About the Foundation of WATDA

Philanthropic Grants

• WATDA Foundation awarded 1,204 scholarships and sponsorships to students pursuing a technical career in a retail automobile or truck business. Along with Snap-on, we have invested over $6 million in young people's careers.
• WATDA Foundation has presented grants to four students preparing to become Vocational Education Teachers in automotive technology.
• WATDA Foundation awarded $171,000 to children and family causes including Wisconsin Public Television's Get Real! program for children and Children's Service Society of Wisconsin foster care adoption program.

Many other Wisconsin charities have benefited from the community challenge grant program:

• H.O.O.P.S 4 KIDZ
• Twin City Catholic Educational System
• New Richmond Area Community Foundation/ St. Croix County
• ARC of Greater Milwaukee
• Gifts from Heaven
• Childrens Hospital-Bonnie Lynn Mechanic Celiac Center
• Echo Inc.
• Walbridge Academy
• Greater Marinette-Menominee YMCA
• Neighborhood House of Milwaukee
• Portage Presbyterian Church
• Mukwonago YMCA
• Food Pantry of Waukesha County
• VSA Arts of Wisconsin, Inc.
• Harbor House
• Medford Youth Hockey and Figure Skating
• Community Hospice Foundation
• Boys and Girls Club of Portage Co. Inc.
• Sheboygan Optimist Club
• Above & Beyond Children's Museum
• Langlade County 4-H Youth Fair
• Merrill Area Community Foundation
• Mukwonago Catastrophic Medical Fund
• Salvation Army Emergency Shelter
• Hayward Foundation for Educational Enrichment
• Children's Museum of Fond du Lac
• Nature's Edge Therapy Center
• Boys & Girls Club of Wisconsin Rapids Area
• Bobbie Nick Voss Charitable Fund, Inc.
• Women with Courage Foundation
• Eau Claire Community Foundation
• St. John Sacred Heart Parish
• Hilbert Wolves Athletic Boosters
• Center for Deaf-Blind Persons
• Southwest YMCA of Metro Milwaukee
• Junior Achievement of Portage & Wood Co.
• Eau Claire Community Foundation
• St. Mary Central H. S. – Student Robotics Program
• Women's Sports Advocates of Wisconsin
• Barneveld High School – Scholarship Fund
• LuCille Tack Center for the Arts – LTCA
• Greater Menomonie Area Community Foundation
• Family YMCA North of La Crosse
• Tomah Area Community Theatre
• Kinship Mentoring of Superior
• Weyenberg Library of Mequon-Thiensville
• American Players Theatre
• The Kid's Ranch
• Boys & Girls Club of West Salem
• Wausau East High School AYES Program
• Junior Achievement of Brown County
• Nativity Jesuit School
• Neighborhood House of Milwaukee, Inc.
• Gertrude Salzer Gordon Children's Museum of La Crosse
• Harbor House Domestic Abuse
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Portage County
• Headwaters, Inc. – Rhinelander
• Divine Savior Health Care
• Little Chute Windmill, Inc.
• Chippewa Valley Technical College Foundation
• Creative SHARP Presentations, Inc.
• The Washington Center – New London                                 
• Main Street Waupaca
• Leadership Development Academy
• Boys & Girls Club of Dane County, Inc
• Esperanza Unida
• The Kids' Ranch, Inc.
• YMCA of Fond du Lac
• Antigo Area Aquatic Center
• Greater Portage Youth Ed. Foundation
• Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure - Madison
• Bloomer Community Visitors Center
• Divine Savior Health Care
• Lighthouse Christian Academy (LCA)
• Holy Angels School
• American Cancer Society of Wisconsin
• Thrasher Opera House - Ripon
• Wisconsin Auto & Truck Education Association - Wausau
• Stevens Point Area Catholic Schools
• Junior Achievement, WIsconsin - Milwaukee
• Tomorrow's Hope Life Limiting Illness - Jefferson
• Manitowoc Lutheran High School
• Salvation Army of La Crosse
• Make-A-Wish Foundation
• UW-Eau Claire Center for Leadership
• Boys & Girls Club of the Wausau
• Center for Deaf-Blind Persons, Inc.
• Goodwill Industries of S.E. Wisconsin
• Crohn's & Colitis Foundation Wisconsin
• Theda Clark Medical Center Foundation
• National Multiple Sclerosis Soc. – Wisconsin
• Junior Achievement, Wisconsin – Eau Claire
• La Crosse City Vision Foundation
• Junior Achievement, Wisconsin – Brown County
• Children’s Service Society
• WI Public Television – Get Real!

Awareness

• WATDA Foundation provides leadership in the cetification and implementation of AYES (Automotive Youth Educational Systems) in thirteen certified high schools throughout southern and central Wisconsin, which in turn serve up to 125 additional schools annually
• WATDA Foundation’s 2008 Career Awareness series reached over 3,000 students in 18 cities
• WATDA Foundation participates in Skills USA. www.skillsusa-wi.org
• WATDA Foundation’s Your Starting Line career guide CD was distributed to 6,000 students over the past two years.

Education

• WATDA Foundation sends information to 1,000 high school counselors concerning opportunities in the industry each year.
• WATDA Foundation receives an average of 125 scholarship requests annually.
• WATDA Foundation conducts scholarship interviews at 12 to 15 sites each year.
• WATDA Foundation’s Team Wisconsin Teacher’s Institutes serve 60% to 70% of the state’s transportation technical education teachers each year.
• WATDA Foundation conducted a research project identifying educational needs in the next 3-5 years.
• WATDA Foundation participates in the Wisconsin Workforce Development "School-to-work" initiative for automotive technician youth apprenticeships.
• WATDA Foundation’s curriculum development programs have saved participating schools over $200,000 in classroom training aid costs during the past two years.