Support WILS

“WILS fostered relationships with inspiring people that have lasted a lifetime for me. I cultivated relationships with other alumni who continue to motivate me and who have an energy for life and for positively impacting their community. Through continued volunteer involvement with WILS I have also developed relationships with people throughout our state working to improve our world through social justice organizations, politics, and business.”

-Sarah P., WILS 1994

WILS would not be so successful without the support of generous donors like you. The annual seminar is an experience which we’d like to keep open to as many students as possible so there is never a cost to our young leaders or their schools to attend our program. Our organization is 100% volunteer run, which enables us to keep our administrative costs extremely low. Your assistance is truly valued to grow and enhance the strength of our organization.

How is WILS Supported?

• WILS is funded entirely through charitable contributions. All monies are contributed by private individuals, corporations, and service organizations (Kiwanis, GFWC, Rotary, Optimists, etc.)
• All speakers, members of the WILS Board of Directors, Seminar Planning Committee, and Seminar Staff are volunteers.
• All money raised by WILS is used for the express purpose of holding our annual seminar.
• The cost to sponsor a student to attend the WILS seminar for three days is $200. Although WILS is entirely run by volunteers, the sponsorship fee is needed for lodging, meals, transportation to sites for community service, a WILS t-shirt, printing, copying, postage, and other supplies.
• By sponsoring local students to attend, organizations can make sure that their money is spent on the youth of their area.
• Your sponsorships have made it possible for over 5,000 students to attend the WILS seminar over the past 40 years. Please take a moment to download our sponsorship form, and sponsor a student for the upcoming seminar.

To find out more about what students encounter at WILS, read about the WILS experience here.

How can I help WILS?

• Sponsor a Student.
   Since WILS is free of charge to all student leaders and schools, sponsorships are one of the main ways students have the ability to experience the seminar. The cost to sponsor a student to attend WILS for three days is $200.  You can donate online here or if you’d like to donate by check, you can mail it to: WILS, P.O. Box 237, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0237.
• Volunteer.
  All of our seminar staff, speakers and panelists are unpaid volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering at WILS, please contact Sonja at seminarchair@wils.us.
• Partnerships.
  WILS partners with a variety of programs that donate a percentage back to WILS. More information, as well as links to all of our partner sites are available below. Please save these links in your browser if you frequently use any of our partner sites.
• Donate Supplies.
  There are many items and services needed to put on our seminar, including mailing supplies, T-shirts, postage, program books and other printing costs, transportation and meals. You can help by underwriting these expenses or directly donating the services or supplies. Our sponsorship booklet has more details.