Regional charities benefit from U.S. Oil Open
$1.75M expected from golf event set for Wednesday
Jill Krejcie knows the free counseling sessions she holds at local homeless shelters and a clinic are working because so many of her patients return.
In nearly two years, Krejcie has worked with about 350 people at four shelters and a clinic that specialize in serving the homeless.
"We have a high rate of people coming back for counseling, for therapy," Krejcie said.
Krejcie is a therapist in the Mental Health Outreach Resource Expansion Program, which offers counseling and prescription medications to homeless people in the Green Bay area. The MORE Program is run by the American Foundation of Counseling Services in conjunction with six partner agencies and is funded by the annual U.S. Oil Open.
The golf charity event, organized by U.S. Venture Inc., an Appleton-based automobile parts distributor, begins at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at five regional golf courses. The 18-hole scramble is in its 25th year.
Golfers pay at least $400 to play, and an event dinner is $200 per person. The money goes to the Basic Needs Giving Partnership, involving three regional community foundations that distribute the money to fight poverty in their communities.
The Neenah-based J.J. Keller Foundation and other donors also fund the partnership of the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation, the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region and the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation.
Terri Green, manager of the U.S. Oil Schmidt Family Foundation, coordinates the event and expects 760 golfers this year. She said the 2010 U.S. Oil Open could raise up to $1.75 million.
The Green Bay foundation expects to provide nearly $250,000 in Basic Needs Giving Partnership grants in 2010. The foundation has funded the MORE Program since 2008, giving it $100,000 this year.
It also is providing $50,000 to the Dental Service Expansion Project, run by Northeast Wisconsin Technical College and the Brown County Oral Health Partnership, to give dental care to people on Medical Assistance or who are uninsured. In 2009, the program provided more than 2,000 dental visits.
The Green Bay foundation also expects to give $75,000 to the Child Advocacy Center, which will help children deal with child abuse and investigate child-abuse cases.
The foundation is giving $12,000 to a new program to help elderly people manage their medications and prevent falls. The foundation also will provide $10,000 to develop an Out of School Time Coalition offering out-of-school activities for children.
Bob Johnson, executive director for the American Foundation of Counseling Services, said the Basic Needs grant his organization has received has been instrumental in helping the MORE Program grow.
"It allowed us to take a concept and expand it to five shelters, 40 hours a week," Johnson said.