Community Partnership Highlights

Our Boys & Girls Club is extremely blessed to have the continuous support of so many incredible partners in the Fond du Lac community. We’re always busy collaborating with others to bring the best experiences to our youth, and we’re grateful for each and every opportunity that comes our way. Here are a few examples of some wonderful community partnerships and the recent impact they have made on our organization:

At the end of May, we asked all of our Club friends to enjoy dinner or some frozen custard ice cream at Culver’s on East Johnson to help support kids…and this was the result (plus a decent amount of cash tips not included in this total!) Special shout out to Jim, Nicole and the entire Culver’s team for being such great hosts and fantastic supporters of the Boys & Girls Club.

In addition to this fundraiser, Culver’s also displays the Club’s blue boxes near their cash registers so customers can opt donate their change if they wish to do so. This Culver’s location continues to be a leader in helping us raise funds via our annual Blue Box Campaign. Will they be this year’s Blue Box Champions?! We shall see!

Our local American Family Insurance agents Brad Tagliapietra, Travis Vandynhoven, and Tim Cruz popped in with some exciting news in early June! We have been awarded another generous grant of $5,000 through the AMFAM Dreams Foundation in support of our youth programs. Thank you to AMFAM for their continued partnership and belief in the Club.

The American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation’s mission is to inspire, protect and restore dreams by creating more equitable communities. Visit amfam.com/about/givingback/community-investment to learn more!

We kicked off our “Tours of FDL” program this summer by visiting our good friends at Integrity Saw & Tool. Huge shoutout to their awesome team for providing another fantastic tour with some fun, hands-on learning. Our teens are smiling ear to ear every time they get to hang out with these great people! To view photos from the tour, view our Facebook photo album. 

From the day Integrity Saw & Tool opened its doors, they were determined to conduct business ethically and fairly – and live up to their name. The company’s goal is to be a premier tool and cutter grinding shop that is both reliable and responsive. They invest in the latest technology and consistently produce the most accurately ground tools possible. And thanks to their entire team’s commitment to success, they’ve built a solid reputation for excellence. For more info, visit integritysaw.com.

The 13th annual Birky Challenge bicycle ride took place on June 3. The ride is in of honor fallen Police Officer Craig Birkholz, Badge #67. Officer Birkholz was killed in the line of duty on March 20, 2011. After he was killed, officers and citizens from around the area wanted to honor Craig by starting the Birky Challenge bike ride. The ride features a 25, 40, or 67-mile bike ride through the Kettle Moraine area. The name “Birky Challenge” is a reference to workouts Officer Birkholz would challenge other officers to at the Fond du Lac Police Department. Officer Birkholz would use these challenges to inspire greatness in others.

The Birky Challenge originally started in an effort to raise money for a scholarship in honor of Officer Birkholz and is now being run by the Wisconsin Riders. The Wisconsin Riders is a group of Police Officers and Survivors, who ride bicycles in honor of officers that made the ultimate sacrifice. The Wisconsin Riders not only raise awareness for those officers, but raise money for different charitable causes.

Great big THANK YOU to The Birky Challenge and Wisconsin Riders for supporting youth!

We partnered with the Fond du Lac Police Department, Fond du Lac Cyclery, Safe Routes to School of East Central WI, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Fond du Lac County for a fantastic community bike safety event, held at Theisen Middle School on the first official day of summer.

A total of 33 youth attended the Bike Rodeo and were taught the importance of bike safety, including helmet safety, bike demonstrations, skill-based exercises, obstacle courses, and a bike inspection station. Thank you to Annie’s Fountain City Catering for donating delicious cookies, Kwik Trip for providing bananas, and Festival Foods for keeping everyone hydrated with bottled water.

FDLPD officers licensed every bike for free and provided a bike and helmets to children needing them. All who participated had fun and learned a ton!

The 2nd annual Braelon Allen Charity Softball Game was held on Saturday, June 24. Some of our Boys & Girls Club members had a great time attending the game, watching the incredible power displayed during homerun derby, seeing Wisconsin Badgers football players squeeze into the Holiday Road Trip go carts, and experiencing the camaraderie between teammates supporting our hometown.

This event benefitted the Club, the Braelon Allen Charity Fund, Fondy Junior Football, and the Fond du Lac Family YMCA. Thank you to Braelon and his teammates for spending a very warm weather Saturday with us! Shout out to the amazing event sponsors, the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders for hosting the event, and to all who came out to support Braelon, the Boys & Girls Club, and the other great causes he chose to support. We can’t wait to see the great things this Badger football team will do come fall. Thank you again, Braelon, for supporting your Boys & Girls Club!

To read a full article recap by The FDL Reporter, click HERE.