MILWAUKEE — For Wisconsin Athletic Director Chris McIntosh, connecting to southeast Wisconsin is a must.
"It means something to me personally, and it's important to our organization," McIntosh says. "You know, obviously I came about in Pewaukee. The excitement around the Badgers that I experienced when I was growing up and when I was young, it led me to Madison and that experience for me changed my life, and it's a big part of who I am."
So McIntosh led a group of Badgers staff to the Guest House of Milwaukee. Weeding gardens and donating gear.
"Whenever people visit, and show that they're invested in our community? I think it makes a big difference for our shelter guests. For the neighborhood," Guest House Of Milwaukee Donor Relations and Communications Specialist Christine Jacobs says. "I saw some neighbors out looking around to see what was going on. I think it just shows then that people care about them and care about our community."
"I think it's the fabric of Wisconsin," McIntosh says. "And I think the people of Wisconsin take care of each other. Care about each other. I've had the ability to live other places and whenever I come home to Wisconsin, there's just a feeling of community and just a genuine love for each other."
All the more, because basics like healthy food are hard to find in this area.
"We are in a food desert, so this zip code 53205? There are no grocery stores at all," Jacobs says. "So all they have is gas stations and convenience stores. So not very healthy food and usually a little more expensive than other places that you can find that. So to combat that? We grow a garden right here in the middle of the neighborhood."
Between Thanksgiving Basket donations, volunteering at food pantries, and more, many of Wisconsin's charitable acts involve food. And that's something most in the state can get behind.
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