Rep. O’Connor Receives Boys and Girls Club of Wisconsin’s 2025 Wisconsin Champion for Children Award

Fond du Lac, WI—Representative Jerry O’Connor (R-Fond du Lac) released the following statement after receiving the Boys and Girls Club of Wisconsin’s 2025 Wisconsin Champion for Children Award, which honors an elected official who demonstrates exceptional leadership and dedication in advocating for Wisconsin’s youth:

“Today, I was honored to receive the Boys and Girls Club of Wisconsin’s 2025 Wisconsin Champion for Children Award.

This award is in recognition of my efforts to allocate additional money received from the federal government under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Wisconsin. The budget motion I authored called for investing $7.3 million in federal dollars annually, up from a base of $2.8 million in the last budget. These additional funds will help the Boys and Girls Club’s programs that strengthen youth social, academic, and employment skills.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Wisconsin (BGCW) serves over 125,000 youth at 203 sites in 77 communities, including hundreds of kids daily right here in Fond du Lac, reaching more children per capita than any other state program and more youth than any single private organization in Wisconsin.

Boys & Girls Club programs like Project Learn and Be GREAT: Graduate help youth build academic skills and graduate on time. Early intervention through programs like those offered by the BGCW ensures that our children are supported and have a safe place to learn and grow, which is crucial to securing a bright future for both our children and our state.

I am humbled and honored to be this year’s recipient of the Wisconsin Champion for Children Award. I will continue to be an enthusiastic advocate in the Legislature for Fond du Lac’s Boys and Girls Club.

I would also like to thank representatives Dallman, Novak, Armstrong, Franklin, Kaufert, and Donovan, as well as Boys and Girls Club of FDL CEO Dan Hebel, for their efforts to help support our children’s futures in this biennial budget.”

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.