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The Green Bay Packers Foundation has awarded more than $100,000 to 57 civic and charitable groups throughout the state of Wisconsin in its annual distribution of funds, Carl Kuehne, chairman of the Foundation committee, announced Thursday.
With these disbursements, totaling $119,200, the Foundation has distributed $1,227,726 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 27 grants - aggregating $73,000 - were awarded to Brown County organizations, among them grants to the YWCA, Ribbon of Hope, Neville Public Museum and Boys & Girls Club.
Additional grants, totaling $46,200, were made to 30 other groups around the state, among them Esperanza Unida, Repairers of the Breach, Wisconsin Breast Cancer Showhouse, Great Lakes Hemophilia and the Altoona Athletics Booster Club.
Kuehne made the grant announcements during two press conferences. The first, Thursday morning, was hosted by the YWCA, 230 S. Madison St., Green Bay and the second, Thursday afternoon, was hosted by Esperanza Unida, 611 W. National Ave., Milwaukee.
Joan Robb, president of the YWCA's board of directors, said, "In 2004, the YWCA celebrates its 85th year serving the Green Bay community. Over the years, the Green Bay Packer Foundation has been a frequent and continued supporter of YWCA programs and services. Our partnership with the Packers organization enables us to carry out the YWCA mission of helping local women and children lead strong, healthy lives."
Richard Oulahan, executive director of Esperanza Unida, said, "Just like the Packers, we work to put the best team on the field. Our team is our area residents and our field is our community. The support of the Green Bay Packers Foundation goes directly to our programs that train workers in skilled jobs and promote job development in the community. Workers earning living wages can support their families and contribute to a strong and stable community."
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 $46,000 on behalf of National Football League Charities - $30,000 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, $5,000 for the Team All Star Program Grant and $5,000 in the league's "Hometown Huddle" program.
"Today's focus is on our Foundation," Packers President and 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 a year being raised for hundreds of organizations around the state of Wisconsin.
"We're also proud of the work the department does with player and coach appearances and the community events we're now able to host at the Lambeau Field Atrium."
The Green Bay Packers Foundation Committee includes, in addition to Mr. Kuehne, Andrew Farah, Pat LaViolette, Mike Reese, Gary Rotherham, Mike Wier and Hon. Donald Zuidmulder. Phil Pionek is secretary of the Foundation.
A complete list of grant recipients:
Brown County Organizations (27):
1) American Legion Sullivan-Wallen Post
2) Bellin Foundation
3) Boy Scout Troop 1043
4) Boys & Girls Club of Green Bay
5) Breast Cancer Family Foundation
6) Brown County Library Summer Reading Program
7) Children's Promise
8) Crime Prevention Foundation of Brown County
9) Disabled American Veterans
10) Encompass Child Care
11) Green Bay Botanical Garden
12) Heritage Hill Foundation
13) Junior Achievement of Wis., Inc.
14) Learning For Life Division-Bay Lakes Council Boy Scouts
15) Libertas
16) Literacy Council of Brown County
17) Muscular Dystrophy Assoc.
18) My Brother's Keeper, Inc.
19) Neville Public Museum
20) New Community Shelter
21) Reading Connections, Inc.
22) Ribbon of Hope Foundation
23) Service League of Green Bay
24) St. Norbert College Young Artists Workshop
25) Urban Partnership
26) UW-Green Bay Phoenix Fund
27) YWCA
Organizations Outside Brown County (30):
28) Altoona Athletic Booster Club, Altoona
29) Badger Assoc. Of the Blind & Visually Impaired, Milwaukee
30) Children's Service Society of Wis., Madison
31) Community Sharing Pantry, Mauston
32) Door County YMCA
33) East Shore Industries, Algoma
34) Esperanza Unida, Milwaukee
35) Great Lakes Hemophilia, Milwaukee
36) House of Shelter, Inc., Milwaukee
37) Leaven, Menasha
38) Marquette University, Milwaukee
39) Rawhide Boys Ranch, New London
40) Repairers of the Breach, Milwaukee
41) Ripon College
42) Ronald McDonald House, Wauwatosa
43) Safe Harbor of Dane County
44) Stateline Pregnancy Center, Beloit
45) Teen Challenge International, Inc., Milwaukee
46) Ventures Unlimited, Inc., Hayward
47) Very Special Arts of Wis., Madison
48) Violence Intervention Project, Algoma
49) Viroqua Area Foundation
50) Walkers Point Youth & Family Center, Milwaukee
51) Warner Park Youth Football, Madison
52) Wisconsin AAU Boy's Basketball, Elm Grove
53) Wisconsin Assoc. Of Blind Athletes, Plymouth
54) Wisconsin Breast Cancer Showhouse, Bayside
55) Wisconsin Emergency Medical Services Assoc., Franksville
56) Wisconsin State Firefighters Memorial Fund, Slinger
57) Winnebago County Literacy Council