Originally from Little Chute Wisconsin, Chris Vander Pas learned about barbershop from a friend in High School and joined with the Fox Valleyaires when he was doing his undergraduate at UW-Oshkosh.

Chris just started his career teaching middle school and high school choir in Lomira, Wisc.

While at UW-Oshkosh, he got into a quartet called “SuperNova” – past Packerland Division Champs, and most recently “Vocal Fury” – Land O’ Lakes District Finalists, both singing Baritone.
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Chris has been furthering his barbershop studies by attending Harmony University for the past two years in the Directors College branch. In the last few years, he has been a part of the Youth Barbershop Festivals as a teaching quartet member and has also been directing with the Appleton chapter.

The Winnebagoland Barbershoppers are happy to announce two local charities to receive donations. As we all know there are many local groups and charities that are in need and depend on extra support. These two fine groups were selected this November, 2015 by the Oshkosh Barbershoppers.

A $500 check was presented to Vicky Schroeder, the founder of The TAKE 5 CLUB
Take 5 uses your donations to shop for Oshkosh area children in need. They help by providing clothes, shoes, jackets, haircuts, and more for local kids.

Many of us remember a time when we or a friend of ours didn’t have those new clothes for the first day of school, or that jacket that would keep us extra warm in the winter. All of us know that something as simple as a new outfit or haircut can make a lot of difference in how we feel about ourselves.

When Take 5 provides clothing to a child, that child can look in the mirror and feel pride and confidence in their appearance. Fitting in with peers, concentrating on learning, making new friendships, and putting on beautiful smiles as they receive your donations. These are all things that we and Take 5 can do to help local children today. To date, Take 5 has helped more than 1,500 children.

A $500 check was also presented to Beth Nemecek CEO/Executive Director of Bella Medical Clinic
The clinic is structured as a 2-step program. One side is medical and one side is educational and counseling support. There is no charge for any services and the operating budget is 100 percent supported by donations.

Nurse manager Shelley provides medical grade pregnancy tests, and ultrasounds up to 20 weeks. She also guides mothers through prenatal information and provides prenatal vitamins to get them on the right track. One of the most important things Shelley does is to listen. Often the women she sees have not had an opportunity to discuss their situation with anyone. They may not want anyone to know, have no one they trust, or are just scared, and they are also there for those needing post-abortive counseling.

The second piece of the program is led by client services director and licensed social worker, Sue Kraus. Sue begins her program with an in-depth intake assessment. She works to determine what skills are already in the mom-to-be’s tool box and what she needs to help them with. Sometimes it is a lot, and sometimes just support. It is during these times that she works to develop a full relationship with the mother. Father participation is encouraged, and about 30 percent of fathers are involved in Bella’s programs.

Parenting education has become a core service to equip new mothers and fathers to be stronger and more nurturing parents. Over 78 percent of women who come to Bella for pregnancy services enroll in one of these parenting programs. Bella also offers classes on life skill topics like job skills training and continuing education along with providing numerous referrals to other agencies in the area that can assist with other services.
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Bella also provides material support for pregnancy and infant care, many times this is maternity clothing, baby clothes, housing assistance, car seats, crib and formula along with tons of diapers. Bella tries to meet immediate needs quickly. The parenting education programs are incentive based opportunities to obtain material help as they pass vital milestones in their educational and prenatal care plans. The parenting steps programs utilize the “Earn While You Learn” curriculum. Parents earn Mommy Money and Daddy Bucks to use to shop in Bella’s boutique for those needed baby items.

The Winnebagoland Barbershoppers are happy to announce one local charity and one very special family to receive donations this year. As we all know there are many local groups and charities that are in need and depend on extra support. This charity and local family, in their time of need, were selected this time by the Barbershoppers.

A $500 check was presented to Vicky Schroeder, the founder of The TAKE 5 CLUB
Take 5 uses your donations to shop for Oshkosh area children in need. They help by providing clothes, shoes, jackets, haircuts, and more for local kids.

Many of us remember a time when we or a friend of ours didn’t have those new clothes for the first day of school, or that jacket that would keep us extra warm in the winter. All of us know that something as simple as a new outfit or haircut can make a lot of difference in how we feel about ourselves.

When Take 5 provides clothing to a child, that child can look in the mirror and feel pride and confidence in their appearance. Fitting in with peers, concentrating on learning, making new friendships, and putting on beautiful smiles as they receive your donations. These are all things that we and Take 5 can do to help local children today.

A $500 check was also presented to a large family that lost their jobs and have serious health problems in the family
It has been the practice of the Oshkosh Barbershop Chapter to make annual donations to community charities. In view of their unfortunate circumstances, we helped out a family with this check and many food items in their time of need. He was also a barbershopper with the Oshkosh chapter in the past.
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This was indeed a first for our chapter, but our board unanimously decided to go this route, being a special circumstance. Our thoughts and prayers are with this family.