Fledgling Parent Group in SW Wisconsin Becomes WATG’s First Partnership

Families in the largely rural “Driftless” Region of Southwest Wisconsin – essentially, the greater Mississippi Valley blufflands – now have a new way to network with other local gifted and twice-exceptional families: A new parent group loosely based in La Crosse, Wisconsin covers the entire Wisconsin/Minnesota/Iowa tri-state border region and, in its effort to build community, is consciously reaching out to the underserved surrounding counties within about a 1.5-hours’ drive radius from the city of La Crosse. This new parent group has just become WATG’s first official partnership.
 
Called “Driftless Gifted” (or “DG2e” for short), the Group was established last fall by a long-time area resident. She shares her motivation: “It’s been so hard for my highly gifted, suspected 2e child to connect with any kids even remotely close to his own age here in our medium-sized town and largely rural surrounding area – and it’s often been hard for me to relate to, or share with, other local parents as well. I’ve started this group in an effort to find and connect with ‘our people’ and to help other locals in our predicament also connect with each other.”
 
Currently at only thirteen families strong – and with some of these having joined from outside the Driftless Region from as far as Milwaukee and the Twin Cities because they have ties to the area – the Group is still in its infancy. The hope is to build and strengthen the community online through virtual activities via the Facebook Group and – post-Covid – to eventually provide a platform for in-person meet-ups, field trips, and joint activities as well.
 
Collecting no dues or fees, the obligation-free Group is intent on simply growing and connecting. To help ensure that any families searching for such a resource can find it, a website has been set up for Driftless Gifted at https://www.driftlessgifted.com/ and a Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1300372823630651. New families can join by either requesting membership in the Facebook Group or by sending an email to info@driftlessgifted.com.
 
In addition to the partnership with WATG – the details of which are still unfolding – Driftless Gifted (DG2e) has also set itself up as an official parent group within the framework of MCGT (Minnesota Council for the Gifted and Talented) and plans to work toward a collaboration with ITAG (Iowa Talented and Gifted Association) as well. Collaborations such as these hold the potential for deep synergies that can ultimately strengthen all branches of the gifted community.
 
Kindly refer any gifted/2e families you know who live in Southwest Wisconsin, Southeast Minnesota or Northeast Iowa to Driftless Gifted (“DG2e”)!
 
Website: https://www.driftlessgifted.com/
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1300372823630651
Email: info@driftlessgifted.com

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