By Tina Kitt
    The Wauneta Breeze
    
     Area businesses and community supporters have been offered a second matching donation challenge for the Wauneta Medical Clinic. If it is as successful as the most recent challenge donation effort, the proposed medical clinic will be $10,000 closer to becoming a reality.
     Jim Baldonado of Elwood, a 1975 graduate of Wauneta High School, has issued a matching challenge on behalf the Baldonado Family Trust and the Home Agency in Elwood, pledging to match donations to the medical clinic.
     Any donation made to the Wauneta Medical Clinic project over the next 30 days will be matched by the Baldonado family up to $5,000 - and possibly higher, if donations roll in strong.
     Baldonado said that he and his wife, Sharri, are always motivated to give more to a fund-raising effort when a matching challenge is involved. "You basically double the size of your gift," notes Baldonado. "If someone can give $100, a matching challenge increases their contribution to $200."
     The Wauneta native is challenging local businesses and alums in particular with these matching funds. He encourages anyone who has not already made a substantial donation to the effort to do so now, especially local businesses.
     "It's very important that businesses do their part. We need to do these things for our communities," said Baldonado, noting that the medical clinic in Elwood has provided a boost to their local business community. "It draws people to town for one more service that they might otherwise seek somewhere else."
     He added that it's important for the folks in town to recognize the significance of their role in strengthening Main Street and offering services to the rural community.
     "If it wasn't for the farmer, for the producers in our area, we wouldn't have a community. We wouldn't be able to sustain our businesses," said Baldonado.
     Last month Valley Bank and Trust in Wauneta launched a successful matching donation challenge, with members of the community donating more that $5,000, which was matched by the local bank.
     This marks the second substantial contribution Baldonado and The Home Agency have made toward the Wauneta medical clinic project. The Baldonado family was among the early project supporters making a $5,000 donation in January 2004.
     To date, fund-raising efforts for the proposed clinic total over $220,000 toward the $500,000 goal set by the Wauneta Community Foundation which is spearheading the project.