Manitowoc County fund marks 25 years of helping 2,000 kids go to summer camp and buying 1,000 winter coats for kids.

TWO RIVERS – Approximately 2,000 kids have been given the chance to attend summer camps.

Also, 1,000 new winter coats have been purchased for kids and distributed through Salvation Army.

And contributions have been made to several area nonprofits: Hope House, The Haven, Soles for Souls, Peter’s Pantry, Two Rivers Ecumenical Pantry, Wisconsin Maritime Museum (for summer camps), bikes for the Optimist Club, the warming shelter and a significant contribution to the Boys & Girls Club of Manitowoc County.

This is a snapshot of the impact of the Helen Gajdys Reis and Lester Reis Endowment Fund, marking its 25th year in 2024.

The fund is overseen by a board including Howie Zimmerman, Kathy Hanke, Andy Steimle, Mary Reis and George Reis, Helen and Lester’s son.

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The average expense of operating the fund, according to a news release, is approximately $100 per year. That amount is paid by an anonymous donor, which means donations go directly into the fund to be used to benefit kids and local organizations.

In a July 19, 1999, press clipping from the Herald Times Reporter, Helen Reis said she was interested in starting the organization because both she and her husband grew up without fathers.

The article said her father died when Helen was very young, leaving her mother with five children, all younger than 12. Her husband’s father died when Lester was 1 year old.

“Because my mother and father didn’t have a father, they seldom got to do many of the things other children did,” George Reis said in the article.

Helen Reis added in the article: “That was a long time ago. There was no mother’s pension or anything like that. We didn’t have a lot of money coming in, but my mother always said, ‘If you have enough for yourself, you should take care of somebody else.’”

It was that philosophy that led to the establishment of the Reis Fund, the article said.

The fund’s mission has expanded over the years. Today, the board is proposing expanding its mission statement from benefiting “kids in Manitowoc County” to “benefit organizations in Manitowoc County, with the emphasis on kids.”

Contributions to the fund can be made by sending a check to Reis Endowment Fund, P.O. Box 388, Two Rivers, WI 54241. For more information, contact GVR Investment Management, Inc., at 920-553-4442.

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Contact Brandon Reid at 920-686-2984 or breid@gannett.com , or follow him on X at @breidHTRNews .

This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Manitowoc County fund marks 25 years of helping 2,000 kids go to summer camp and buying 1,000 winter coats for kids.