Driver’s radiothon will aid COVID-19 relief
This is usually the time former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver's charity work kicks into overdrive.
But with a stay-at-home edict in place in Wisconsin, many of the projects he had planned are on hold, including his annual charity softball game with current and former Packers players scheduled for July 26 at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute.
Hoping to help however he can during the coronavirus pandemic, Driver is teaming up with radio station WRNWFM (97.3) “The Game” in Milwaukee and Network Health to hold the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame Telethon for COVID-19 Relief.
From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, the Packers' all-time leading receiver will lead a group of celebrities that a news release for the radio event said will feature Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Famers, Packers, Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee Bucks, Olympians and others calling in to the radio station to help support the money-raising effort.
“Different guys like myself and Jordy (Nelson) and James Jones,” Driver said in a phone interview Wednesday. “We'll have different celebrities calling in, just friends of mine, so we can just check on them and see what they've been doing.
“But then also get the fans out there to hear different voices and see what everybody's up to. And then from there hoping that, at the end of the day, we can raise some money and then turn around and give all the money back to the community, so we can impact the state of Wisconsin.”
Listeners will be able to donate money, buy discounted memorabilia and raffle tickets for special prizes, and bid in an online auction. Driver is hoping the 12-hour event can raise money for nonprofits that are helping those in need during the COVID-19 crisis.
He is used to going out in public and using his celebrity to help raise money for his foundation, but this will be a little different.
“It's hard, because a lot of nonprofit organizations, charitable organizations, right now are struggling, because this is the time of the year where they actually start hosting these events,” Driver said. “They start to raise between hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars for their cause.”
Asked how much he expected to raise, Driver said he wasn't sure.
“I didn't put a goal on it to raise $5,000, $10,000,” he said. “I didn't have a goal. So, whatever everybody wants to do from the bottom of their heart, do it.
“And we're hoping at the end of the day we raise money that we can give back to the state of Wisconsin, so we can touch and impact lives.”
Driver is on the advisory board of the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame and was inducted to the hall in 2016. This year's event features the induction of Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre and Nelson, and was scheduled for June 5 in Madison.
Driver said he was still hopeful the event would take place later in the year.
More information on the event and ways to donate is available at www.WiHallofFame.com/covid, or by calling (414) 727-3605.
Starting at 6 a.m. Friday, Wisconsinbased 501c-3 charities that have been affected by COVID-19 may submit a brief application for donations at www.donalddriverfoundation.com/covid/.
Donation applications will be accepted through 6 p.m. May 15. Donations will be announced by the Donald Driver Foundation by May 29.