“Field of Dreams Foundation Update”
It was another great year for the Winnipeg Goldeyes Field of Dreams Foundation, which means it’s going to be another great year for children’s charities in Manitoba. Goldeyes fans proved again why they are the best in sports, not just for their support of the team, but for their support of the team’s charitable foundation as well. The Foundation has been around since 1995 and has raised and distributed more than $1.2 million to children’s charities and amateur athletics in Manitoba.
Here are some highlights of the 2009 fundraising events and a look forward to the 2010 season:
• The 15th annual golf tournament, held on July 20, 2009 was a great time. The event was sold out for the 11th consecutive year and the weather couldn’t have been better. In a summer filled with cold and rainy days, we were very fortunate to have clear skies and a warm day.
• The 16th annual Golf tournament will be held at Bel Acres on Monday, July 12, 2010. If you are interested in sponsoring a hole, entering a team or entering yourself, give me a call at the office and I’ll send you the information. If you were in the tournament last year, you will be receiving a tax receipt and entry form in early January.
• The K’s for Kids program raised close to $15,000. This amount is almost $5,000 more than last year. A huge thank you to all who donated. Special thank you to Tony Fletcher and the good people at Fillmore Riley for coming on board as the program’s title sponsor and to Steve and Bonnie Heller, the “K couple”, for their support of the program and for putting up the k’s above the visitor’s dugout during every game.
• On Canada Day, the Goldeyes wore replicas of the uniforms worn by the 1999 Pan Am Games bronze medal winning Team Canada. For the remainder of the season, the jerseys were auctioned off and raised close to $4,000.
• Flashback Friday jerseys were auctioned off each Friday and the eight jerseys raised more than $1,700.
• Every home run that was hit at Canwest Park by a Goldeyes player meant $100 was donated to the Foundation by Lawton Partners. A total of 62 homers were hit at home, meaning $6,200 was put in the Foundation’s coffers thanks to the good folks at Lawton Partners. A huge thank you to Mark Mancini and Lawton Partners.
• A very generous couple, who have asked to remain anonymous, donated $10,000 to the Foundation for the fourth year in a row. I have thanked them in person, but if they are reading this, I will take this opportunity to say thank you again. The $40,000 they have donated has made a lot of kids’ dreams come true.
• The annual season ticket and skysuite holder World Series Party held on October 28 was not only a lot of fun, it also raised $1,900 for the Foundation.
Now that we have spent the summer raising the funds, the Foundation would like to spend part of the off-season giving it away. There are a few criteria that the board uses when selecting recipients. Some of the main criteria would be that the requesting charity be located in Manitoba, have a charitable tax number and be focused on the betterment of children’s lives. An on-line form is available by clicking here if you would like to request funding from the Foundation.
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Until next time…
