Gamblers aren’t the kind of people you’d expect North Shore Bank to partner with. After all, we regularly attribute our success to our risk-averse, financially conservative approach to business.

But for over a decade, we made an exception for the Green Bay Gamblers. Based at Ashwaubenon’s Resch Center, the United States Hockey League team has worked with North Shore Bank on a number of good causes.

The bank and the Gamblers teamed up in 2009 for a “Dash for Cash” event to raise funds for the Autism Society of Wisconsin. In a Dash for Cash, a pile of money is placed on a mat at center ice during the intermission between the first and second periods of a Gamblers game. When a horn goes off, a group of people dives into the pile, each scrambling to grab as many bills as they can. The money is then donated.

In our early Dash for Cash events with the Gamblers, participants had 20 seconds to snap up the money. North Shore Bank then matched the total amount collected to double the donation to the Autism Society. From 2013 on, Dash for Cash participants were local teachers whose winnings went to their schools. By 2018, the time limit had been eliminated, with the event ending after all of the money had been collected. In 2020, teachers scooped up $12,500 — combined with the donations earned from ticket sales, more than $18,000 was raised for Green Bay–area schools.

“Teachers who participated in the Dash for Cash were so appreciative of what it meant to them and their schools,” said branch operations manager VP Tricia Cravillion, who was involved with the Gamblers partnership for many years.

Along with the Autism Society and local schools, North Shore Bank’s partnership with the Gamblers also raised money for organizations including the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society.

In October 2010, North Shore Bank sponsored our sixth annual “Caps for Cancer” game at the Resch Center, which raised $6,450 for the Vince Lombardi Cancer Center Clinic at Aurora BayCare Medical Center and Green Bay’s Heavenly Hats Foundation, a nonprofit that provides hats for patients who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment.

The hockey players went further in a show of solidarity with breast cancer patients. For the game, they replaced their regular jerseys with pink ones. And two days before, they got their heads shaved on TV. Wielding an electric trimmer, Tricia helped stylists from Sport Clips do the job.

“I did that for a couple of years!” Tricia said. “The players were so nervous to have the shaving done, but so many were proud of themselves and the attention it was bringing to breast cancer!”

“Some of the players were a little uneasy about losing their long locks,” product manager Mary Ott confirmed. “But there was so much heartfelt support for the cause. From the players to our employees to the community, we heard from so many people who were moved by that fundraiser.”

On Caps for Cancer nights, fans were asked to bring new hats to the game and then throw them onto the ice when the Gamblers scored their first goal. The promotion amassed thousands of caps for cancer patients.

Over the years, bank employees have also been part of more straightforward events like Hat Night (passing out Gamblers hats to the first 1,000 fans to arrive) and some have gotten the opportunity to drop the puck to kick off a period during games with events like the Dash for Cash.

“It was so exciting! I had to learn how to ‘chuck the puck’ so I looked like a professional,” said district manager Kerri Collins said of her experience as a puck dropper, adding that she was only a little afraid of slipping on the ice. “It was so much fun representing the bank and raising money for area schools.”

Mary, who has also enjoyed the chance to drop the puck, agreed. “The Gamblers always appreciated our investment in their organization,” she said. “In return, they put full effort into making sure we received the full value of our sponsorship dollars.”