On Saturday, August 14, the Trenton Thunder hosted the first ever “Good Deed Game” with over 200 fans participating by making at least one donation to the four drives held outside the stadium.
The event featured a blood drive to benefit the Community Blood Council of New Jersey, a school supplies drive to support the learning center at the East Trenton Chapter of Habitat for Humanity, a non-perishable food drive to benefit the Mercer Street Friends Food Bank and a toiletries drive to support HomeFront.
Of the over 200 fans who made donations, 25% supported one organization, 40% made two donations, 31% supported three drives and 4% donated to all four.
“We always say we have the best fans in baseball and their giving nature really backed up that statement,” said Thunder Director of Community Relations Patience Purdy. “It was a lot of fun to see families with little kids getting excited about making a donation to help others.”
The Community Blood Council of New Jersey Blood Mobile collected 20 pints of blood, enough blood to potentially save 60 lives. The 20 pints collected is the highest of the three drives held at Waterfront Park this year.
The Mercer Street Friends Food Bank collected 814 pounds of nonperishable food. Mercer Street Friends notes that the amount is enough to supply a family of four with food for two months. In the last two years, Thunder fans have donated over 1,700 pounds of food for the food bank through Trenton Thunder drives.
While quantifying the amount of school supplies collected is difficult, Patty Hughes, the Development Coordinator for Habitat for Humanity Trenton Area said, “The Habitat volunteers were overwhelmed with the response from the game attendees. They mentioned that the bags of school supplies filled their car. Please know how much the HFH-TA staff and the community appreciates the generosity of the Trenton Thunder and the fans. The work and the commitment of all of the non-profits in Mercer County is amazing in these tough economic times. ”
HomeFront, an organization that helps families break the cycle of poverty, collected over 250 personal care items – shampoo, conditioner, lotion, bandaids, bar soap, toothpaste tubes and other toiletry items that will be put to use in their Family Preservation Center and other residences.
“Trenton Thunder fans are fun people with great big hearts! The personal items that were collected cannot be bought with food stamps and provide a lot of comfort to people in genuine need,” said Anita Hanft, Director of Mission Advancement for HomeFront.
The Thunder provided incentives to fans who supported these local non-profit organizations. Fans who donated to any one of the causes received a ticket to the Thunder’s Fan Appreciation Night vs. Akron on Thursday, September 2 at 7:05 pm. People who donated to any two of the drives received the game ticket and a Thunder hat. Individuals who supported three causes got the ticket, hat and on September 2nd they will be recognized on the field and throw a ceremonial pitch before the game. Those who support all four drives got everything plus a food voucher.
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