Campgrounds affiliated with the Wisconsin Association of Campground Owners (WACO) donated more than $300,000 this year to the Gilbert Brown Foundation, which supports more than 150 children’s charities, according to Lori Severson, WACO’s executive director.
The Gilbert Brown Foundation’s many initiatives include providing school supplies, organizing free football camps for Wisconsin’s inner-city youth, hosting a turkey giveaway and supplying coats and toys for children during the holidays. The foundation also provides gas cards to kids with cancer and breast cancer patients to help them obtain the care they need.
One of the Gilbert Brown Foundation’s longtime beneficiaries is 18-year-old Caden Dahl, who was born with no right arm and only a short left arm with two fingers. Brown, as well as other current and former Packer players, frequently visit Wisconsin campgrounds to take part in fundraising events.
Wisconsin campgrounds that held special fundraising events this year for the Gilbert Brown Foundation, some of which included other retired Packer players.
Campgrounds and other venues holding fundraising events included:
- Backyard Campground in Gratiot
- Champions Riverside Resort in Galesville
- Duck Creek Campground in Pardeeville
- East Bay Lodge in Holcombe
- Grand Valley Campground in Dalton
- Great River Harbor Campground & Marina
- Kinney Lake Campground in Marion
- Lakeside Fire Campground in Nekoosa
- O’Neil Creek Campground in Chippewa Falls
- Pride of America Camping Resort in Pardeeville
- Rivers Edge Campground in Stevens Point
- Stoney Creek RV Resort in Osseo
Severson said WACO-member campgrounds have donated more than $1.5 million to the foundation since 2019.
