JANUARY 2019
Helping your community may be as simple as completing a survey.
The 12th LIFE in Marathon County Report project launches this week with the mailing of the LIFE Survey to 2100 randomly selected households in Marathon County. The survey is being conducted by UW-River Falls Survey Research Center.
“We strongly encourage people who receive the survey to fill it out and return it,” said Tara Draeger, Chair of the LIFE Committee. “By participating in this important survey, respondents have the opportunity to help influence the 2019-2021 LIFE in Marathon County Report which sets a road map for future improvements in our County.”
The survey gathers Marathon County resident’s opinions on a variety of topics addressing the quality of life in Marathon County. It includes a variety of questions on topics such as health insurance coverage, transportation concerns, and what services residents value in our community.
The survey is a critical part of the LIFE report, a data driven report of over 65 indicators. A good survey response rate ensures accurate results for the report and provides information that isn’t available from other sources.
About the LIFE Report
The LIFE in Marathon County report is possible thanks to 17 funding partners and dozens of volunteers. It presents indicators covering seven categories ranging from basic needs, health, safety, education, aging, and the environment to our economic climate. Indicators drill down to specific issues. For example, in the Basic Needs section data on hunger, homelessness, and access to transportation is presented. The report is widely used by business leaders, government offices, and non-profit organizations in planning, grant writing, and grant making.
The LIFE Report has been published every other year since 1997 by the LIFE Steering Committee. The next report, for 2019–2021, will be the project’s 12th report and celebrates 24 years of influencing change in the community. It will be released in January 2020. The current edition of the report is available on the United Way website at https://www.unitedwaymc.org/community-data/life-report/. United Way serves as the fiscal agency for this community project.
