The Green Bay Packers Foundation has awarded more than $100,000 to 51 civic and charitable groups throughout the state of Wisconsin in its annual distribution of funds, Carl Kuehne, chairman of the Foundation committee, announced Tuesday.
With the latest disbursements, totaling $105,125, the Foundation has distributed $1,108,526 for charitable purposes since it was established in 1986 by Judge Robert J. Parins, then president of the Packers Corporation, "as a vehicle to assure continued contributions to charity."
The financial breakdown of the Foundation's contributions discloses that 28 grants – aggregating $74,200 – were awarded to Brown County organizations, among them grants to the Brown County Library, Bellin Foundation, Boys and Girls Club, Jackie Nitschke Center and the Crime Prevention Fund Program of Brown County.
Additional grants, totaling $30,925, were made to 23 other groups around the state, among them Rawhide, Lionel's House, Great Lakes Hemophilia Foundation, My Home Youth Home and the Wisconsin Sports Foundation.
Kuehne made the grants announcement during a press conference hosted by the Nitschke Center, 630 Cherry Street, Green Bay, and attended by Amy Nitschke Klaas, daughter of the late Ray and Jackie Nitschke, who has been closely involved with the work of the Center.
Executive Director Judy Glenz, speaking for the Nitschke Center, said, "We are a great example of the Packers giving back to the community. The relationship between the Jackie Nitschke Center and the Green Bay Packers Foundation has been very special over the years. Whenever we have reached out and asked for help with a major problem or need, the Foundation has always been there for us."
Under the Packers Scholarship Program, established in 2002, an additional $15,000 is being awarded – $7,500 to Scholarships, Inc., for distribution to students in four-year colleges – and $7,500 to NWTC for distribution to students in two-year associate degree or apprenticeship trades programs. The scholarship funds come from National Football League Properties which – at the Packers' request – returns to the Foundation royalty fees paid for using the Packers logo on Wisconsin automobile license plates.
In the past year, the Packers Foundation also has distributed an additional $36,000 on behalf of National Football League Charities – $25,000 in "Community Quarterback" awards to civic leaders for contributions to the community, $6,000 in the NFL's "Coach of the Week" program which honors successful Wisconsin high school coaches on a weekly basis throughout the season, and $5,000 in the league's "Hometown Huddle" program.
"As it should be, the focus today is on our Foundation," Packers President/CEO Bob Harlan observed. "The grants, however, are in addition to more than 300 items donated each month of the year by our community relations department for fund-raising efforts. In turn, these donations result in more than $1.5 million dollars a year being raised for hundreds of organizations around the state of Wisconsin."
The Green Bay Packers Foundation Committee includes, in addition to Mr. Kuehne, Andrew Farah, Jim Temp, Mike Reese, Gary Rotherham and Pat LaViolette. Phil Pionek is secretary of the Foundation.
A complete list of grant recipients:
Brown County Organizations (28):
(1) American Legion
(2) Ashwaubenon Coop Nursery School
(3) Ashwaubenon Family Resource
(4) Bellin Foundation
(5) Big Event for Little Kids
(6) Boys and Girls Club
(7) Breast Cancer Family Fund
(8) Brown County Library
(9) Brown County Veterans Memorial
(10) Center for Childhood Safety
(11) Cerebral Palsy of NE WI
(12) Children's Promise
(13) Concerned Hearts Club
(14) Crime Prevention Fund Program
(15) Disabled American Veterans
(16) Girl Scouts LaBaie
(17) Green Bay Boy Choir/Girl Choir
(18) Jackie Nitschke Center
(19) Junior Achievement
(20) Literacy Council of Brown County
(21) Pamiro Opera Company
(22) Phoenix Fund
(23) Reading Connections
(24) Salvation Army
(25) St. Matthew's
(26) Southwest High School Booster Club
(27) Urban Partnership
(28) Volunteer Center
Organizations Outside of Brown County (23):
(29) Access to Independence
(30) ADVOCP
(31) Alzheimer's Association, Wisconsin Chapter
(32) Beth-birei Second Chance Home
(33) Big Brothers/Big Sisters Northwoods
(34) Black Creek Advancement Association
(35) Camp Mash
(36) Great Lakes Hemophilia Foundation
(37) Lionel's House
(38) Make-A-Wish
(39) Milwaukee Police Athletic Association
(40) My Home Youth Home
(41) Project Sideline
(42) Rainbow House of Sauk County
(43) Rawhide
(44) Safehouse of SE WI
(45) Soup or Socks
(46) Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary
(47) Tyme Out Youth Center
(48) Very Special Arts
(49) WI Badger Camp
(50) WI Sports Foundation
(51) Zoological Society of Milwaukee
Represented Today:
(From Brown County)
Breast Cancer Family Foundation – Kristeen La Butzke
Brown County Library (Summer Reading Program) – Sue Lagerman
Brown County Veterans Memorial Committee – Norbert "Nubs" De Cleene
Cerebral Palsy of NE WI – Ted Phernetton
Children's Promise – Mary Harrison
Crime Prevention Foundation of Brown County – Pat Murphy and Sheriff Dennis Kocken
Disabled American Veterans – Cmdr. Laveral Pieper
Green Bay Boy Choir/Girl Choir – Peggy Isaac
Jackie Nitschke Center, Inc. – Ron Metzler and Amy Nitschke Klass
Junior Achievement – Laura Nelson-Degreef
Literacy Council of Brown County – Tori Rader
Phoenix Fund, UWGB – Andy Barthel
Reading Connections – Carrie Kane
Salvation Army – Sue Olmsted
St. Matthews – Mark Jadin
(From Outside Brown County):
ADVOCP, Fond du Lac – Julie Faust and Terry D'Amato
Alzheimer's Association, Wisconsin Chapter, Plover – Becky Reichelt
Great Lakes Hemophilia Foundation, Milwaukee – Kathy Glynn
Rawhide, New London – John Dery
Soup or Socks, Marshfield – Cheryl Lewis Hartl
Tyme Out Youth Center, Nashotah – Bert Hutchison
Speakers
Ron Metzler, President, Jackie Nitschke Center Board
Kristeen La Butzke, President and Founder, Breast Cancer Family Foundation
Patrick Murphy, Crime Prevention Foundation of Brown County
Norbert "Nubs" De Cleene, Chairman, Brown County Veterans Memorial Committee
Green Bay Packers
Carl Kuehne, Chairman of Green Bay Packers Foundation Committee (speaker)
John Jones, Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer (speaker)
Phil Pionek, Secretary of Green Bay Packers Foundation
Pat LaViolette, Green Bay Packers Foundation Committee
Andrew Farah, Green Bay Packers Foundation Committee
Cathy Dworak, Manager of Community Relations
