Grand Slam Charity Jam to raise money for charity this weekend



MILWAUKEE -- What is bound to be viewed as one of the social events of the season is coming up this weekend in the form of a star-studded charity gala.

The Grand Slam Charity Jam is a huge event taking place Saturday, March 10th at Potawatomi Bingo Casino. The event features a VIP and celebrity dinner party with special guests like Trista and Ryan from The Bachelorette, a Grand Slam Charity Jam concert featuring Debbie Gibson, who is on Celebrity Apprentice right now, Smash Mouth, American Idol's Naima Adedapo, and a question and answer session with Green Bay Packers players, and finally, an after-party for the biggest charity contributors.The VIP dinner is a $100 donation, and the concert is a $25 donation.

There will also be a live auction, during which items will be available for bids, including a Victory Vegas 8 Ball Motorcycle, a seven-night vacation to Vail, Colorado, a BBQ cooked by LeRoy Butler for 25 guests, lunch for two with Robin Yount, and 20 tickets to the April 17th Brewers game in a Club Level suite, just to name a few! If you cannot make it to the Grand Slam Charity Jam, you can bid for auction items online.

CLICK HERE to bid for an auction item online!

The goal of the Grand Slam Charity Jam is to raise funds for several charities, including Hometown Heroes, the LeRoy Butler Foundation, Grassroot Soccer, Aurora Health Care, and Operation Dream. Hometown Heroes provides emergency services and support to low income children and families, and military families and veterans. The LeRoy Butler Foundation provides care for women with breast cancer. Grassroot Soccer provides HIV education to those in Africa. Aurora Health Care provides cancer care and screenings, and Operation Dream provides support for low-income African-American boys and men in Milwaukee.

The event began when Neil Willenson, VP of community relations at KAPCO Metal Stamping and former Green Bay Packer LeRoy Butler were brainstorming how to help about a dozen charities with one event.

"This is a pretty rare treat for Milwaukee. As the founder of Camp Heartland, we did a lot of events. One thing that KAPCO and our corporate sponsors (the Admirals, Exacto Spring, the Brewers Community Foundation), we pooled together so that we could pay for airfare and all of the things that you need to do to bring the celebrities to Milwaukee. This is rare - a small charity can't do this," Willenson said.

Last year, the Grand Slam Charity Jam raised $103,000 for charity! The goal is $125,000 raised for charity this year.

"I think a lot of people look at the Academy Awards and the GRAMMYs and say 'hey, I want to be on the red carpet,' so I think what (Willenson) has put together at KAPCO - here's an opportunity for you to do that. I think - here is one of the biggest events in the Milwaukee area that is going to bring the stars here to everybody," LeRoy Butler said.

CLICK HERE to visit the website for the 2012 Grand Slam Charity Jam.

CLICK HERE to visit the 2012 Grand Slam Charity Jam Facebook Page.