Giving back: Lieb Family believes in Phuture Phoenix

Janet Lieb was among the earliest community members to volunteer in support of the Phuture Phoenix program at its founding five years ago.

It’s no surprise today, then, that Janet and her husband, Charles, are among the first Green Bay families to support the scholarship fundraising campaign to ensure that Phuture Phoenix students realize their college dreams.

The Liebs have made a five-figure gift to endow the Janet and Charles Lieb Phuture Phoenix Scholarship.

“This program (Phuture Phoenix), encouraging children as young as fifth grade to be excited about education and higher education, is good for our community,” Janet has said. “It fits with what I see as a great need.”

As an on-site volunteer, Janet has seen the excitement on Phuture Phoenix Days when fifth-graders tour campus and meet their college-age mentors. (She knows, for instance, the tradition of autographing shirts for the campus visitors, above.) For many of the children, their involvement builds over time along with motivation to graduate from high school and continue on to a university, college or technical college.

The first Phuture Phoenix participants are now juniors in high school and will be eligible for scholarships from the endowment funds in the 2010-11 academic year. It is expected that many of the participants from low-income or first-generation-college families will require financial assistance.

Janet Lieb is a UW-Green Bay graduate herself, earning her bachelor’s degree in human development and psychology. Her community involvement has included not only Phuture Phoenix but a variety of non-profit assistance for children and at-risk families.