U.S. Venture Open returns to full event, raising $4.8 million for area charities and featuring Packers guest speakers
After two years of COVID-19 pandemic modifications, the 37th annual U.S. Venture Open returned Wednesday to Appleton and Green Bay area golf courses, raising $4.8 million for charities throughout northeast Wisconsin.
Returning to the full event this year was "like riding a bike," said Greg Vandenberg, director of giving and community engagement for U.S. Venture. "We just went right back into how we had it."
More than 1,200 people attended the event, including around 900 golfers. Later in the day, it continued with a Wisconsin-style supper club and auctions under an air-conditioned tent at Van Abel's of Hollandtown.
The dinner featured this year's celebrity guests, Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur and running backs AJ Dillon and Aaron Jones. They answered questions for the crowd posed by former Packers fullback John Kuhn after they finished training camp for the day.
While the event went smoothly, Vandenberg said its benefiting charities have both decreased revenue and increased needs due to the pandemic — a one-two punch of fewer fundraising events and more people who need help.
However, Vandenberg said that he was "ecstatic" and "astounded" by the community's generosity, adding that individual donations ranged from $5 to $800,000.
The amount raised this year exceeded U.S. Venture's goal of $4.6 million and comes close to its record-breaking $5.2 million in 2019.
Over nearly four decades, the U.S. Venture Open has granted almost $50 million to 235 area organizations in Green Bay, the Fox Cities and Oshkosh.
Rebecca Loroff covers breaking and trending news in Northeast Wisconsin. Contact her at 920-907-7801 or rloroff@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @RebeccaLoroff.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: U.S. Venture Open back to full event, raises $4.8 million for charity
