Instead of wedding gifts, bride-to-be asks for donations to local recovery center

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - Ahead of her wedding this weekend, a bride-to-be has made a special request to all of the wedding guests.

Instead of receiving gifts, she’s asking a donation be made to the Jackie Nitschke Center in Green Bay.

After being in recovery for ten years, Amy Borley picked up a bottle and relapsed three years ago.

It was at that point she turned to the Jackie Nitschke Center.

“It was like a re-discovery, it was a re-birth, I learned a lot about myself, the good, the bad and the ugly, but maybe some things that I wasn’t willing to look at in the past which is why I didn’t have the tools that I needed when life got really hard,” says Amy.

During her time in the Jackie Nitschke Center recovery programs, Amy met Glenn Gardner through mutual friends and they started dating.

After deciding to get married, they made a vow when it came to receiving wedding gifts.

“Rather than get another crockpot, we thought we would donate to the scholarship fund and help somebody help themselves,” says Glenn.

“We just had so much gratitude for having found each other and for where I’m at in my recovery, because if I wasn’t here I wouldn’t be a good wife, I wouldn’t be a good mom, I wouldn’t be a good partner, so our goal is to raise $10,000 so that we can provide a full scholarship to someone in need for the full 28 day program, so whatever we raise from the wedding will go towards that and then we’ll make up the difference,” explains Amy.

“The way that she’s giving back is amazing, it’s beautiful, it’s beautiful for not only the people that we serve, but for our entire community and I think it speaks volumes to her character,” says Michelle Pierquet-Hohner, Jackie Nitschke Center Director of Community and Donor Engagement.

Glenn certainly agrees, saying he’s beyond proud of the woman he’s about to marry.

“She’s got her life under control, she’s organized, she’s obviously beautiful, and take organized, beautiful, in control, it’s all you need,” says Glenn with a smile.

“We really don’t need anything and it would mean so much more to us to be able to give back to Jackie Nitschke because they truly gave me a second chance at life,” says Amy.

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