Greater Milwaukee Men

I stopped in at the new FUEL Cafe south location on 5th Street and saw a donation box for the 88Nine Radio Milwaukee Second Annual  No Empty Backpacks School Supplies Drive   to benefit Milwaukee Public Schools students. In a partnership with  Milwaukee Business Journal   for the month of  August, donation bins will be at Radio Milwaukee in Walker’s Point, Milwaukee Business Journal,  BelAir Cantina  locations and select Educators Credit Union locations. FUEL isn't listed, but as a sister restaurant to BelAir they apparently are participating as well.

The Turkey Club may be the name of a sandwich, but its also a great organization in Milwaukee that makes a true 'Thanks'-giving possible for those in need. The Club was founded in 1978 for the sole purpose of raising funds for the purchase and delivery of turkeys at the Thanksgiving holiday. All turkeys are given to food pantries and meal programs in the five county area of: Milwaukee, Washington, Jefferson, Dodge, and Waukesha. On Saturday, November 14th, you can help raise funds to pay for the turkeys.  O’Brien’s Pub at 4928 W. Vliet St, Milwaukee from 2PM to 5PM will host a Turkey Club fundriaser with terrific Raffles & Silent Auction Offerings Including; Hotel stays, Fine Dining certificates, Sporting packages & Memorabilia, Entertainment Certificates, and many other Fabulous packages and CASH ! Win your own Holiday Turkey!! Bring a friend, if you don't have one we'll find you one. All proceeds go towards the purchase of turkeys for The Turkey Club The T...

There are many beloved authors of children's books, whether it be for one or many books, a series or . But most of those whose works stand the test of time are the ones who wove life lessons into their work. Other authors have even take some of these works and turned them into guides which take famous works and show the hidden wisdom in them like The Tao of Pooh. I would love to see more "Tao of.." books from children's books and co mics, I could easily  and The Tao of Charlie Brown or even Calvin & Hobbes. One author, who was born on March 2, who always spoke to me because of is combination of imaginative characters and settings with parables, teaching us somehow to be individual and communal at the same time, and that is Dr Seuss - Theodor Seuss Geisel. As someone who explored individuality and creativity growing up but still wanted to be part of and promote the greater community, looking back I can see how his words inspired me to be who I was and am toda...

Ronald McDonald House Milwaukee's Expansion Plans When local businesses and organizations partner together for a cause the effect is often exponentially more than the sum of their parts, That is the case with the fourth year of Northwestern Mutual and the Milwaukee Brewers partnering to support the needs of our local Ronald McDonald House. One in 330 children will be diagnosed with some form of cancer by the time they are 20-years-old. Because treatment plans differ for each of the many forms of the disease, families often have to travel to seek the best care for their child. The costs associated with accommodations, hospitalizations, medication and therapies add up quickly and can be overwhelming for those already battling tough circumstances. To help alleviate the economic burden, Northwestern Mutual, through its Foundation , is partnering with the Brewers Community Foundation for the  Stolen Bases, Happy Faces  campaign. Throughout the 2014 major league baseba...

Seeing a hero like Spider-Man outside your window can really make your day when you are sick. To me the definition of a hero is no only one who helps, but inspires, and this is especially true of superheroes. In the world of comics, there are superpowered characters - ones that can do things we normal people can't , and heroes - the 'good-guys' who give an example of how to act even in the middle of conflict whether from an enemy or just regular life. It seems rarer these days for the two to intersect with antiheroes, vigilantes, being more popular it seems. I get it, the tales of  Dudley Do-Right type can never be as interesting  as those of darker characters, but there is always a place for them, especially when it comes to children. That is why I am so happy to see the involvement of characters we traditionally see as straight up superheroes in making the lives of sick children a little brighter. Just today I saw two stories of superheroes being used to cheer up ch...

A cancer diagnosis of a family member is devastating news to anyone, but when the diagnosis is of a child there are a unique set of challenges. Since the 1960s, most children and teens with cancer have been treated at specialized centers designed for them, but this can mean the caretakers have to leave their homes in order to be close to their children. Between  the doctors, tests and hospital visits, the effects of this lifestyle can have major impacts on a family. More information on childhood cancer can be found here . Thankfully there are programs to help deal with these issues. Last year, Milwaukee's own  Northwestern Mutual , in response to a lack of support for pediatric cancer research and services,  launched its Childhood Cancer Program to raise awareness and money to fight childhood cancer.  In continued support of this need, Northwestern Mutual,  through its  Foundation ,  has partnered with the Brewers Community Foundation to launch...

The  Green Bay Packers  and the  NFL  recently announced a new partnership between the Milwaukee County Parks  and  United Way  as part of the NFL/United Way “ Hometown Huddle ” day of service. This is the first year that the Packers will focus the NFL/United Way “Hometown Huddle” in Milwaukee County, with all previous efforts having occurred in Green Bay. “We are very thankful for the team’s support and hope that we can continue this partnership into the future,” Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele said. The Hometown Huddle allows teams to showcase their collective support for  NFL PLAY 60  through playground and indoor fitness zone builds and hosting health and wellness activities for youth in local communities. NFL PLAY 60 encourages children to be active for 60 minutes every day to help reverse the trend of childhood obesity. The Packers and NFL gave a generous donation for a new playground at Smith Park . Green Bay Packe...

The inaugural “Brewers Mini-Marathon,” presented by  Sendik’s Food   Markets, was completed this morning with a capacity 5,000 runners representing 32 states. Fundraising for the event benefitted the MACC Fund (Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer, Inc.). "The MACC Fund was honored to be the charitable beneficiary of the inaugural Brewers Mini,” said John Cary, Executive Director of the MACC Fund. “We were thrilled with the incredible response of the runners who raised over $111,000 for pediatric cancer and blood disorder research."

Football has entrenched itself as the most popular sport in America, but what we know of as the sport may not be what it will be in the future. Though we love it for what it is, most reasonable people can acknowledge that the rules as is do not protect the players as best they could. As football moves forward decisions will need to be made on the balance between the on-field action and the long term effects of that action. That is another discussion entirely, but in the mean time the NFL is doing its best to ensure that not only its players, but the youth playing the sport that are just as if not more vulnerable to the injuries. Through it's umbrella organization USA Football , the NFL has instituted a new program called Heads Up  to provide resources to leagues, coaches, and parents of youth football to prevent and address health and safety issues, specifically dealing with concussions.

Today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sunday edition highlights UW basketball player and senior Rob Wilson for his work off the court as much or more so than on it. The full article is here . Wilson has been an intern at a Madison Boys & Girls Club this semester and plans to leave UW with a degree in human ecology and leadership studies. As part of his internship he puts in 15 hours each week, but when time permits he tries to put in as much time as a volunteer doing whatever he can to help out children with single parents, something he knows about dealing with from personal experience. While volunteering, he spends time with the kids playing basketball of course but also reading with them, even helping out on the computer.

The Major League Baseball Players Trust  and Volunteers of America  are working with high school students across the United States, including Hawaii and Puerto Rico, are working together to inspire and train the next generation of volunteers through a program called Action Team . The two organizations teamed up in 2002 to encourage high school students to get involved in their communities and help those in need. Action Teams, composed of Major League baseball players and high school students, work together to encourage students to volunteer. High schools can get in on the action at any time, and the Action Team is constantly growing. To date 38,500 high school volunteers have helped more than 142,000 people in their communities. It is always good to see professional athletes get involved and promote activism, fundraising, and volunteering, but this program is especially great since it seeks to start with young people while still in somewhat formative years and ge...

Join Salford Lads Club, Maritime and Testa Rosa in a musical celebration of some of the best music of the 80's - nay ever - by The Smiths/Morrissey, Joy Division and The Pretenders as they share the Turner Hall stage in a benefit concert for the Pablove Foundation  whose mission is to: is to fund pediatric cancer research and advances in treatment, educate and empower cancer families, and improve the quality of life for children living with cancer through hospital play, music and arts programs. Tickets to the 11/4 8 p.m. show are $10, and all proceeds will benefit Pablove. More details at  http://onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/events/30297