The Packers deliver donations of clothing and hygiene products to area high
schools and the VA Health Care Center.
It all started with a pack of unopened markers, lying on the Preble High
School hallway floor during locker clean-out day in 2009. The markers, and many
other stray school supplies, were abandoned as eager students rushed to begin
their summer vacations.
Mark Bonetti, a marketing teacher at Preble, didn’t want the forgotten
markers to go unused. In fact, Bonetti thought all those extra school supplies
could go a long way toward helping some of Preble’s less fortunate students.
That’s how Bonetti established the Hive: a safe, secure place for Preble
students and families in need to get some shopping done for free. With several
rooms of tall shelves, clothing racks and aisles full of donated items, the Hive
is the perfect place to which the Green Bay Packers’ community outreach
department could contribute.
Each year, the Packers receive many clothing items and products from business
partners and sponsors to be used and worn by players and staff. However,
sometimes a surplus of tshirts, hats, cleaning products, toothpaste, even
razors, often can’t be used before a new shipment arrives. In May,
representatives from the Packers visited Preble High School, among other schools
and facilities in the area, to hand-deliver these items to those in need.
Sandy Roubal, corporate giving coordinator for the Packers, said that when
the organization has excess supplies, they seek out areas throughout the state
of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan that need these items more than the team
does.
“It’s very important to us to take an active role in leading by example,”
said Roubal. “We have a unique responsibility to support the community that has
supported us all of these years, and we do our best to give back by donating
when we can to people and organizations that need us.”
The Packers’ community outreach department aims to give to schools,
hospitals, clinics, shelters, humane societies and centers that can use these
items and distribute them to the people and groups that need them the most.
The Packers donated several boxes of clothing and supplies to many locations
like the Hive throughout the community. While the team is unable to give
contributions of this size regularly, each time the Packers have unused items,
the community outreach department investigates organizations throughout the
state of Wisconsin that could use the team’s help.
Beginning with that pack of markers in the hallway, Bonetti started
collecting other assorted school supplies for the Hive and has expanded to
donated tshirts, jeans, sweatshirts and shoes, and even laundry soap, jewelry,
cleaning supplies and prom dresses.
“Around 50 students are homeless, which means they don’t always have the
support necessary to succeed,” said Bonetti. “A large percentage of who we help
are parents of students who cannot afford to buy these kinds of things.”
Bonetti said because of donations like the Packers’, the Hive can continue to
help hundreds of kids and family members each year. According to Bonetti, after
he started the Hive, 28 schools in the area have opened a facility similar to
Preble’s Hive in the last six years.
Bonetti hopes this mission will spread to other schools in Wisconsin, as
well. With student volunteers helping stock the shelves and a social worker on
staff to assist those shopping with any needs they may have, Bonetti says the
Hive can make an enormous difference in the lives of the students.
Packers donations help support local community
With the same round of donations, the Packers also recently stopped at the
Milo C. Huempfner VA Health Care Center to give clothing, cleaning and hygiene
products.
The clinic says they keep lockers of these items for veterans who may not
have the necessary resources to get back on their feet following a surgical
procedure.
Michael Gay, voluntary service specialist at the VA Health Care Center, said
that having these items at the patients’ disposal for no cost is important to
the clinic to continue providing outstanding care and improving the lives of the
men and women who have served the country.
“As many of our patients transition between living situations, making these
donated items available to our veterans in need can really keep them going,”
said Gay. “We’re proud of the care we can provide here, and having items like
this for those who need them helps us maintain our high standards of excellent
care and service.”
The recent donation deliveries are a part of Green Bay Packers Give Back, the
Packers’ all-encompassing community outreach initiative, which includes the
Green Bay Packers Foundation’s annual and impact grants, and more than 10,000
autographed items donated for fundraising efforts in the past year.
Other key outreach areas include the more than 900 yearly appearances made by
players, coaches and staff, youth football grants and outreach camps, cash and
in-kind donations, Make-A-Wish visits, and community events. These efforts,
combined with direct cash donations by the Packers to various charity endeavors,
resulted in a comprehensive Green Bay Packers Give Back charity impact of nearly
$7 million in the past year.
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