When Lynn Sprangers received a lunch invitation from then-Brewers president Wendy Selig-Preib more than seven years ago, she didn't know that a job offer would be coming her way that afternoon.

"I got a phone call from our former president, Wendy Selig-Prieb, and she said she wanted to have lunch with me," said Sprangers, a former award-winning journalist who was working for the Milwaukee County executive's office at the time.

During the meeting, Sprangers said that Selig-Prieb made her an offer with the intent of expanding the Brewers' community outreach efforts after the organization's long and difficult battle to secure funding to build the new Miller Park.

"She said that the club was looking to grow its presence in the community, and that she felt I had both the community contacts and the unique media background to help in that effort," Sprangers said.

Originally starting in the newly created position of Vice President of Community Relations and Government Affairs, Sprangers also oversaw a newly created department called Brewers Charities.

First, however, Sprangers served as coordinator for the 2002 All-Star Game at Miller Park, eventually moving into the role as full-time president of Brewers Charities, the non-profit branch of the organization when asked by then-Brewers president and CEO, Ulice Payne Jr.

"The feeling was that the club could grow our non-profit side even more," Sprangers said. "We were now in Miller Park, the All-Star game was behind us and (Brewers Charities) was a new challenge to take on."

Today, under Sprangers' leadership, Brewers Charities is responsible for generating and overseeing more than $500,000 annually for philanthropic efforts throughout the Milwaukee community and the state of Wisconsin. Now serving her sixth year as Charities president, Sprangers, outlined the initial goals of the organization and how they have contributed to the overall growth of the Brewers' non-profit efforts.

"First and foremost, we have a non-profit, tax-exempt organization," Sprangers said. "So the first thing we set out to do was to raise money. Our non-profit status meant we could approach people and organizations in a fresh and different fashion than we might have through a business relationship. It opened up opportunities to talk to companies and foundations about ways that we could extend our reach beyond what the club was doing through our business side or through the community relations department."

Sprangers decided to establish a dual focus based on the themes of improving both youth education and youth recreation in Milwaukee. Brewers Charities has developed several successful key programs as a means to achieving that end including, but not limited to, the Brewers Buddies, Student Achievers, the Selig Scholars Program, the Money Savvy Generation Program, Holiday Card Contest and an annual fundraiser with Hank Aaron, all of which are funneled into local youth programs.

"One of the most popular programs we operate is the Brewers Buddies program," Sprangers said. "That program is our complimentary ticket program. We put (game) tickets into non-profit organizations throughout the state. Those tickets come from our season seat holders, from players, corporations and sponsors who donate tickets and ask us to put them in the hands of good community organizations.

"I can tell you, this year, we've already put more than 85,000 tickets into the state of Wisconsin to bring kids and families with economic hardships into the ballpark. Our Brewers Buddies program is one of our most popular and most recognized efforts and we are proud to offer this program to organizations across the state."

The Student Achievers program has existed in the Brewers organization for two decades. With the support of the Bradley Foundation, the program awards students in 10 different Wisconsin counties for high-level academic achievement and positive behavior in the classroom.

"The Student Achievers program is a 20-year partnership with the Bradley Foundation," Sprangers said. "Over that span, the Bradley Foundation has provided more than $900,000 in support for a program that rewards students who demonstrate good grades and good citizenship. The schools actually pick the students to be student achievers and then we provide complimentary game tickets, a special certificate, recognition on our Web site and special mention of all students in a (newspaper) insert."

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