Wausau Campaign Honors Small Good Deeds In Everyday Life

On a particularly snowy winter day a few months ago in Wausau, Paula and Emily Voss’ car got stuck three different times.

In one instance, the mother-daughter pair became stranded in a nearby neighborhood. They eyed a man from way down the street walking toward them. A little rough around the edges, they thought, but the man was eager to help dig them out of the snowbank. When his efforts proved fruitless, he went home, brought back some sand for under the tires and kept working until they were freed.

His kind gesture inspired a campaign recently started by Emily through her photography business, VOSStudios, that recognizes good deeds. People who “get caught in the act” are given tokens they can turn in for a T-shirt at the Wausau Police Department through the initiative that has been dubbed “Be One of the Kind.”

“Even just having started the project, I’m even more aware of things that people do for me,” Emily said.

The Vosses have 200 tokens — magnets with the campaign’s catchphrase — that they are in the process of handing out to altruists or giving to others to do the same.

“When I gave out three of my tokens, the people, when they’re presented them, get teary and cry,” said Paula, who is helping her daughter with the campaign.

They’ve given 20 tokens to Wausau police officers, one to a teacher and another to an employee at Trig’s grocery store. Meanwhile, they’re updating their Facebook account with stories of those who have received a token. For example, recent recipients include Scott, who helped a YMCA member navigate hallways during construction and Brooklyn, who takes time to drive other students to school. Briah earned a token for helping a senior citizen cross a downtown street.

Recipients get to keep the tokens, which are numbered so that the Vosses can keep track of where they go. T-shirts can also be purchased for $18 from the police department, with proceeds going toward the campaign.

Starting Out

Before she started passing out tokens, Emily began the project by using her photography to build materials to market her idea. To accomplish this, she selected two individuals who had reputations for being kind. From there, those two people nominated others until a chain totaling 12 people was created.

Emily started with Brady Duke, a 9-year-old who donated his Nintendo Wii to the Wausau Police Department after learning that an officer from the nearby Everest Metropolitan Police Department, Detective Jason Weiland, died in the line of duty. Duke was nominated by Wausau East High School resource officer Nicholas Stetzer and the chain continued from there.

All 12 showed up at VOSStudio in downtown Wausau in April to be photographed individually and as part of the whole group. Their pictures are displayed at VOSStudios and on Facebook to help bring awareness to the initiative. Because the nominees didn’t know ahead of time who nominated them, the meeting became a sort of reveal party that culminated in hugs, laughter and shared stories.

“We were together maybe two hours and … I’ve never been in a setting where there’s absolutely no negativity,” Paula said. “People were compassionate, caring and engaged, genuinely excited. It was so pure.“

Amy Matzke, a semi-retired business owner, was one of the 12, nominated by Ignite Nutrition business owner Kayla Ermeling.

“When I first found out, I was in shock,” Matzke said, adding that she had been nominated for clearing snow off of Emerling’s sidewalk and helping to care for Emerling’s son.

Community Driven

Emily said meeting the man who helped free their car was a bit serendipitous.

She had been searching for a new community project to start in the spring, as she has done one in the spring of 2017 and spring of 2018.

Emily said community building is one way to get beyond the bickering and partisanship that has gripped so much of the nation.

“There’s so much negativity and polarization,” she said. “Everyone’s forgotten that we’re more similar than we are different.”

Her desire to get involved in her community and give back came from her mom, who then credited her own mother for that perspective. Bringing everyone together has led to friendships and deep connections, she said.

“Everyone’s looking for a reason to discredit someone or dislike them,” Emily said. “There’s so much going around that’s not happy and positive. If you’re able to sit down with someone, it makes such a huge difference.”

If the project continues to grow, Paula said they may need to consider forming a nonprofit to help fund it. In the meantime, other communities interested in doing a similar project should contact the Vosses, who can help explain how to get started.

“When these types of things are in a community like ours, it shows … who we are and how we come together,” Matzke, the semi-retired business owner, said. “One thing I like to say is that kindness is an international language.”