The Celebrate Life Foundation recently held their Annual Frozen Winter Carnival to raise money for Project ADAM and the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Volunteers from the Green Bay Area Chapter of Young Professionals Association (YPA) set up and ran the Frozen Tundra Bean Bag Toss for children attending the event to play. They gave out Associated Bank stickers to participants and said the event was an unqualified success.

Nicole Schultz, operations tech in the time deposit department at Associated Bank’s Green Bay Service Center, also brought her daughter Nikendra to volunteer with her. “It was a very laid back kid friendly event,” said Schultz. “My daughter went from saying ‘my mom is making me do this’ to saying ‘this was so much fun, I really want to do it again next year.’”

The event featured characters from the movie Frozen, as well as many area companies running games and providing snacks. The Green Bay Blizzard mascot was also in attendance, and there were multiple special programs throughout the day.

Casey Siegler, compliance quality assurance officer at Associated Center, volunteered for the event and said, “It is a great feeling to be a part of an organization that cares so much about the community it serves. The event supported a great cause, and I think all the kids had a lot of fun.”

“Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin saved my Baylee’s life; we owe them everything,” said Stephanie Skelly, senior operations tech in the CIF department at the Green Bay Service Center. She attended the event with daughter Baylee, who just celebrated her 3rd birthday thanks to a surgery performed at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin when Baylee was 2 months old.

“These events give me the opportunity to start telling her about what happened and how the doctors and nurses at this hospital helped to make her all better forever!” Skelly said. “Our family is blessed that Wisconsin has such an amazing place for children to go when they are sick and no one else can fix them. It makes me emotional every time I think about it — in a good way.”

The “Frozen” theme is a big win with kids these days, and this event saw outstanding attendance of over 500 people — thanks in part to beautiful weather in Green Bay that day. The sing-a-long with Queen Elsa and photo booths with characters Elsa and Anna were also a huge hit.

Ashley Hanson, operations tech in the time deposit department at the Green Bay Service Center, also volunteered at the event. She said, “I was just so excited to participate in such a great event. It was so fun to join in with the kids and their families and raise money for such a great cause. I can’t wait to take part in something like this again.”

The Celebrate Life Foundation was formed in 2013 after 3-year-old Morgan Frain suffered a sudden cardiac arrest due to an undiagnosed genetic heart disorder. Thanks to help from bystanders and an automated external defibrillator (AED), her parents were able to bring her back to life. The Celebrate Life Foundation now hosts this annual fundraiser to raise money for Project ADAM of Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Funds are then used to establish CPR/AED programs in our local schools.

Dr. Susan Frain, organizer of the event and mother to Morgan Frain, the inspiration for the foundation, said, “The event was a huge success! We would like to give a special shout out to our friends at Associated Bank for coming out to play with us yesterday. Your generous donation and participation reached nearly 500 guests, and has raised thousands of dollars to help establish life-saving CPR/AED programs in our local schools. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!"

Green Bay YPA was honored to be able to participate in this event to foster volunteerism at Associated. Events like these provide lifeblood to our community and serve so many people that the impact is hard to measure but easy to understand.

Jessica Lueck, teller supervisor at Green Bay Main Associated Bank and YPA event volunteer agrees. She said, “There is nothing in the world more rewarding than watching all the little kids running around and knowing that you are helping a cause that may one day save their little life.”

Photo Caption: Left to right - Schultz; Ashley Hanson, Operations Technician (kneeling); Jessica Lueck, Teller Supervisor; Casey Siegler, Compliance Quality Assurance Officer.