Connaughton to host charity event
A few weeks ago, representatives from Pewaukee-based Capture Sports Marketing reached out to Milwaukee Bucks guard Pat Connaughton with a proposition. They wanted him to join their Athletes Doing Good initiative, but they didn’t need his basketball skills. They needed his voice.
Knowing Capture Sports Marketing had worked with Bucks outreach projects in the past, Connaughton agreed to a partnership. Thus began a process that will culminate in Connaughton hosting an 11-hour radiothon from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday on ESPN affiliates WKTI-FM (94.5) in Milwaukee and WTLX-FM (100.5) in Madison.
The event will include interviews, sales, and a silent auction in an effort to raise funds for Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin and Connaughton’s With Us foundation during the coronavirus pandemic.
Herb Kohl Philanthropies, the outreach arm of the Bucks’ former owner, is offering a dollar-for-dollar match on donations.
“I thought it was something cool to do during COVID, something cool to help,” Connaughton said Wednesday. “I’ve always been a guy that’s tried to use my platform for more with my foundation and stuff, so I thought this would be a cool way to try to have a greater impact on the city of Milwaukee because of all the support they’ve shown us and Wisconsin as a whole.”
Connaughton has spent the past 21⁄2 weeks preparing for the event, hoping to construct something that will be impactful and come off as professionally run. He’s been involved with collecting items for the silent auction, which includes a signed Giannis Antetokounmpo all-star jersey and a signed Khris Middleton jersey.
One of Connaughton’s ideas for the sale was to print 18- by 24-inch canvases of his dunks over Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee Brewers star Christian
Yelich, which will be signed and personalized for anyone willing to buy them for $400. All of the silent auction and sale items can be found on the radiothon’s website, https://e.givesmart.com/events/hj6/i/, and will be available until 6 p.m. Thursday.
During the 11-hour event, Connaughton also will conduct interviews with Antetokounmpo, Donte DiVincenzo, Kyle Korver and Middleton, along with Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry, general manager Jon Horst and head coach Mike Budenholzer. He’ll also be joined by Yelich, and Craig Counsell, Josh Hader and Brent Suter of the Brewers.
“The guys really got involved,” Connaughton said of his teammates. “Anybody I asked was more than willing to help out in any way that was needed.”
Doing 11 straight hours of radio is something new to Connaughton, though he did joke that he participated in men’s chorus in high school, which prepared his voice for this moment. In addition to helping schedule the interviews, he’s also prepared questions to try to keep things interesting and fun.
“I’m not going to hit (my teammates) with too many tough questions or questions that can cause any problems within the locker room,” Connaughton said. “We’re a team that has pretty good chemistry, so I want to make sure I’m not the cause of that chemistry’s demise. But I’ll definitely have some fun with it. We have some good personalities that the public eye might not always see and to be able to pull those out and talk with them about some things will be fun.”
Connaughton doesn’t know exactly what to expect when it comes to how much the event can raise, but he does have lofty goals — and an ice-cream cone on the line if he can meet them. He and his roommate and best friend, Joe Stanton, placed a friendly wager between them and Connaughton bet that the radiothon could raise $75,000, not including any money added by Herb Kohl Philanthropies.
“Winner has to buy the first icecream cone when things open up again and summertime gets going,” Connaughton said.