The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley is grateful to have received a $125,000 Matching Gift Challenge from three local families in the Fox Cities. All gifts received, up to $125,000, by December 31, 2025, will be matched dollar-for-dollar to support the Club.
In 2024, the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley served more than 16,000 children and youth across 15 locations throughout Northeast Wisconsin. The organization is committed to doing whatever it takes to provide a wide array of low and often no-cost services to young people and their families.
The Club offers daily positive youth development programs and services, support from caring mentors, and its Healthy Habits Food Program, which serves more than 185,000 meals and snacks each year. The organization also provides diverse, mental and behavioral health services through the Club’s Center for Grieving Children, Home Base, Youth & Family Counseling, TRAC (Truancy Reduction & Assessment Center), and the STAR (Scholars on Target to Achieve Results) initiatives.
Too many youth face obstacles that significantly impact their mental health and well-being in ways that cascade into every aspect of their daily lives. Helping young people heal from their past adverse experiences is at the heart of everything we do. Contributions to the organization help enable the Club’s caring team members to support kids with unmet needs while giving them opportunities to thrive.
“The Club means home and family and a place to be safe.” These are the words eight-year-old Jaxx shared when thinking about his Club experience. For him and his mom, Erica, the Boys & Girls Club truly is that — a home away from home.
They first came to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley when Jaxx turned six, seeking a safe, supportive space to begin a new chapter in Menasha. What started as a simple need for after-school care became a life-enriching connection filled with trust, opportunity, and belonging.
Erica has witnessed incredible growth in her son — from learning accountability and building friendships to developing new life skills and discovering the confidence to help others. “It trickles down,” she shares. “The things that Jaxx learns here don’t just stay here.”
“There are a lot of things I’d like to say to the community, to the donors, and to anybody who has sponsored, takes the time, and cares. If you didn’t know the impact that you have on youth’s lives, it is life changing. There’s youth outside of my son that come here to be safe, to eat, and to be heard; there’s something about that you can’t put a dollar amount on.” – Erica (Club Caregiver)
Learn more about Erica and Jaxx’s story here:
Those interested in supporting families like Jaxx and Erica’s through the Club’s Matching Gift Challenge by December 31, 2025, can do so by:
- Mailing a check payable to Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley to: 160 S. Badger Ave, Appleton, WI 54914
- OR
- Donating online using the button below.
For questions regarding donations or this Matching Gift Challenge, please contact the Club’s Chief Philanthropy Officer, Kevin LeBeau, at 920-750-5935 or klebeau@bgclubfoxvalley.org.
