Cheese Curds for a Cause raises $3,715 to support students

June 11, 2025 - A local partnership turned comfort food into campus impact this spring, raising $3,715 for student support at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls through the “Cheese Curds for a Cause” campaign.

The effort—led by Junior’s Restaurant and Taphouse during UWRF’s Giving Days—pledged $5 for every basket of cheese curds sold from mid-March through April. Proceeds from the campaign go directly to the UWRF Impact Fund (formerly known as the Falcon Annual Fund), which provides flexible, unrestricted dollars to meet urgent student needs, enhance academic programming and support underfunded areas across campus.

“This kind of giving goes beyond covering costs—it creates possibility,” said Mandy Jeppesen, annual giving manager. “Unrestricted gifts allow us to act quickly, seize new opportunities and support students in ways we often couldn’t through designated funds alone.”

The Impact Fund helps sustain essential campus programming, fund student emergency grants, provide resources for under-resourced departments and support innovative projects that enhance the student experience. Unrestricted giving also strengthens future fundraising by giving the university flexibility and confidence to address emerging challenges—and show donors the full scope of their collective impact.

For Jeff Wesley, co-owner of Junior’s and a proud UWRF alum, the campaign was personal.

“I came to River Falls twenty years ago to attend UWRF and it changed my life,” said Wesley. “It’s how I found this community, my career and even met my wife. Supporting this university is about honoring where it all started.”

Wesley sees the restaurant's partnership with the university not as a one-time promotion, but as a natural extension of a long-standing relationship with campus. Many of his staff are UWRF students or alumni and the restaurant has become a familiar place for Falcons, both past and present.

“This community has supported us for nearly sixteen years,” Wesley said. “Giving back, especially to the place that gave me my start, feels like the least we can do.”

To learn more about the UWRF Impact Fund, visit uwrf.edu/university-advancement/falcon-annual-fund. For more information on partnering with UW-River Falls, contact Jeppesen at amanda.jeppesen@uwrf.edu.