Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers and the Milwaukee Bucks share a commitment to improving outcomes for the city's most vulnerable and a passion for making a difference in the area. Recognizing that, Sixteenth Street on Tuesday announced Bucks President Peter Feigin as the honoree of the 2017 Roast, its signature fundraiser that will take place on Oct. 5 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Downtown Kitchen.
The annual celebrity roast honors and pokes fun at elite local corporate, civic, sports and philanthropic leaders. The evening event promotes community engagement and investment in healthcare issues, with proceeds helping Sixteenth Street increase access to healthcare for individuals who have low incomes, are uninsured or face other barriers to care.
"We are proud to be honoring Peter and the entire Milwaukee Bucks organization because of their active engagement in the community and, like Sixteenth Street, their dedication to improving outcomes for Milwaukee’s underserved," Dr. Julie Schuller, president and CEO of Sixteenth Street, said in a statement. "Roasting Peter will be a wonderful celebration of his community-driven leadership and our shared commitment to improving the environment where our patients live, work and play."
Founded as a storefront clinic in 1969, Sixteenth Street now serves nearly 40,000 patients each year – the vast majority of whom are without health insurance or rely on Medicaid – providing high-quality healthcare, behavioral health services, social services and health education through its five clinic locations, in addition to numerous comprehensive community initiatives.
Over the past 20 years, Sixteenth Street has toasted (and roasted) such influential city figures as Mayor Tom Barrett, Marcus Corporation Chairman Steve Marcus, Hammes Company Founder and Managing Partner Jon Hammes, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, Governor Jim Doyle and Senator Herb Kohl.
"I’m honored to be recognized by such a vital and dedicated local organization as Sixteenth Street," Feigin said. "One of the key focus areas for the Milwaukee Bucks Foundation is youth health and wellness and we are proud to share in Sixteenth Street’s mission of making a positive difference for our city.
"I am thrilled to be part of the 2017 Roast and look forward to a great evening."
As the only source of healthcare for much of Milwaukee’s most vulnerable population, Sixteenth Street’s mission is not only to provide high-quality care, but also to give individuals and families needed support and services to make wellness a sustainable reality. Some of the community health centers’ initiatives include in-home lead testing, nutrition classes, neighborhood revitalization, diabetes support groups, asthma home evaluations and case management for new babies.
Funds raised at this year’s Roast will support Sixteenth Street’s extended footprint and enhance the community health centers’ ability to provide appropriate care to those in need in Milwaukee.
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.
