MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Brewers annual initiative #KindnessInMKE this year starts in the kitchen, focusing on two dozen minority-owned restaurants that have been impacted by the pandemic. The Milwaukee Brewers and American Family Insurance, along with Jackie Bradley, Jr, are purchasing more than $30,000 worth of gift cards from the minority-owned restaurants and gifting them to nonprofits around the city that focus on improving the health, education, recreation and basic needs of the community.
 
“As we know, small businesses and restaurants in particular have been severely impacted by the pandemic,” said Brewers President – Business Operations Rick Schlesinger. “Through our community initiatives we aimed to find a way to support minority-owned businesses and at the same time support the nonprofits making a vital impact on some of the most vulnerable populations in the Milwaukee area.”
 
Today, Milwaukee Brewers front office and American Family Insurance staff and agency owners can be found making socially distant surprise visits to deliver gift cards to each of the nonprofits, both supporting local businesses while also helping feed the community that the nonprofits serve. The hope is to bring further awareness to both the restaurants and nonprofits. This is the fifth year that the Brewers have dedicated a day to the initiative encouraging everyone to do something intentional and thoughtful in their community.
 
A list of the restaurants include:

Beto’s Pizza
Big Daddy’s BBQ and Soul Food Restaurant
Buffalo Boss Milwaukee
Café Corazon
City Net Jazz Café
Coffee Makes You Black
El Jalapeno Restaurant
Expressively Your Personal Chef
Funky Fresh Spring Rolls
Heaven’s Table MKE BBQ
JC King’s Tortas
Karina’s Pizza
La Chinampa 
La Salsa
Lareno’s Restaurant
Lisa Kaye Catering
Mr. Perkins Family Restaurant
Nino’s Southern Sides
On the Bayou
Orenda Café
Reynold's Pasty Shop
RicanMex Frappes & Grille
Sam’s Place Jazz Café
Sauce & Spice Milwaukee Pizza
Tres Hermanos Restaurant
Twisted Plants

“We’re proud to partner with the Milwaukee Brewers on another initiative that supports the Milwaukee community,” said Leana Nakielski, American Family community and social impact director. “By joining them in their annual #KindnessInMKE event, we’re proud to support and promote Black, Latinx and other minority-owned businesses as well as non-profit organizations doing important work serving so many community members.”
 
The Milwaukee Brewers encourage fans to come together to spread kindness on this day. Every effort, small and large, makes an impact. A gesture could be as simple as reaching out to someone who would benefit from a phone call or purchasing coffee for the next car behind in a drive-thru line. Donations of items or funds to a favorite charity is another idea, as is creating a care package for a neighbor and leaving it with a nice note at their front door. All participants, including fans, are asked to let us know of their kind deeds by using the hashtag #KindnessInMKE and #DreamFearlessly on social media platforms