Gundersen Health System, which recently announced it is becoming Emplify Health, made a significant investment in the future of area children by donating $100,000 to the Boys and Girls Club of Greater La Crosse, which is constructing a brand-new club facility within Onalaska Middle School. It’s a space that’ll be utilized by both the club and the school.
On May 1, Gundersen Region President Heather Schimmers and Sarah Havens, a director in the Office of Population Health, presented Boys and Girls Club CEO Jake Erickson and Chief Development Officer Nicole Brei with a check at the Terry Erickson Club on La Crosse’s north side.
“We couldn’t be more supportive of the Boys and Girls Club’s mission of caring for the development of young people in and around our region,” Schimmers says. “The work they do day in and day out sets them up for success in their lives, which lends itself to healthier families and communities.”
The new club, which will be named in honor of John and Linda Lyche, is being incorporated into the design of the renovated Onalaska Middle School. A groundbreaking was held for the new club in September 2023 and is expected to be ready for the start of the school year in 2025. It’s the second club in the area – the other being in West Salem – that’s been created in conjunction with a school, which is becoming a trend across the country, Erickson said.
The Onalaska club will be 21,000 square feet and house a teen center, juniors center, programming areas and a kitchen. It’ll also utilize the gymnasium that’s being built as part of the middle school project, as well as other shared facilities. During the school day, the BGC spaces can be used by the school.
Gundersen has donated in the past to each of the other facilities under the Greater La Crosse umbrella, Havens said.