Packers Foundation awards $1.75M in grants to nonprofits at Lambeau Field

GREEN BAY (WLUK) — The Green Bay Packers Foundation is making a difference across Wisconsin.

The foundation awarded $1.75 million in impact grants to 11 nonprofits throughout the state during a luncheon Monday at Lambeau Field.

“One of our primary missions here at the Packers is really strengthening our community, and you guys are the ones who are on the front lines of that mission, so thank you very much for all that you do,” said Ed Policy, the Packers’ chief operating officer. He will succeed President/CEO Mark Murphy next month.

The 11 grants were distributed to nonprofit organizations in Brown (7), Dane (1) and Milwaukee (3) counties.

Policy said the Packers are proud to have invested millions of dollars in nonprofits statewide, but it’s those nonprofits and their staff members who deserve the credit.

“It’s you guys who are out there actually putting that investment to work and doing the day-to-day work, working with people in our communities and making this a better place for all of us to live, work and play,” Policy said.

Since the Impact Grant Program began in 2013, the Packers Foundation has disbursed $11.9 million through impact grants. The Foundation now has distributed more than $28 million 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.”

Grants of varying amounts were awarded to the following nonprofits:

Aspiro, Inc. (Brown): Aspiro will devote the grant toward their Beyond Expectations Campaign to modernize their Dousman Street campus, replace outdated systems and foster an environment that promotes learning, creativity and growth for clients.Bellin College (Brown): The impact grant will assist the Changing Healthcare. Changing Lives. Campaign, which will expand education access and eliminate financial barriers to strengthen the future of healthcare.Children’s Museum of Green Bay (Brown): The grant will support Reaching New Heights, the Children’s Museum of Green Bay’s campaign to expand into a 26,000 square foot facility. With over $4.2 million raised and construction beginning soon, the new space will serve more children through innovative exhibits, educational programming and greater community access.CollegeReady (Brown): The grant will go toward the Local Futures Campaign to expand its college readiness services, doubling the number of underrepresented local youth to make their college dreams come true.Jackie Nitschke Center Inc. (Brown): The grant will help renovate Glas Haus into a new 16-bed Women’s Residential Center, doubling the number of individuals JNC can serve and separate clients by gender to address the specific needs of each population.New Community Shelter, Inc. (Brown): New Community Shelter will devote the grant toward construction of permanent supportive housing, providing stable housing and services to end chronic homelessness in Green Bay.Wello (Brown): The grant will go toward Cultivating Community: Growing Farms and Families in Northeast Wisconsin through Wello’s Farmers Truck that will travel in neighborhoods throughout the Green Bay and Northeast Wisconsin region.Wisconsin Historical Foundation (Dane): The Wisconsin Historical Foundation will devote the grant toward its Campaign for a New Wisconsin History Center, an educational, cultural and historical resource benefiting and enriching the lives of Wisconsinites and visitors to Wisconsin for generations to come.Junior Achievement of Wisconsin – Metro Milwaukee (Milwaukee): The grant will be used for 3DE, a program that is systemically re-engineering the high school experience and expanding economic opportunity for more than 1,000 students at Bay View and Marshall High Schools.Neu-Life Community Development Inc. (Milwaukee): Neu-Life Community Development will utilize the grant award for NeuVue, an innovative, mixed-use development to help young people successfully bridge the gap between childhood and adulthood with opportunities to learn how to live independently, reinforcing positive life skills.The Salvation Army of Milwaukee (Milwaukee): The grant will go toward construction of The Center of Hope, a homeless shelter designed to meet the needs of the community in a dignified manner.