A specialty general store in Riggston recently made a major donation to a Winchester High School class.
The Witty Farmer and Grab ‘n’ Grow Greenhouse Store was able to recently donate over $1,300 worth of Milwaukee Brand tools to Winchester High’s automotive class.
Jenny Schmigdall, owner of the store and operator of Sauer Farms, says that they collected money two different ways to make the donation possible, courtesy of the E-Bolt Supply Store in Jacksonville: “Sauer Farms chipped in a little bit because mechanics, farming, and anything to do with the trades was very important to my father Hunter Sauer and me, as well. The bulk of the donations came from the Witty Farmer Grab ‘n’ Grow Greenhouse store.”
Schmigdall says that the self-service store collects cash for purchase. She says because of that fact, the store is unable to make direct change and is able to collect donations throughout the year: “Since it’s a self-serve store, there is no change given. The customer paying for the merchandise, if they do not have exact change, what ends up happening is I take the difference between the total amount given and the total on their purchase and the difference gets donated. This is the second year of doing the donations, and this year we chose the automotive class at Winchester High School.”
Schmigdall says due to her farm’s frequent use of E-Bolt, she was able to get the store’s manager, Josh to curate a special package of tools for the automotive class and the teacher Kenny Mayner, who is a close family friend.
Schmigdall says she was contacted late Wednesday by the regional Milwaukee Tools representative, and the company has committed to making a donation to the class, doubling the effort.
Schmigdall says they already have another organization selected for their 2024 donation campaign, the Scott County Police Department. The previous year’s campaign helped the Winchester American Legion. Schmigdall says she is thankful for the continued community support of her business and the donations that the store receives online and through the store’s purchase. She says it brings her great joy to not only provide small business to the community, but also continually support the community where she grew up.