For Hub City Times

SPENCER – The home of the Spencer Kids Group sits empty and feels a bit hollow as agency director Erica Schober finishes some bookkeeping on her computer in a small office just inside the entrance. It is 3 o’clock on a school day.

Within the next half an hour the place is filled with three dozen schoolchildren and buzzing with activity as they file off the big yellow school bus and bound into the former Spencer Village Hall, The Olde Hall. The Olde Hall has been transformed into an after school haven for Spencer area children. It now houses a classroom with chalkboards and computers, a gymnasium, stage with areas for video games and crafts, and a kitchen where a meal is prepared daily for the children who visit.

Schober said she has about 40 students at the youth center each day after school and has served over 170 different children over the past year.

“I am not offering a service or a product that generates any revenue,” Schober said. “I am doing a service that benefits the community of Spencer.”

Security Health Plan of Wisconsin, Inc., will invest $1,000 in Spencer Kids Group as part of its Employee-Driven Corporate Giving (EDCG) grant program.

Each month Security Health Plan awards a different charity or organization that is nominated by a Marshfield Clinic Health System employee, a $1,000 grant. Employees are encouraged to nominate organizations making a positive difference in the community.

Sales account coordinator at Security Health Plan Brooke Krause nominated Spencer Kids Group for the grant. She said the agency provides supervised after school activities where children can be active, get a well-balanced meal and receive homework help and tutoring.

“Donating to this organization is important because this community-based group is a huge part of our small town of Spencer,” Krause said. “There are many families that rely on the kids group for a safe after school hangout.”

Schober said she is grateful for the extra funds and said the money will be put to good use. She said she is constantly searching for funds to keep everything running smoothly.

“Every day there seems to be a new expense,” she said of running the nonprofit organization. “We’re in a 100-year old building. My back door is rotting and needs to be replaced.”

Schober said she also fundraises over $70,000 every year with the Spring Fever Dance, a Little Caesar Pizza sale, and brat sales. She also receives financial assistance from Marshfield Area United Way and Marathon County United Way.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/Spencer-Kids-Group-339514806091453/