Thank you to the Jewelers Mutual Charitable Giving Fund within the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region for their $2,000 grant in support of SOAR Fox Cities’ Wellness Program!
The Wellness Program was launched in 2019 to help adults with differing abilities stay healthy and active by providing year-round physical fitness opportunities in settings that are accessible and supportive to each person’s needs. Some activities include Y fitness classes that teach workout equipment use, walking groups, disc golf, geocaching, healthy cooking, and gardening. Participants in this program are growing stronger, losing weight, and creating healthy habits that will last a lifetime! With support from the Jewelers Mutual Charitable Giving Fund within the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, we look forward to continuing and expanding our offerings in 2020!
SOAR’s Executive Director was recently featured in a news segment, featuring one of our participating families! Paige Givens created a board game to teach financial skills and safety awareness to people with differing intellectual abilities. Great work, Paige!
Having a job you love? Supportive friends? Hobbies you enjoy? Opportunities to learn? Being active? Attending community events? Eating good food? All of the above?
Here at SOAR, we help people with differing abilities LIVE WELL, whatever that may mean for them. We offer Adult Education classes where our participants can learn new skills. Wellness classes so they can confidently go to the gym. Social nights where they can meet new friends and kick back, relax, and have a good time, or experience something new and exciting like a show at the PAC or WWE Wrestling. We work with youth with and without disabilities to show that we are all more similar than we are different. We offer eight Special Olympics sports where our participants can experience the camaraderie of working together as a team. And for our Fox Valley friends, your favorite childhood memory of going to Camp Onaway? We offer that too.
Chances are, you are close to someone who has a disability, whether it’s your child, sibling, friend, coworker, teammate, classmate, or beyond. You already play an important role in helping them live well. We hope you will consider helping even more people live their best lives by supporting the programs of SOAR. Will you help us reach new heights and meet our Annual Appeal goal of $55,000?
“So what’s the difference between SOAR Special Olympics and Special Olympics Wisconsin?”
If you’ve ever asked this question, you’re not alone. We actually get it a lot! Here’s the short answer:
Special Olympics Wisconsin is essentially the governing body of all Special Olympics programs in the state. They coordinate and oversee tournaments, set regulations for the programs, and help provide structure to Special Olympics programs that are smaller, more rural, or are completely volunteer run.
Each region has it’s own programs, like SOAR, that offer sports to it’s community members. SOAR is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the athletes, teams, coaches, and other volunteers in our program, as well as fully financing the sports.
Here at SOAR we offer the third largest Special Olympics Program in the state! We have 170 athletes that participate in eight sports: Basketball, Softball, T-ball, Bowling, Bocce, Aquatics, Track and Field, and Powerlifting. Right now we are in the middle of our most popular sport, Bowling, and have 120 athletes competing!
“Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.” -Special Olympian’s Oath
SOAR Fox Cities Executive Director Erin Schultz (Right) and Special Olympics Program Coordinator Holly Volkman (Left) accept a $3,000 grant awarded by the Green Bay Packers Foundation. Included in this photo and presenting the award is Green Bay Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy (Center).
GREEN BAY, Wis. (December 5, 2018)—SOAR Fox Cities Executive Director Erin Schultz and Special Olympics Program Coordinator recently accepted a $3,000 grant award from the Green Bay Packers Foundation at an awards luncheon at Lambeau Field. The Green Bay Packers Foundation awarded $800,000 to 230 civic and Charitable groups throughout the state of Wisconsin in its annual distribution of grants. Jerry Ganoni, chairperson of the Foundation, made the announcement.
“The support from the Green Bay Packers Foundation means a great deal to us.” said SOAR Fox Cities Executive Director Erin Schultz. “It not only helps to fund one of our largest programs, but also provides a stage for SOAR to stand on. I want to say THANK YOU to the Green Bay Packers Foundation, the Green Bay Packers Organization and all of their supporters for helping support SOAR Fox Cities and our Special Olympics Program!”
Overall, including four recent $250,000 impact grants awarded to the Center for Childhood Safety Inc., Encompass Early Education and Care, Inc., HSHS St. Vincent/St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation and Give BIG Green Bay, $1.8 million was awarded through Foundation grants this year.
The total amounted donated is a new Foundation donation record.
The recipient groups were guests at a luncheon in the Lambeau Field Atrium, which honored the outstanding efforts and services performed by each of the organizations. Of the Foundation’s contributions Wednesday, 30 grants – aggregating $107,500 – were awarded to Brown County organizations. Additional grants, totaling $692,500, were made to 200 other groups around the state.
This year’s grant cycle focuses on organizations that will direct the funds toward the need areas of arts and culture, athletics and education causes. In 2019, the focus areas will be animal welfare, civic and community, environmental, health and wellness including drug/alcohol and domestic violence. For more information about the grant cycles, please visit packers.com/community/packers-foundation.
