GREEN BAY (NBC26) — After securing crucial funding from the Packers in June 2024, Friends of Pals, Youth, and Families has officially announced its new plan to impact hundreds of families in need across Brown County.
- Video shows the organization's groundbreaking event on Friday morning alongside representatives from local organizations.
- The group was awarded a $250,000 grant from the Packers Give Back Foundation in June.
- The initiative is centered around renovating the Brown County Family Center and building a two-story multi-purpose facility for families in the foster care system.
- Data from Brown County Health and Human Services points to an upward trend in families served at the Family Center over the past three years.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
It's a two-year campaign that has now reached its goal.
"It makes it all worth it," Dana Kressig, President of Friends of Pals, Youth and Families, said. "It's so incredibly rewarding, it's hard to describe."
The non-profit organization announced it has raised $1.3 million for the Brown County Family Center expansion project.
Kressig said the center serves as a resource center for children and parents in the foster system — Providing a space for families to bond during life's toughest moments.
"When they come here, this sometimes is really the best home-like feel atmosphere these children have," Kressig said.
Friday marked the official groundbreaking of the project.
Among local supporters was Michael Schwartz and his family who were key volunteers in raising project funds while serving as foster parents.
"The family center is a place that offers care with dignity and our foster kiddos have benefited from it," Schwartz, who is the CEO of Innovative Services Inc.," said.
The organization bought the building in 2018. Schwartz said it provides critical space for families in need.
"It's darkest before the light and this place is helping people get back into that light," Schwartz said.
According to Brown County Health and Human Services, the center offered visits to 2,068 families in 2024 and served 910 children, which is more than 100 more (769) than in 2023.
Still, Kressig said, the building needs to be renovated and plans are in place to build a two-story recreational space.
Back in June, the group was one of 10 Wisconsin organizations awarded a grantfrom the Green Bay Packers Give Back Foundation.
That's when I first spoke with Kressig.
"What's happening here today is directly impacting a very powerful need right here in Brown County," Kressig said at the event.
The organization was awarded a $250,000 grant that she said helped them "reach the end zone."
"Now just keep going, keep the wheels moving in motion forward, because before you know it, it'll be a reality," Kressig said.
Staff said construction at the family center will begin next week and is expected to be complete by the middle of May, which is when they plan to welcome more families.
