History of Camden Patriots Foundation
The Camden Patriots Foundation began almost 25 years ago as the Patrick Henry High School Foundation, yet many Camden residents and friends of the school are unaware of its being. This 501(c)3 nonprofit emerged following the vision of a 1943 graduate of South High School, Winston (Win) Roger Wallin (March 6, 1926-December 20, 2010), an American businessman and philanthropist. He served as chairman and chief executive officer of Medtronic from 1985-1999 and as President and Chief Operating Officer of Pillsbury from 1977 to 1985. In 1991, Winston, along with his wife Maxine (nee Houghton) (November 30, 1926-April 2, 2023), formed the Wallin foundation, later named Wallin Education Partners, that partnered with the Medtronic Foundation’s Scholars program. This body gives financial aid and advice to promising Minnesota public school students from low and moderate-income families to attend college. The program offers scholarships to students from roughly 70 Minnesota high schools across the State. These students currently attend over 70 colleges nationwide. At the time of Win’s death in 2010, the program had awarded more than 3,000 scholarships and more than $26 million to assist students in metro area high schools such as Henry High to attend college through financial and advisory support. Over the years many generous individual and corporate donor partners have joined this cause. At the time of Maxine’s passing in 2023, over 1,500 scholars were enrolled and over 5,000 were college graduates.
In September 1999, the Patrick Henry High School Foundation was established to administer the Wallin Scholarship Program at that school. The author of this article was assigned the responsibility of seeking mentors for some two dozen Wallin scholars of Henry High one year. For example, the now U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, a colleague of mine in a Northside organization at the time, became a mentor to a Henry graduate who was planning to become a lawyer, as was Klobuchar’s profession. Win and Maxine’s daughter Rebecca was active in directing Education Partners at Henry. Gratitude is extended to the Wallins for their service to so many and for being the seeds for the founding of the Patrick Henry High School Foundation.
The Patrick Henry High School Foundation changed its name to the Camden Patriots Foundation on July 1, 2024, the same day Patrick Henry High School was renamed Camden High School by the Minneapolis School Board.
The current Camden Patriots Foundation
The Camden Patriots Foundation is an outgrowth of the Wallin Scholarship Program with wider scope. The stated foundation’s mission is “to enhance the learning environment of Camden High School and expand educational opportunities for students. The foundation is a public nonprofit charity that provides higher education scholarships to students, support for school academic programs, and funding for extracurricular activities.”
One of the functions of the Camden Patriots Foundation is to partner with the school’s Scholarship Committee to facilitate student selection for scholarships such as those considered for the Wallin Scholarship Program. A second function is to bridge the divide between monies allocated to school administration funds and operational needs. There is much needed to fill the gap for funding school projects. Thirdly, the Camden Patriots Foundation selects individuals for the Patriots Hall of Fame located on a wall in the entrance to the gymnasium.
Camden Patriots Foundation board member Geneva Kubal says, “We could use donations of any size from our alumni (and friends) who may not know that we are at risk of dissolution if the giving of the past does not maintain and now grow. Classes from the 1940s ‘50s and ‘60s have been providing the majority of the support for our first 25 years, but as these generations are aging, donations have declined, and the number of donors has drastically decreased. First, I would like to thank all the past donors, volunteers and officers for the past 25 years of support. We have come a long way to ensure scholarships, class projects and more at our school. I, like many of you, would feel sad if the Foundation ceased to exist. Second, we hope you consider a new or previous donation level. Third, join our board, especially if you have the time to take on some of the responsibilities that we need help with.”
Proposal for your involvement with the Camden Patriots Foundation
Become a board member of the Foundation. Members of the board may include alumni, present or former staff, parents and community members. Be an officer, grant writer, webmaster, student mentor, etc. Meetings are 3rd Wednesdays, September through May, 4:30-6 p.m., at the school.
Contribute money for student scholarships. Send checks or money orders addressed to Camden Patriots Foundation to Camden High School, 4320 Newton Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN, 55412
Contribute gifts to support activities at the school. Send to the above address. Designate a desired activity, department or club if you wish. Ex: The Herobotics Club needs funds for traveling to competitions out-of-state. For a list of student and group needs garnered from staff, contact Principal Liza Anderson Schmid.
Sign up for the Foundation newsletter.
Be a bridge between the Foundation, the school and the community. Info: Camdenpatriots@gmail.com, Google: Camden Patriots Foundation, or email questions to Geneva Kubal at gkubal@aol.com.
The Camden Patriots’ Hall of Fame. Seeking Patriot Hall of Fame Nominations
Nomination Process: Check out our Camden Patriots Foundation Hall of Fame page at camdenpatriotsfoundation.org/ for the latest news. To nominate someone, you can use the online form and provide any supporting information you have or provide a narrative on why you would like the committee to include your candidate for consideration. Nominations may include alumni who have graduated five years ago or more, staff past and present, or community members who have an affiliation with the school. Just provide as much information as you can on how to contact both you and the nominee by email phone and mailing address. (You may nominate yourself.)
For info on the Hall of Fame go to our website where you can find our inductees, a form to help you gather requested info and more. If you have questions, contact us through the website and someone will get back to you.
Nominations can be submitted to camdenpatriots@gmail.com or to Geneva Kubal, 1076 Bay Drive SE, Forest Lake, MN 55025, or call 612-280-4539.