; they have held a benefit at the restaurant, Danny’s baseball team, the Arena Aces, has supported her, there were t-shirts, the quilting ladies, for whom Grandma Mary catered lunches at the Round Barn, created the beautiful quilt hanging in their dining area for Laura. You can see it behind her in the picture. And through it all, the family has been there to help with Devin, to visit Laura when she has been in the hospital, to take care of all those things that need to be done. And still, they were struggling. The family had been involved with 4PeteSake as community members and when friend, Karen Wilkinson, suggested that they apply for assistance, they were given hope. The funds they have received have helped to cover their basic living expenses while Laura continues to recover and gain strength but is unable to work. Again, Grandma Mary piped in to say, “we’ve gotta get her back, she is the strongest person I have ever seen, she is determined, really a trouper.”

One hundred days ago she received a stem cell transplant from Ashley, the sister she had lived with before moving up here. She was a perfect match. She is recovering, proud of her new grown hair, and says, “you’ve just gotta get through it.” With the help of this community, and her family, Laura is an amazing example of the incredible beauty of the cycle of help and hope provided in part by each of you through 4PeteSake.

“Charlie” Wirts

Sometimes the person I interview isn’t the recipient themselves, but a surviving loved one. 4PeteSake supports people within their families, and this story is a poignant one, telling that truth. Julie Wirts, Charlie’s widow, believes that, as hard as this truth is, Charlie was able to finally “let go” because 4PeteSake “put an ease on his mind” that she would be okay…support comes in so many ways. Our community lost Charlie on November 4th, leaving behind the love of his life, Julie, who shared their story with me.

Julie welcomed me into their home, asking that we meet in the kitchen…it was just too sad to be in the living room, where Charlie had spent much of his last months. When Charlie passed, Julie felt like she lost her life. The next chapter feels scary without him, and yet she knows she has to carry on.

Forty five years ago these Wisconsin Heights students met at a (shhh…) beer party in the woods! Julie smiles at the memory, saying she fell in love at first sight (although she acknowledges that the older Charlie might not have fallen so quickly!). It was years before they married, but Julie was woo-ed by his great sense of humor, rebel attitude, and ability to tell a story. And, in spite of what she referred to as his “loud, tough farm boy” persona, he was really a kind and gentle person who put others first. When his first wife remarried and had another child, Charlie encouraged her new husband to adopt his son, Alan, so that he would grow up with the same name as his new sister. For Julie, that was an example of his behind the scenes kindness, of his character.

Charlie grew up on Cty Rd K, one of 7 siblings. He acquired the name “Charlie” from a neighbor girl when he was quite young and it stuck! He never went by his given name, Phillip! Julie is close to his family and she said that his sister, Dawn, who lives in Arena, has been an enormous help to her as she navigates her grief.

If you would like to donate to the organization to help people like Laura, who are in need through no fault of their own, please go to 4PeteSake » Donate. Thank you all so very much.