Menasha, Wis….

More than 40 employees and family of Menasha Corporation and its two companies, Menasha Packaging and ORBIS Corporation, cleaned up and painted the Born Learning Trail, which wraps around the playground at Smith Park (301 Park Street, Menasha) on Thursday, June 16. 

A Born Learning Trail is a United Way initiative to help caregivers of young children boost literacy skills through 10 interactive signs that offer fun active-learning activities.  

The effort to revamp the Born Learning Trail at Smith Park, which was originally installed in September 2015, is led by the United Way Emerging Leaders at Menasha Corporation. A United Way Emerging Leader is someone age 40 or under who supports the community with an annual gift of $500 or more to UW Fox Cities. More than 45 Menasha Corporation employees are Emerging Leaders.  

“Our Emerging Leaders committee is a group of high-energy, passionate young professionals who are all committed to making a lasting positive impact on our community,” said Michelle Zimmer-Maertz, Menasha Corporation Emerging Leader committee chair and Talent Acquisition Manager for Menasha Packaging. “As we were brainstorming ways to invest in our community in 2022, we realized the Born Learning Trail at Smith Park was fading, so it was the perfect time to give it a facelift to continue to support early childhood initiatives and have a lasting impact on our community.” 

Smith Park has a special connection to Menasha Corporation because Smith Park’s original benefactor in 1897, Elisha D. Smith, is the founder of Menasha Corporation (originally Menasha Wooden Ware Corp.).  

“We are very proud and excited to continue E.D. Smith’s legacy of giving back to our community,” Zimmer-Maertz said.  

About Menasha Corporation 

Menasha Corporation is a leading corrugated and plastic packaging manufacturer and supply chain solutions provider specializing in retail merchandising packaging and displays, plastic reusable containers and pallets, protective packaging interiors, and packaging supply chain and fulfillment services. Comprised of two companies—Menasha Packaging Company and ORBIS Corporation—Menasha Corporation’s products and services are used by major food, beverage, consumer products, industrial/automotive, health and beauty, over-the-counter pharmaceutical, and electronics companies. Established in 1849, Menasha Corporation is one of America’s oldest privately held, family-owned manufacturing companies. Headquartered in Neenah, Wisconsin, the company employs nearly 7,000 employees in 103 facilities in North America and Europe. For more information, visit menashacorporation.com.