America SCORES Milwaukee, the local chapter of the nationwide youth development non-profit organization, has received a $5,000 programmatic grant from the Steve Stricker American Family Insurance Foundation to continue empowering more than 2,000 kids across the city using soccer, writing and service-learning. SCORES, which is the community outreach program of the Milwaukee Kickers Soccer Club, made the announcement on Wednesday.
The Steve Stricker American Family Insurance Foundation recently distributed $1.625 million in proceeds from the second annual PGA TOUR Champions American Family Insurance Championship golf tournament, which was held in Madison last June. America SCORES Milwaukee was one of 68 organizations that received a grant from the Foundation.
SCORES provides at-risk urban students an outcome-based, innovative and well-integrated program using soccer, poetry and community service. The organization’s mission, to inspire youth to lead healthy lives, be engaged students and have the confidence and character to make a difference in the world, aligns with the Foundation’s commitment to develop strong families and healthy kids so they can pursue their dreams.
SCORES programming engages and motivates disadvantaged children in under-resourced neighborhoods throughout Milwaukee to be healthy and involved in both schools and communities, interconnecting sports, academics and volunteering.
"Funding from the Steve Stricker American Family Insurance Foundation will enable SCORES to not only sustain our programs but to expand to serve more kids" Kate Carpenter, Executive Director of America SCORES Milwaukee, said in a statement. "This award will directly support program expansion at Silver Spring Neighborhood Center for the entire year."
Established in 2013 when Stricker, a Madison-area native, became a brand ambassador for American Family Insurance, the Steve Stricker American Family Insurance Foundation supports charities, educational initiatives and organizations aimed at strengthening families and improving the lives of children.
"The Stricker family is overwhelmed by the incredible generosity of everyone who has supported the American Family Insurance Championship in its first two years," Steve and Nicki Stricker said in a statement. "This has enabled us to meet our primary goal of having our Foundation help deserving non-profit organizations, like America SCORES Milwaukee, that have such a strong, positive impact on our communities."
Born in Milwaukee but a product of Shorewood High School (go ‘Hounds!) and Northwestern University (go ‘Cats!), Jimmy never knew the schoolboy bliss of cheering for a winning football, basketball or baseball team. So he ditched being a fan in order to cover sports professionally - occasionally objectively, always passionately. He's lived in Chicago, New York and Dallas, but now resides again in his beloved Brew City and is an ardent attacker of the notorious Milwaukee Inferiority Complex.
After interning at print publications like Birds and Blooms (official motto: "America's #1 backyard birding and gardening magazine!"), Sports Illustrated (unofficial motto: "Subscribe and save up to 90% off the cover price!") and The Dallas Morning News (a newspaper!), Jimmy worked for web outlets like CBSSports.com, where he was a Packers beat reporter, and FOX Sports Wisconsin, where he managed digital content. He's a proponent and frequent user of em dashes, parenthetical asides, descriptive appositives and, really, anything that makes his sentences longer and more needlessly complex.
Jimmy appreciates references to late '90s Brewers and Bucks players and is the curator of the unofficial John Jaha Hall of Fame. He also enjoys running, biking and soccer, but isn't too annoying about them. He writes about sports - both mainstream and unconventional - and non-sports, including history, music, food, art and even golf (just kidding!), and welcomes reader suggestions for off-the-beaten-path story ideas.
