For the last five years, the Beaux Mettler Foundation has hosted Beaux Gestes Fest, a fundraiser that turns competition into donations for sick children and hospitals in the community.
The fundraiser started as a tennis tournament at Western Racquet and Fitness in Green Bay, and has since expanded to include a ping pong and racquetball tournament as well. All three are doubles tournaments.
"It gets pretty competitive," said Steve Salamone, the organizer of the racquetball tournament who also competes. "There's a lot of good teams that are playing in it."
There's also a "Zumbafest" taught by eight Zumba instructors from the area, as well as a silent auction. The proceeds help local children and families who are battling a medical hardship, either directly or through purchasing new technology for hospitals in the area.
The Beaux Mettler Foundation, along with the K.C. Stock Foundation and Cornerstone Foundation, recently donated $35,000 to St. Vincent's Hospital for new MRI technology for kids. It will allow children to watch a movie or talk with their parents while going through a long MRI scan.
"We might not able able to fix their medical situations, but to at least make that journey easier for them, it's rewarding," said Barb Halron, Treasurer of the Beaux Mettler Foundation and Beaux's aunt.
Beaux passed away at age 20. He was born with a serious heart condition, and had to get one open heart surgery a year until the age of 5.
His memory lives on through the foundation, which largely provides new technology to hospitals to help children.
"They actually put the money back right into the local area which is really nice," said Jim Ostrowski, organizer of the event's ping pong tournament.
"Some of the money that has gone back to St. Vincent's has just made it so much easier with children that are going through difficult procedures," said Jill Frenette, the tennis tournament coordinator.
The 5th Annual Beaux Gestes Fest on Saturday was raising money to help purchase the same MRI technology given to St. Vincent's for the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.
