Winona County DACtivities

11/17/2025

Christmas is coming up quick, so it's time for us to open up our Christmas Cares nominations! 🎅🎁🎄

Each year, the staff at the DAC try to give back to their community by supporting a couple of local families who are currently experiencing economic hardship for one reason or another. We here at the DAC would love to see all children have a Merry Christmas and want to help out in a way that we are able to.

How it works:
Our staff have the opportunity to participate in Casual Fridays by paying $1 to wear shirts with work-appropriate writing, a hat, or sweatpants. Or they may pay $5 to wear shirts with writing for the whole month. All of the funds collected throughout the year are put together to help support children in our community who, without help, may not get to have the Christmas that every child deserves.

In the past, we have been able to support between 2 and 6 families, but the need is always so much more. For this reason, we will be limiting the gifts to one or two per child, giving us the opportunity to help more families and ensure that more children get at least one gift to open on Christmas morning. If you feel there is a child or children you know who could benefit from our program, use the link at the bottom of this post to fill out a nomination form.

Please know that we will be unable to help every family that is nominated, but we do our best. We do receive nominations for a lot of families each year so if you know a family is already being sponsored by another program, we kindly ask you to take that into consideration before submitting a nomination.

Nomination deadline is Monday, December 15th at 8am. Chosen families will be called on Thursday, December 18th for notification that they have been chosen for this year’s DAC Christmas Cares. Wrapped gifts will be available for pick-up from the DAC on December 22nd and 23rd between 7:30am and 3:30pm. At this time, we are unable to deliver gifts.

https://www.winonadac.org/event/dac-christmas-cares-2025/

11/15/2025

So many goodies to choose from! Come on down to the Legion for some waffles & a sweet treat for later (or right away - we don’t judge 😝).

11/07/2025

Congratulations to our November Employee of the Month ... Heather Skappel 🤩 Heather is one of our workroom supervisors and has been on our team for 5 and 1/2 years. Her favorite part of working at the DAC is "seeing all of the individuals' wonderful smiles - it makes my heart happy." Outside of work, you can find Heather being the #1 fan of her two son's baseball teams, playing bingo with "the Golden Girls" (her bestie and both of their moms), and hanging out with her family.

Get to know Heather!
List 3 fun facts about yourself. "When my mom found out she was pregnant with me, the doctor heard 3 heartbeats. I own over 60 pairs of shoes. I have about 30 bingo dobbers."
What was your best Halloween costume? "Dressing up as a hippie."
Favorite sports teams? "My boys' baseball teams and the Minnesota Vikings."
What's your coffee order? "A caramel frap with caramel drizzles, whipped cream, and an extra shot of espresso."
If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life, what would it be? "One of Jelly Roll's albums."
What person, past or present, has been an inspiration to you and why? "My Aunt Mary. She was one unique woman."
If you were a potato, how would you want to be cooked? "Baked with melted cheese, broccoli, and lots of pepper 😊"
What's something you want to learn if you had the time? "How to speak Spanish."
If you could have any animal for a pet, what would it be? "A monkey."
What's the weirdest food you've ever eaten and would you eat it again? "Elk and no thank you ..."

Thank you, Heather, for all your hard work and dedication to the DAC!

11/05/2025

🌟Our October Stars 🌟

10/31/2025

10/31/2025

Have a fun and safe Halloweekend! 👻🎃💀

10/24/2025

What's your favorite Halloween candy? 👻🍬🍫

10/03/2025

Congratulations to our October Employee of the Month ... Tyler Payne! 🤩 Tyler has been working at the DAC for a year as a DSP and our maintenance man. His favorite part of working here is seeing all the individuals everyday 😊 Outside of work, Tyler enjoys working out, watching anime, and seeing all of his nieces and nephews!

Get to know Tyler!
• List three fun facts about yourself. "I like to drive. I have a teapot collection. I like to crochet."
• What was your best Halloween costume? "A whoopie cushion."
• Tell us a joke. "What's the favorite color of a dad answering the phone? Yellow!"
• Favorite sport/sports team/athlete: "Football, the Bears 😊, and Bruce Lee"
• What's your coffee order? "Black. Or if I want to get fancy, I'll put in a little French vanilla."
• What person has been an inspiration to you and why? "My dad because he's always helping and being nice to everyone 😊"
• If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life, what would it be? "Roll On by Alabama"
• What's the weirdest food you've ever eaten and would you eat it again? "Opossum barbeque - yes!"
• If you could have animal for a pet, what would it be? "A white tiger!"

Thank you, Tyler, for all that you do for the DAC! 🙌