Baldwin visits Boys and Girls Club of the Northwoods

April 11, 2026

 

Baldwin visits Boys and Girls Club of the Northwoods

Senator Tammy Baldwin is pictured with kids and constituents Wednesday afternoon at Boys and Girls Club of the Northwoods. Courtesy of the Boys and Girls Club of the Northwoods.

ANTIGO — Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) toured the Boys and Girls Club of the Northwoods Wednesday afternoon after recently securing $1 million in funding to expand its facilities.

In February it was announced that $1 million in congressional direct funding was awarded to the club to aid in the development of a new facility.

“There are a ton of children here who would not really have a place to be where they’re supervised and doing fun and educational activities between the end of school and when their parents got home from work if not for the Boys and Girls Club,” Baldwin told the Antigo Daily Journal. “It’s the same thing in the summer where there are parents who have to be at work and it’s better than some of the less safe and less stimulating alternatives that the parents would have to resort to if there weren’t something like the Boys and Girls Club.”

Baldwin pointed out that the club has experienced significant recent growth.

“Especially in the summer and their after school programs,” she said. “They’re busting at the seams in the building that they’re in right now. I began to hear about the dream and the vision to get a facility that was going to meet all the needs of the community, the children, the young children, the teens, but also to work for the community by it easier for the kids to get from school to the club, for everything to work together to make the community stronger.”

Baldwin said she put in a request for funding the new facility and secured $1 million toward “a much bigger project.”

“So, this is just the foot in the door, a help, but I am so excited about the vision they have here,” she said.

Baldwin said, “If you’re worrying about your kids safety — where are they right now? Are they okay? You’re probably not focusing fully on your work. It probably makes it harder for the community to sell itself to move here. This is the place where you want to raise your family. This is the place where you want to work.”

Baldwin said she has spoken with people who grew up in the area and went away and began their careers elsewhere.

“They would love to come home absent of the fact that they would worry about these things coming together,” she said. “If you can make it work here, it becomes an example to other communities that are struggling with the same things.”

There’s aspects of living in northern Wisconsin, Baldwin pointed out, “That are second to none in terms of just natural amenities and things that we all treasure.”

“But there are significant challenges in terms of health care deserts, childcare deserts, grocery deserts and food deserts, when I say desert what I mean is that people in need and those things are not proximate, not even necessarily out of reach financially, although affordability is a huge issue. But if there isn’t a childcare center or family day care that can take your child, it’s inaccessible at any price right,” she asked? “The Boys and girls Clubs tend to have a lot of assets that address those needs and can really add to the vibrancy and wellbeing of a community.”

Baldwin said she is honored to get a chance to make the pitch with her colleagues in the senate regarding what projects are worthy.

“When we can steer these dollars towards worthy projects that have a lot of support in the communities, I think I’m in a better position to do that as a U.S. Senator than somebody working in an office in Washington D.C.,” she said. “I really like to have that input and uplift the programs and projects that local communities are really excited about.

Dillon Gretzinger, CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of the Northwoods wanted to thank Baldwin for visiting the club and seeing what it’s all about.

“We love any time one of our elected officials can come and see the club and see what we do,” he said. “It’s one thing to talk about it to the senators, but to see it firsthand, especially when the kids are here, you get the full experience.”

In terms of plans for the upcoming facility, Gretzinger said they have narrowed down a few possible sites.

“We have some more conversations with several groups to really finalize those plans,” he said. “Once we have that, then we’ll be able to let everybody know our full plans. But as of right now, it’s all kind of tentative.”

 

Originally published in the Antigo Daily Journal on April 2nd, 2026; written by Chelsea Deloria.