About Us
ABOUT US
The Greg Jennings Foundation is a private family foundation organized to make impactful grants
within our local communities that focus on youth education.
2015 ~ The Greg Jennings Foundation Annual Report
Click on the BUTTON to see The Greg Jennings Foundation promotional video.
2016 Promotional Video
VISION
A community where all educational needs for youth are met.
MISSION
The Greg Jennings Foundation strives to partner with and assist other organizations in educating youth by providing the necessary resources in order for them to reach their academic potential.
VALUES STATEMENT
Empowering youth for improved educational awareness.
CORE VALUES
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Excellence
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Educational Achievement
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Leadership
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Advancement
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Effectiveness
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A MESSAGE FROM GREG & NICOLE JENNINGS
Thank you for your interest in The Greg Jennings Foundation!
We strongly believe that children are our future, and The Greg Jennings Foundation strives every day to partner with and assist other organizations through its grant programs to educate youth by providing the necessary resources in order for them to reach their full potential.
Our four children will grow up in the same society as your children, nieces, nephews, grandsons, and granddaughters, whom you expect to become GREAT leaders of tomorrow. Our passion for youth extends far beyond our family; we strongly believe we have an obligation to provide a path to success for all youth, which is the central meaning behind The Greg Jennings Foundation.
Please join us in helping to fulfill our mission of empowering our youth. All proceeds from our major fundraiser, the Annual Greg Jennings Celebrity Golf Classic, will benefit The Greg Jennings Foundation in supporting youth-focused educational initiatives.
Help us to continue to achieve our core values of Excellence, Educational Achievement, Leadership, Advancement, and Effectiveness. Together we can make a huge impact to create a community where all youth educational needs are met.
We sincerely appreciate your interest in The Greg Jennings Foundation’s mission, vision, and goals and we welcome you to participate in a GREAT event for a GREAT cause!
Sincerely,
Greg & Nicole Jennings
The Greg Jennings Foundation Board of Directors
Nicole Jennings, President & Co-Founder
President, Nicole Jennings was raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She is the granddaughter of Anna Whitten, who is well known in the Kalamazoo community for her numerous works and is considered the namesake of Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s Arcadia Commons Campus building. Nicole attended Western Michigan University and graduated with a degree in Nursing. She is the proud wife of former WMU Bronco, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and now Miami Dolphins wide receiver, Greg Jennings. As a couple, Nicole and Greg are extraordinarily active in many philanthropic endeavors. In 2008 they founded the Greg Jennings Foundation to assist with educational success for youth in the communities in which they live. In addition to giving back to the community, Nicole states a side benefit to their active community outreach is the positive example it sets for their children Amya, Alea, Ayva, and Aice. “It’s important to us that our children will understand the value of sacrifice and hard work, that not everything they want will be automatically given to them,” says Nicole. “Part of the lesson is learning that they have a responsibility to give back. Our faith teaches us that to be blessed, you have to be a blessing to others.
Greg Jennings, Jr., Vice President & Founder
Greg Jennings was born and raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He is the son of Greg Jennings, Sr. and Gwen Jennings, Pastor and First Lady of Progressive Deliverance Ministries Church, also located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Greg married his wife, the former Nicole Lindsey, in June 2005 with which they have three daughters, Amya, Alea and Ayva and one son, Aice. Greg graduated from Kalamazoo Central High School where he was all-conference in three sports – football, basketball and track. In 2001, he went on to play football for Western Michigan University. Greg was drafted to the Green Bay Packers in 2006 and in 2011 led the Packers to the first Super Bowl victory in 14 years. In 2013 he signed with the Minnesota Vikings and in 2015 joined the Miami Dolphins. Off the field of play, Greg impacts his community by giving back and being a role model for youth. Greg and Nicole founded The Greg Jennings Foundation in 2008, and held its 8th annual Greg Jennings Celebrity Golf Classic to benefit The Greg Jennings Foundation. In April 2009, Greg was honored with the Professional Achievement Award at the 12th annual Lee Remmel Sports Awards Banquet. Upon retirement from football, he would like to be heavily involved in the church ministry. Greg’s hobbies include playing basketball, bowling, playing golf and spending time with his wife and children.
James Liggins, Treasurer
James is a former in-house counsel for a major gas and electric utility company and is an experienced litigator. He is licensed to practice law in Michigan , Illinois and Indiana and in the federal district courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan and the Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana. He has litigated a broad range of complex cases including contract disputes, construction litigation, personal injury defense, premises liability and property and real estate. James also regularly advises clients on business-related matters. Utilizing his experience as a former in-house counsel, he has worked closely with various municipalities in Michigan on issues such as civil and criminal statutes, ordinances and codes, housing code enforcement and property disputes.
James is passionate about community service and diversity. He serves on various non-profit boards of directors and committees including the Greater Kalamazoo United Way Campaign Cabinet, the Kalamazoo County Bar Association and the Douglass Community Association. James is also the founder and past president of the Judge Charles A. Pratt Bar Association, the first minority bar association in his hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan. James is a member of the American Bar Association and National Bar Association and a frequent attendee at the NBA Corporate Counsel Conference and Annual Meeting.
Sydney Waldorf, Secretary
Sydney is a partner in the law firm Lake, Waldorf & Schau PLC. She joined the firm in 2003. Prior to that, Sydney was an associate at Lewis Reed & Allen and Reed Stover P.C. Sydney’s practice focuses primarily on estate planning, estate administration and tax planning. She works with individuals, closely held businesses and family foundations to create a plan that best suits the needs of the particular client.
Sydney received her B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1999 and earned her J.D. cum laude with a tax concentration from Michigan State University College of Law in 2002. Sydney is a member of Kalamazoo County Bar Association as well as the State Bar of Michigan. She is the recipient of the ICLE Probate and Estate Planning Certificate.
Sydney is from the Kalamazoo area and is active within the community. She is on the Board of Directors of Greenleaf Trust and serves on several non-profit boards within Michigan and Kalamazoo. Sydney is married to Mac Waldorf and they are the parents of 2 wonderful boys, Will and Charlie.
Patricia Coles-Chalmers
Patricia (Pat) Coles-Chalmers graduated from West Virginia State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Art Education. Her Specialist Degree for Elementary Education came from William Patterson College in Wayne, New Jersey. Her Master’s Degree in Special Education with emphasis in Gifted and Special Needs Students was granted from West Virginia University in Morgantown, Wes Virginia.
After graduation, Pat immediately started teaching in West Virginia for one year. For the next almost four years she lived in France and Germany and taught school on the U.S. Army Bases when needed. She has supervised the running of a US/USO Service Club for military staff.
Upon returning to the United States and New Jersey, she was a Field Executive for the Girl Scouts of Bergen County, New Jersey. In this position, she serviced ten North Bergen Communities for scouting and professional development training. In 1970, while living in Oakland, New Jersey she started her teaching career in New Jersey as a classroom teacher and an Instructional Specialist for Gifted and Special Needs Students. She taught in Mahwah, New Jersey until her family relocated to Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1979. Pat immediately began working as a teacher for the Kalamazoo Public Schools. In Kalamazoo, she was a classroom teacher, art teacher, Instructional Specialist, Assistant Principal, Principal and for the rest of her years of service as the Assistant Superintendent of the Teaching and Learning Services Department. This position was considered to be the top instructional position in the district. Pat has impacted the lives of thousands of students, families and colleagues in her 31 years of service to KPS.
As a community leader, Pat has served as President and Vice President of the YWCA of Kalamazoo and The Kalamazoo Nature Center Boards. Earlier she was the President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and The Dulcet Club. She served for many years on three grant funding committees of the Kalamazoo Foundation. She has been recognized for her service on the City of Kalamazoo Planning Commission for seven years. At present, she is on the Board of Sherman Lake YMCA and the YWCA of Kalamazoo and serves contributing member of The Kalamazoo LINKS, INC.
Pat has been honored for her many school based and community wide contributions. Recently she was honored as The YWCA Lifetime Woman of Achievement Award for 2010. Other awards include the Genevieve U. Gilmore Volunteer Leadership Awards, YWCA Woman of Achievement and the Kalamazoo Public Schools Excellence in Education Administrator of the Year Award. In June 2010, she received the Delta Sigma Theta Alumnae Chapter Mary McLeod Bethune Education Award.
Mrs. Chalmers is the mother of two adult sons in Atlanta, Georgia and Jacksonville, Florida and the grandmother of five energetic and active teenagers. She stays busy. With one grandson living in the Kalamazoo area and attending KPS, she will always stay invested in this community.
Being on the Greg Jennings Foundation Board gives her the opportunity to work with her former student and his family in their quest to be of service to the children and families of the Kalamazoo Community. The education and positive empowerment of youth in this community will build a more powerful and economic based community in the future for the all.
Marilyn Schlack
Marilyn graduated from Highland Park High School and University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Master of Arts in English and Educational Administration. She went on to WMU for Doctorate in Higher Education and Administration and has been the President of Kalamazoo Valley Community College since 1982. Marilyn has developed grants for the Michigan Technical Center and Kalamazoo Valley Museum. Affiliations include the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Michigan Community College Association, Southwest Michigan First, Downtown Tomorrow Incorporated, W.E. Upjohn Institute, Arcadia Commons West Steering Committee and the Fifth Third Bank for Southwest Michigan. She is looking forward to making a difference in the community so young people can thrive.
