WAUPUN — Create Waupun, the nonprofit organization responsible for the Sculpture Tour Program, received $1,000 from the Beaver Dam Area Community Foundation Thursday afternoon.
The funds will go towards the purchase of the Rosie the Riveter statue that was brought to Waupun last May in the Waupun Sculpture Tour Program.
Jeni Maly, who runs the Create Waupun program, received the check at the statue Thursday afternoon.
“We are inching away at our grand total of $31,000,” Maly said. “We are very close, just short about three or four thousand dollars. This thousand dollar grant from the Beaver Dam Area Community Foundation will boost us and put us closer to our end goal and we are excited to have little Rosie permanently in Waupun. I feel really, really proud of our contributions in Waupun and the support we’ve received so far. We’re so looking forward to bringing her home.”
While no decisions on the sculpture’s permanent location have been made, they plan on keeping her on Main Street for next year’s Sculpture Tour, which will see a new batch of sculpture replace the current five across Waupun sometime this spring.
The Waupun Sculpture Tour program was inspired by a similar affiliate program in Eau Claire, the idea for which was presented to the City Council last year.
“Every year they change over and things are different and people like something that’s new and refreshing and then they are excited to come back and see the new sculptures,” Maly said. “They also do a community challenge where they have a donor or a sponsor purchase one of the sculptures and then it’s put on permanent display. So that’s what we’re hoping to do for Waupun.”
The “We Can Do It” sculpture, depicting a young Rosie the Riveter standing on top of planet Earth, has a strong connection to Waupun and matches the themes from Waupun’s existing sculpture collection. The seven sculptures were all donated or sculpted by local industrialist and inventor Clarence Shaler, and each told a story related to the community and the county as a whole.
Rosie in particular fits Waupun due to its connection to National Rivet, which was one of the key rivet factories for the United States war effort during WWII. It’s also in line with Shaler’s legacy, whose company partnered with National Rivet and shared facilities in the first half of the 20th century. Many of the National Rivet buildings still have “Shaler”-printed bricks on the walls, despite having sold the Shaler brand several years ago.
The “We Can Do It Community Challenge” fundraiser was announced by Create Waupun in early October. National Rivet committed $15,500 to the fundraiser, meaning that the community would need to make up the difference to secure Rosie as Waupun’s newest addition to its sculpture collection.
Create Waupun was previously known as the “Waupun City of Sculpture” non-profit organization 501c3.
“Our mission is to bring more art and culture through sculptures and murals, and we’ve done that with our first annual Waupun IceFest,” Maly said. “And our second annual is coming up, February 15th, and 16th, 2025. And we’re really excited about that.”
The check was presented to Create Waupun by the Beaver Dam Area Community Foundation president Tom Heffron.
The Beaver Dam Area Community Foundation began about five years ago and operates in the Dodge County region. They have a twice a year grant cycle where local nonprofit organizations can apply for between $500 and $2,500 in grants.
“When people contribute, especially during the end of the year here, people are contributing to all kinds of good stuff,” Heffron said. “It all goes back to the community.”
Heffron also gifted a large framed print of Rosie the Riveter to Maly, along with a large cardboard cutout.
The Beaver Dam Area Community Foundation has donated to 78 different local nonprofit organizations including Waupun Fine Arts, Waupun IceFest, Waupun Festivals, and the Waupun Historical Society.
For more information visit the Community Foundation website here: https://fdlareafoundation.com/beaver-dam-area-community-foundation/
