Jockey Being Family to host Downtown Event

It didn’t take Jake McGhee long to witness the kindness and generosity of his new employer.

McGhee, the former chief executive officer at the Boys and Girls Club of Kenosha, is making his first community appearance as Jockey International’s vice president and chief philanthropy officer.

For the 12th consecutive year, Jockey Being Family hosts a community event with Santa to support local adoptive and foster families. The socially-distanced, drive-through parade takes place from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday at the Jockey Factory Store, 5500 Sixth Ave.

This year’s event includes appearances by Santa, Mrs. Claus, Christmas carolers, North Pole princesses and Jockey mascots, who will greet local residents from the window of the decorated storefront.

As each participating family drives through, they will receive a holiday bag including a variety of festive gifts and activities as well as a $50 Meijer gift card. Each child in the family will receive an age-appropriate Christmas gift. 

Jockey International employees along with Jockey Being Family raised enough funds to distribute over 400 gifts. Jockey employees Stefanie Romanowski and Sean Radford purchased bags of toys at Duck Duck Goose Children’s Shop, 5811 Sixth Ave. on Tuesday.

“It is great that we were able to get creative and still find a way to give back to our families during the holiday season,” said McGhee, who oversees Jockey’s community efforts and foundation. 

“It is great that we were able to get creative and still find a way to give back to our families during the holiday season.”

Jake McGhee, Jockey International vice president and chief philanthropy officer

“I’m still new to Jockey, and it was great to see the employee’s excitement about giving back through their personal time and financial resources for this cause. I hope this event brings some excitement and cheer to the local community.”

McGhee arrives at Jockey following successful stints at the Boys and Girls Club of Kenosha and as general manager of the Kenosha Kingfish Baseball Club.

Jockey Being Family has traditionally held its annual “Breakfast with Santa” event in December, but due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, it pivoted to a safer, socially-distanced alternative. 

The event was made possible with donations by Meijer and Journey Church Disaster Relief Team.

Jockey Being Family supports and strengthens adoptive families by providing funding to nonprofit organizations, enabling them to provide critical post-adoption services on both local and national levels, thereby helping adoptive families stay together, forever. 

The Foundation believes every child deserves to grow up with a loving family in a forever home.