Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee

The 10^th Annual Tailgate to benefit the Don & Sallie Davis Boys & Girls Club was held at Miller Park on June 17, 2008.  We had close to 1,500 guests and perfect weather this year.  Kids received a special gift bag filled with items donated by sponsors. They also enjoyed a magic show & balloon magician, played carnival games, danced with Bernie Brewer and the Sausage Racers and had their own special buffet along with snow cones.

Milwaukee Bucks mascot, Bango, and two members of the dance troop "Energee" paid a special visit.  Our Honorary Chairs Bill Schroeder (4^th year in a row!), Milwaukee Brewers TV Telecast Analyst and Brian Anderson, Milwaukee Brewers Play-by-Play TV Announcer made a special guest appearance and thanked everyone for their community spirit.

Raffle ticket sales and silent auction bids were at a fever pitch, helping make it possible to donate $31,000 to the Don and Sallie Davis Boys and Girls Club this year.  The mission of the Boys & Girls Club is to inspire and empower all young people, especially those from disadvantaged circumstances, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens.

Employees, sponsors, donors, agents and friends - hand in hand - are the reason for the success of this tailgate.  The saying is true that one person can make a difference - however, in this case, almost 1,500 made a difference and we sincerely thank each and every one.

Evan Wargolet is the 2007 & 2008 Don & Sallie Davis Branch Youth of the Year and McKeithan’s Kids Scholarship Recipient.

Evan ranks in the top 98th percentile of his class at Bradley Technology and Trade School. He hopes to attend Columbia University in New York City to study Business, Philosophy and Computers. He’s also received a community service award from the Safe and Sound Initiative for an event he organized to remove graffiti on the near south side of Milwaukee. He volunteers at Camp Whitcomb/Mason as a Leader in Training and as a mentor for members of the Lego Robotics League.

Each year Badger Mutual sponsors an Adopt-A-Kid for Camp campaign. Employees, agents and business associates send in monetary donations which provide children from the Boys and Girls Club the wonderful experience of a week of overnight camping at Camp Whitcomb/Mason in Hartland, Wisconsin on beautiful Lake Keesus. This year 161 children were adopted bringing the grand total of adopted Kids-for Camp since 2002 to over 950.

The mission of Camp Whitcomb/Mason is to provide an imaginative, outdoor education, and recreational experience where youth have the opportunity to develop a sense of competence, usefulness, and belonging through their accomplishments, while developing skills, responsibility, and respect for others in a safe and healthy non-urban environment.

Right after Thanksgiving you’ll find our Christmas giving tree in the conference center.  Employees select cards with kids’ ages and wishes for a particular item.  Gifts are purchased and placed under the tree.  Each year over 100 gifts are under the tree.  The Club picks them up and personally delivers the gift to a family.  For some families this may be the only gift a child receives.