Join Us in Empowering the Next Generation
Inspire the next generation of Fond du Lac County area youth by contributing to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Fond du Lac County Capital Campaign: Building Connection, Inspiring Potential.
The demand for our services has grown significantly over the past decade. To meet this growing need and better serve families in Fond du Lac County and northern Dodge County, we recently made a major move to 987 S. Main Street in Fond du Lac. Our goal is to offset the cost of the new building, make necessary updates, and ensure we have the resources to expand essential mentoring programs to even more local youth—help us reach our goal! Click the link below to make a donation or keep scrolling to learn more.
Merchant services are generously provided by Bristol Morgan Bank. Your full donation will go to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Fond du Lac County.
A New Home for Mentorship
The new mentoring facility isn’t just a building—it’s an investment in the future of our community.
- Stay Mission-Focused: By paying off our loan and updating the facility, we can ensure that we remain financially strong and focused on our core mission, without the burden of debt holding us back.
- Reduce Our Waiting List: Over 150 children in the Fond du Lac County area are currently waiting for a Big. With more room and resources, this new space will allow us to recruit and train more mentors, ensuring every child gets the mentorship they need.
- Expand Our Impact: We plan to increase the number of lives we impact by 50% by 2027, with the new facility enabling us to serve more children and families through expanded programs. This new facility is the cornerstone of that growth.
- Safe, Functional Spaces: Our original building’s proximity to a busy train track presented safety and accessibility issues. Our new location provides a quieter, safer, more attractive environment as well as outdoor green space for group activities.
What We Do
We create meaningful, monitored mentoring matches between caring adult volunteers (Bigs) and local youth (Littles). Working together with volunteers, children, and parents/guardians, we nurture children to have higher aspirations, greater confidence, and better relationships—empowering our youth to reach their greatest potential and building a stronger community.
Youth ages 6 and up can enroll via parent/guardian referral, and can stay enrolled until they turn 18 or graduate from high school.
- Youth are individually paired with a thoroughly vetted volunteer adult mentor in a school-based, site-based (NEW!), or community-based match based on shared interests, hobbies, backgrounds, or goals.
- We were able to launch a brand-new site-based mentoring program at our new building last fall. Employees from Grande Cheese Company meet with their Littles at the BBBS office every other Wednesday.
- Matches meet for a total of 4-6 hours a month to hang out, get to know each other, and build a friendship.
- Professionally-trained Match Support Specialists keep in routine contact with Bigs, Littles, and parents/guardians to make sure all parties remain safe in the match.
- Youth meet at least once a month for Teen Group (ages 13-17), Game Changers (ages 8-12), Sports Buddies, and S.T.E.A.M. Studio either at the BBBS office or in the community to participate in skill-building activities and explore topics with their peers.
- 1:1+ mentoring opportunities are facilitated by trained staff and engage all youth in our program regardless of 1:1 match status.
Leadership
| Position | Name | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign Chair & Board Member | Ryan Kamphuis | Bristol Morgan Bank • President & CEO |
| Campaign Co-Chair | Paul Reetz | Integrity Saw & Tool • Owner |
| Campaign Co-Chair | Ryan Knueppel | Summit Automotive • General Manager |
| Board President | Mike Rosenau | Society Insurance • Director of Risk Control |
| Board President-Elect | Alicia Hans | Alicia Hans, LCSW, LLC • Licensed Clinical Social Worker |
| Board Secretary | Karri Oelke | National Exchange Bank & Trust • Marketing Officer |
| Board Treasurer | Dan Roberts | Grande Cheese Company • Sr. Director, Manufacturing Network Optimization |
| Board Member | Samantha Baker | Alliance Laundry Systems • Director, Corporate Human Resources |
| Board Member | Bill Boyd | SSM Health • Vice President of Operations |
| Board Member | Ryan Galligan | FVSBank • Vice President, Director of Operations |
| Board Member | Erick Gerritson | City of Fond du Lac Fire and Rescue • Fire Chief |
| Board Member | Mary Kosmer | CLA • Audit Senior Manager |
| Board Member | David LeCaptain | Fond du Lac Police Department • Captain |
| Board Member | David Neumann | Verve, a Credit Union • Branch Manager |
| Board Member | Laurice Snyder | CESA 6 • Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Consultant |
| Staff | Tammy Young | Executive Director |
FAQ
The goal of our Capital Campaign is to raise $1.95 million. These funds will allow us to pay off the loan that helped us secure our new mentoring facility, make essential updates to the building, and ensure we have the resources to expand our programs. By achieving this goal, we will be able to serve more children, recruit more mentors, and create a safe, welcoming space where impactful relationships can flourish.
We’ve already secured the building and moved into the new facility. Now, our goal is to raise $1.95 million within the next year to pay off the loan and make necessary updates to ensure the space is fully optimized for mentoring, events, and youth programming.
Our old facility was in a loud, unsafe location next to a busy railroad track and it lacked the space required to grow our programs. The new building offers meeting rooms, green space for outdoor activities, and a safer, more convenient location for the families we serve.
Yes! While we were able to secure the new mentoring center with a loan, we are conducting this campaign to pay off that loan and make necessary updates to the facility. By paying off the loan, we free up valuable resources that can go directly into expanding our programs and serving more children. This campaign ensures that the facility can operate without financial strain, allowing us to focus entirely on what matters most—changing the lives of the youth in our community.
With the expanded space, we’ll be able to recruit and train more Bigs. This will allow us to match more Littles and provide 1:1+ mentoring opportunities for those who are waiting.
The children we serve receive support from many youth-serving organizations in the Fond du Lac County area, all of which are important pieces in the village it takes to raise a child. Big Brothers Big Sisters is unique in our primary focus on 1:1 mentoring at no cost to children and families. Children are strategically matched with a committed adult volunteer based on shared interests, hobbies, backgrounds, and goals. These 1:1 pairings create meaningful, lasting relationships in the lives of local children that lead to positive outcomes such as graduating high school and finding a career.
Thank You
