A record year of giving

Mel’s Charities grant total hits $463,000 with gifts that include a service dog that gives Port man independence, basketball court in memory of a supporter

MEL’S CHARITIES HAS had another record year, giving $463,000 in grants this year. Among those benefitting from the group’s work was Patrick Schmitt, who received a service dog named Raya just in time for the holidays. Posing with Schmitt and Raya were Mel’s founder and Executive Director Tom Stanton (right) and Ross Rintelman, an ambassador and director for Mel’s. Photo by Sam Arendt
By 
KRISTYN HALBIG ZIEHM
Ozaukee Press staff

Patrick Schmitt of Port Washington has a new companion, thanks to Mel’s Charities, and it’s made a world of difference in his life.

“She opens doors for me, figuratively and literally, which is a big thing,” Schmitt said of Raya, the 18-month-old golden retriever that Mel’s Charities got for him.

Providing a service dog for someone in need is just one way Mel’s Charities is helping people, founder and Executive Director Tom Stanton said. This year, Mel’s gave away a record $463,000 in grants, a 13% increase from last year, when it gave away $419,500.

And those grants change lives.

“I’m more independent,” Schmitt said of Raya. “I can go places and not have to worry about things. She’s a dog, so you have to take her out and go for walks. She gets me out of my house.

“But she does more than just physical tasks. She helps mentally. You have an off day and she does something that takes you from a gloomy mood to laughing. And the whole social thing is a big thing. In public, people come and talk to you.”

Schmitt and Raya have been together for about a month, and Schmitt said they are still doing a lot of training and getting used to each other — especially dealing with the puppy stage of dog life.

His previous service dog, Aries, died a couple years ago and had slowed down in her old age. Raya is another story, Schmitt said.

“It’s like having a toddler,” he said.  “I’m getting used to this rambunctious puppy.”

Having a service dog is important for Schmitt, who has been a quadriplegic since a motorcycle accident in 2006.

He said Mel’s offer of a dog was a complete surprise, noting he had mentioned he was considering getting a new service dog during a conversation with Stanton a few weeks after they met.

Schmitt’s story is just one of the examples of the work Mel’s Charities has done this year, Stanton said, noting this has been a record year for the charity.

Mel’s Charities, which is based in Grafton, has been around for 26 years, he said, and every year the group has raised and given away more money than in the past.

“We’re not obsessed with numbers, but we want to let people know what we’re doing,” Stanton said, noting Mel’s mission is simply to impact lives in Ozaukee County and have fun doing it.

One area Mel’s concentrates its efforts on are projects that support individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities, and this year the organization is paying tribute to the late John Armbruster, who was active in Ozaukee County’s Special Olympics.

Armbruster, who died on June 20, was also a valued member of Mel’s Charities, Stanton said, noting Armbruster brought Mel’s under the wing of Special Olympics as it got its footing, then helped them set up nonprofit standing at the appropriate time.

“We owe a lot to John.” Stanton said. “He put us on the map to sustainability.”

Armbruster loved basketball in all its forms, and after his death Stanton talked to the head of Chapman Basketball Academy about naming a court at its new facility in Saukville’s Northern Gateway Community Collective — an integrated community for people with disabilities being created by Ansay Development — in Armbruster’s name.

An agreement between Mel’s, Ansay Development and Chapman Academy made that a reality, but as word got out people started stepping up with donations for Special Olympics in Armbruster’s name, including several who vowed to match donations of as much as $5,000, Stanton said. In a month, $30,000 was raised for Special Olympics.

Those stories are just two that Stanton said highlight this record-breaking year for the charity.

Another, Stanton said, is an annual visit by Chris Herren, an All-American basketball star who broke scoring records and realized his dream of playing in the NBA before losing his career and almost his family to addiction.

  For four years, Mel’s has brought Herren to Ozaukee County to speak to students and their families about addiction, and his talks have had an impact, Stanton said.

“I’ve never seen a guy connect the way he does,” Stanton said. “It’s incredible to see him come here and talk to these kids — the lives he touches, the emails he gets from kids and their parents.”

Stanton said that after last year’s talk, two people approached him to tell him, “You saved our loved one’s life” through Herren’s words.

Herren will return next year, Stanton said, and that’s not the only charitable act that’s likely to be seen again.

Mel’s work with Schmitt was the organization’s first venture with a service dog, and Stanton said it’s something the group wants to replicate in the future. 

“It changed his (Schmitt’s) life, but it changed ours too,” Stanton said, noting the group plans to continue working with the Town of Fredonia-based Partners with Paws, which provided Raya.

Schmitt said he’s ready and willing to help in that effort.

“I would love to do something with them and raise money so someone else can get a dog,” he said. “I can’t stress how special an organization it (Mel’s) is, and how special Tom (Stanton) is.”

Schmitt isn’t the only member of his family who’s a supporter of Mel’s. His cousin Mitchell Schmitt ran a marathon to raise money for Mel’s, and Stanton said he’s planning to do it again.

“He did it on his own,” Schmitt said of his cousin. “He didn’t even know I was getting a dog at the time.”

Mel’s has come a long way since it started in 1999 with a spur of the moment pig roast to help a friend of Stanton’s. That year, they raised $350 for Special Olympics in memory of that friend’s sister.

Mel’s raises money primarily through events, and it holds them throughout the year. Its signature event is the September pig roast held at the Cedars in Cedarburg, which in its first year drew 50 people and today draws 600 to 700 people.

“The reason it works is we’ve stayed true to our mission,” Stanton said. “People hear the name Mel’s Charities and they know it will be fun and they know it will help people.”

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Wisconsin’s largest paid circulation community weekly newspaper. Serving Port Washington, Saukville, Grafton, Fredonia, Belgium, as well as Ozaukee County government. Locally owned and printed in Port Washington, Wisconsin.

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