Archives for February 2011

The Junior League of Gwinnett and North Fulton receives Gwinnett Braves February Grant

Team’s grant will help expand the Kids in the Kitchen initiative

The Gwinnett Braves announced today that the Junior League of Gwinnett and North Fulton is the recipient of the Gwinnett Braves February Grant. The $1,000 grant will be used to support the organization’s Kids in the Kitchen initiative.

The goal of the Junior League’s Kids in the Kitchen initiative, which is supported by The Association of Junior Leagues International Inc., is to empower youth to make healthy lifestyle choices and help reverse the growth of childhood obesity and its associated health issues. The program engages kids in the preparation of healthy meals and educates them and their parents regarding nutrition and healthy choices.

The initiative provides lessons and demonstrations related to preparation of healthy meals and snacks in partnership with local community organizations, chefs and nutritionists. In addition to healthy eating, the Junior League encourages physical activity as part of a healthy lifestyle. This past year, the initiative provided healthy eating education and demonstrations to more than 300 children and their families. The grant will triple the reach of the Kids in the Kitchen initiative to more than 900 children in our community.

“The Junior League of Gwinnett and North Fulton Counties is honored to receive this grant from the Braves Foundation. We are celebrating our 25th year of service to the community and are striving to expand our impact. The Braves Foundation grant provides our organization with support that will help us expand our programs to reach more families in the area”, said Misty Sutton, Fund Development Chair. “We plan to utilize this grant to expand our Kids in the Kitchen program, which promotes healthy, and economical, food choices for children and their families. The Braves Foundation grant will help us to more than triple the number of children that we are able to educate through this program.”

About the Junior League
The Junior League of Gwinnett and North Fulton Counties, Inc. is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization of women who are developed as civic leaders to create lasting community impact through training, leadership opportunities, advocacy and hands-on community service. Its purpose is to develop the potential of women to be leaders in their communities and to strengthen local communities by creating and implementing collaborative volunteer projects.

BlueClaws Charities Donates Over $150,000 In 2010

BlueClaws Charities, the non-profit foundation of the Lakewood BlueClaws, contributed over $150,000 to area organizations and fundraising events in 2010, the BlueClaws announced.

Charitable donations totaled $157,721 through a variety of different categories.

“Being a strong and active part of the community has been a priority for us since day one,” said BlueClaws General Manager Geoff Brown. “We’re grateful to those that have supported all of our charitable events and fundraising efforts to make this possible.”

Various BlueClaws fundraising events included the first Nine and Dine Golf Outing, the first Manager’s Luncheon, and the ALS Celebrity Waiter event in May (which has raised over $110,000 in 10 years).

BlueClaws Charities donated thousands of dollars to the Susan G. Komen Fund, American Cancer Society, and other Community Partners through BlueClaws jersey auctions last year and will again do the same in 2011.

More than $50,000 was raised by local organizations through the BlueClaws concession fundraising program, which enables groups to raise money by volunteering in the team’s concession stands.

Over $45,000 was donated through ticket requests and sponsorships of charitable golf outings.

Organizations received an extra $18,000 from BlueClaws Charities through 50-cent donations for each ticket used as part of a BlueClaws ticket fundraiser. Local organizations also bought discounted BlueClaws tickets and re-sold them for face value to raise an additional $130,000 during the 2010 season.

Hit the Books Contest Winner Announced Wednesday

The Omaha Storm Chasers awarded fourth-grader Gracie Davis this year’s Hit the Books contest winner, in a ceremony at Anderson Grove Elementary Wednesday. Davis was selected by the Storm Chasers community relations staff based on her original bookmark design.

“It was extremely difficult to choose a winner this year with so many great entries,” said Andrea Stava, the club’s Community Relations Manager. “The Omaha metro area has many talented students and we looked at thousands of great submissions. We’re excited to finally announce a winner.”

Hit the Books, the Storm Chasers’ literacy program presented by Nebraska Educational Savings Trust (NEST), has a membership of approximately 15,000 students and 1,000 teachers at 50 Omaha-area schools. Students were asked to submit original drawings for this year’s bookmark, which feature the artwork Gracie submitted this January. Bookmarks will be distributed throughout the city to each student who reaches their initial reading benchmark.

Students will have an opportunity to earn the bookmark, a pencil, a ticket to a Storm Chasers game and a prize pack for completing the program. Davis was presented with a Storm Chasers t-shirt, miniature baseball bat, Storm Chasers logo ball and various other items with the full prize pack at Wednesday’s event.

Record $43,313 Raised for Charity at Whitecaps Winter Banquet

The West Michigan Whitecaps’ 17th annual Winter Baseball Banquet raised a record $43,313 for charity Wednesday night at the Frederik Meijer Gardens. The event raised funds for the Whitecaps RBI/YMCA Inner-City Youth Baseball and Softball Program and the Detroit Tigers Foundation, an affiliate of Ilitch Charities. The $43,313 raised brings the grand total of funds raised for charity through the winter banquets over the past 17 years to more than $461,000.

The total raised edged out the funds raised for charity at the 2007 banquet, when nearly 1,000 attended to see Tigers manager Jim Leyland and a caravan of Tigers stars fresh off their World Series appearance three months prior.

Tigers CEO, President and General Manager Dave Dombrowski was the featured speaker at the event. Other special guest speakers were Whitecaps’ 2011 manager Ernie Young, former Whitecaps and current Tigers players Will Rhymes and Brennan Boesch.

WOOD TV 8’s Jack Doles announced the 2011 inductees into the Whitecaps Hall of Fame; they are 2003 Whitecaps and current Tigers pitcher Joel Zumaya, 1994-1998 Whitecaps and current Tigers Head Groundskeeper Heather Nabozny and 1996 Whitecaps and current Cincinnati Reds catcher Ramon Hernandez. Zumaya and Nabozny were both present to accept their awards for the induction.

Silent and live auctions of sports memorabilia and other items were the primary source of fundraising at the event. The top item of the night was the use of Dave Dombrowski’s personal luxury suite for a Tigers game (donated by the Tigers Foundation), which sold for $3,800 in the live auction. Dombrowski then graciously threw in a second suite at the same price to the other high bidder for another $3,800. Other top live auction items were a spring training trip for two, including airfare, four nights in a hotel and tickets to three Tigers games ($3,500); a Windy City Adventure for four including Cubs tickets, an on-field photo opportunity at Wrigley Field and four VIP tickets to Shedd Aquarium ($3,100) donated by the Cubs and Shedd Aquarium; and a World Series package that includes two tickets to games 3 and 4 with hotel ($2,500).

Top silent auction items included three innings on the air on a Whitecaps radio game broadcast ($1,200), a Kirk Gibson autographed jersey ($999) donated by the Tigers Foundation, the use of a Whitecaps suite for a game with a $100 catering credit ($600) and two Tiger Stadium seats ($550) donated by Jeff Spurrier.
Two raffles, including one that included a 40-inch TV and a Microsoft XBox with Kinect system, raised a total of $5,795.

Drive Support Fluor’s “Discover E Week” Initiative

Team of Fluor engineers to visit 5 Greenville County schools

Fluor and the Greenville Drive are working together to encourage local young people to pursue their interests in the engineering profession. The National Engineers Week Foundation and their coalition strive to be the global leader in cultivating and celebrating the engineering profession. The Discover E program highlighted during National Engineers Week (February 20-26, 2011) helps grade school and high school students discover the exciting worlds of engineering and technology. The goal is to relate practical applications of math, science, and engineering to the world around them.

Education is a priority at Fluor, both for the company and its employees. As a Leadership Council member with the National Engineers Week Foundation, Fluor actively participates in the nationwide Discover E program, joining more than 5 million engineers, designers, principals, teachers, and students. Volunteers visit local middle and high schools to introduce young people to engineering in a fun and interesting ways. During Engineer’s Week, Fluor will speak at 5 schools and cover approximately 24 classes where 1000 students will be exposed to the many attributes of the engineering profession.

Students who participated in Discover E week have the opportunity to provide feedback about their experience. In a continued effort to constantly improve Discover E week, students who take the survey will receive a ticket to a 2011 Greenville Drive game.

To take the Discover E Week Survey, please click here

Centrix Bank Community Outing Fundraising Program Raises $109,869.15 for Local Community in 2010

The New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, and Centrix Bank today announce that the Centrix Bank Community Outing Fundraising Program helped to raise $109,869.15 for various organizations in the local community during the 2010 baseball season through ticket sales, 50/50 raffles and concessions sales at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium.

“Centrix Bank is delighted to again partner with the Fisher Cats to raise greatly needed money in support of numerous local charitable organizations: made even more important during this challenging economic period,” said Joe Reilly, President and CEO of Centrix Bank.

Through the Centrix Bank Community Outing Fundraising Program, non-profit organizations can retain up to $4 for every ticket they sell for a Fisher Cats game, along with a portion of the funds raised through 50/50 raffles and special concessions sales. Groups are also able to raise awareness for their causes through flyers, concourse displays and on-field presentations at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium.  The Fisher Cats and the Fisher Cats Foundation have helped to generate over $1.6 million for 1,900 regional non-profit organizations by making donations, in-kind donations and by hosting 482 fundraisers at the ballpark.

“We are fortunate to work along side Joe Reilly and Centrix Bank in our efforts to have a positive impact in the community,” said Fisher Cats President Rick Brenner.  “Being able to help the non-profit organizations in our area raise money and awareness for their causes is something we try to do whenever we can.”

Centrix Bank is a full-service commercial bank offering highly personalized and responsive service to small to medium sized businesses and professionals, municipalities and not-for-profits throughout New Hampshire. For more about Centrix Bank, please visit www.centrixbank.com.

Foster Children’s Foundation receives Gwinnett Braves January Grant

Team’s grant will help deliver the Tomorrow Matters® mentoring program to foster children in North Georgia.

The Gwinnett Braves announced today that the Foster Children’s Foundation is the recipient of the Gwinnett Braves January grant. The $1,000 grant will be used to support the organization’s Tomorrow Matters® mentoring program.

According to Suzanne Geske, Executive Director, “the children we serve come from negative backgrounds and often believe that following their dreams will only lead to disappointment. All children deserve to hope for a better tomorrow and it begins with a dream. The funds received from the Gwinnett Braves will help the Foster Children’s Foundation support foster and at risk youth and allow them to believe in themselves and begin a path that will lead them to a successful future and allow them to achieve their dreams.”

The Tomorrow Matters® program provides critical life skills training to youth between the ages of 14 and 21. Trained, caring mentors deliver the program to ensure that the participants have what they need to reach their potential and become self sufficient citizens.

The Foster Children’s Foundation is a 501(C) 3 non-profit support organization that provides for the unmet material and emotional needs of youth in foster care. Their mission is to improve the quality of life for children who are in foster care or are in danger of entering the foster care system by identifying the economic, environmental, educational and emotional needs and implementing ways to raise public awareness and establish programs in an effort to serve these issues.

The Gwinnett Braves operate under the Atlanta Braves Foundation and specifically focus on those organizations in Gwinnett and its surrounding counties. The Atlanta Braves Foundation is the non-profit arm of the Atlanta Braves that actively supports community organizations and their programs within the metro Atlanta area. Through the foundation, the team is dedicated to providing social, educational and scholarship opportunities for the youth in our surrounding communities in connection with the activities of the Gwinnett Braves baseball club.

Shorebirds Raise Over $1,400 for United Way

The Delmarva Shorebirds, the class “A” affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, hosted a very successful 10th Annual Hot Stove Banquet on Jan. 30 at the Fountains Wedding & Conference Center. Through a silent auction that featured items such as a Matt Wieters autographed jersey and a Troy Polamalu signed picture, over $1,400 dollars were raised to benefit the United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore. The Shorebirds also collected over 200 food items to kick off the “Strike Out Hunger” campaign, the official initiative of the 2011 SAL All-Star Game, to be contested on June 21 at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.

One of the major announcements during the banquet came from 7th Inning Stretch, L.P. president Pat Filippone, who declared that Arthur W. Perdue Stadium will receive a significant upgrade in 2011. The Shorebirds will install a brand new Daktronics line scoreboard to replace the old one in left-center field. The board will feature all the traditional columns including: score by inning, runs, hits, errors and more. Installation of the scoreboard is expected to begin in the middle of February and be completed prior to opening day. The Shorebirds will post periodic updates of the installation process on our website, www.theshorebirds.com.

“I’m so pleased with how the hot stove turned out on many fronts,” said general manager Chris Bitters. “The speakers were awesome, the funds raised for the United Way and “Strike Out Hunger” were phenomenal and everyone was excited about the new line scoreboard.”

The Hot Stove Banquet served as an excellent precursor for the 2011 season. The nearly 150 people in attendance enjoyed speeches by: 14-year MLB veteran Mike Bordick, 2011 Shorebirds manager Ryan Minor, 2011 Bowie BaySox manager Gary Kendall, Orioles Assistant Director of Player Development Tripp Norton, former Shorebirds pitching coach Dave Schuler and more. Fans also had a chance to get autographs from the guests and ask additional questions after the event finished.

In addition to the speeches, guests had the opportunity to bid on the nearly 30 items in the silent auction that ranged from signed baseballs to collectable items from other Minor League Baseball teams. All the proceeds from the auction were donated to the United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore. In addition, Kathleen Momme, the Executive Director of the United Way, was on hand to deliver a powerful message about the importance of the United Way.

All guests that contributed a canned food item to the “Strike Out Hunger” campaign received a free raffle ticket. The Shorebirds raffled off nearly 20 items such as: four tickets to opening day and paraphernalia from other minor league and major league teams. The “Strike Out Hunger” campaign will benefit the three local food banks along the Eastern Shore; Maryland Food Bank, Food Bank of Delaware & Foodbank on the Eastern Shore.