Packers give $1.5 million to Wisconsin civic and charitable organizations
GREEN BAY – It's the giving season for the Green Bay Packers.
The team said Tuesday it awarded a $250,000 Veterans Impact Grant to Racine-based nonprofit Veterans Outreach of Wisconsin. On Thursday, the Green Bay Packers Foundation will award a record $1.25 million to 243 civic and charitable organizations from across Wisconsin during its annual noon luncheon at Lambeau Field.
This year, foundation grants will go to organizations working in the areas of animal welfare, civic and community programs, environmental causes, health and wellness, including drug/alcohol services, and domestic violence causes. In 2023, focus areas will be the elderly, homelessness, human services and hunger. For more information, go to packers.com/foundation.
Veterans Outreach of Wisconsin assists primarily homeless and at-risk veterans as they strive for normalcy. It provides them with resources such as food, clothing, shelter and other basic human needs.
The organization will use the money to expand its tiny house project, which provides shelter for homeless veterans. The James A. Peterson Veteran Village consists of 15 tiny homes, supplying veterans with the tools needed to break the cycle of homelessness and providing a warm, welcoming environment. Veterans Outreach plans to acquire a nearby building to use as a veterans’ community center to support the project.
It also plans to introduce a Mobile Veteran Marketplace, where a branded bus will act as a traveling food pantry for veterans across Wisconsin. Veterans Outreach aims to expand the reach of their efforts and make it easier to collaborate with other veterans organizations throughout the state.
“This impact grant allows us to focus on the food insecurities, housing and mental health of our veteran community," said Zach Zdroik, executive director with Veterans Outreach of Wisconsin.
This is the third consecutive year that Packers Give Back awarded the Veterans Impact Grant specifically for organizations that serve veterans and their families.
In August, the Packers Foundation gave $1.35 million to seven nonprofit organizations in Brown, Dane and Milwaukee counties, and $200,000 for athletic field replacement in Appleton.
Packers said their charity impact during the last year was more than $9 million.
Contact Richard Ryman at rryman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG/.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Packers give $1.5 million to Wisconsin civic, charitable organizations
