Charity Trap Shoot Supports Carousel Ranch

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Last week, the fourth annual How the West Was Won Charity Trap Shoot was held at the Newhall Pass in support of Carousel Ranch. The event, filled with 18 teams of 4, raised $21,000.

“We were only budged to raise $15,000, but we raised $21.000,” Carousel Ranch’s Denise Tomey exclaimed. “We were really excited at the turnout. This is a unique event and we are so happy to have sold out this year. The weather is perfect, today, too.”

Carousel Ranch is an organization that works to provide therapeutic and recreational riding lessons to disabled children. The non-profit currently helps over one hundred children and teens.

The Charity Trap Shoot is an annual shooting event that attracts benefactors and donations through outdoor, team-focused activities. All event participants are provided with massages, opportunities to shoot shotguns (often for the first time), shoot buckshot at bowling pins and shoot from the back of a fake horse.

“We try to keep everyone entertained and busy so we have a lot of other activities to participate in between the rounds of shooting,” explained Eric Stroh, chairman of the event.

Six of the eighteen competing teams had never held, let alone shot, guns before the event, Stroh said.

“This is a great charity and a great cause. How can you now support Carousel Ranch,” said Jeffrey Hacker, one of the inexperienced participants.

Stroh also thanked Benelli, the gun manufacturer, explaining that the charitable event would never be able to take place without the company’s help.

“Benelli sends us thousands of dollars of material each year, including all the hats and shooting prizes we rely on in order to complete the event. We couldn’t raise the money we do without their help. We are very grateful for their assistance,” he said.

Indy 500 Soiree & Garth Brooks Raising Funds for Child Life Zone

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Child Life Zone at Denver Health

Child Life Zone at Denver Health

Anyone who enjoys the Indy 500 will want to be present at the Indy 500 Soiree presented by Lucas Oil taking place at the Lucas Estate on Friday, May 25th at 7pm. This is an annual event that raises money for important charities in Indianapolis and the surrounding area.  The party this year will include entertainment, gourmet food, cocktails, live music, dancing and more exciting surprises, and all of the money raised during it will go to the Garth Brooks’ Teammates for Kids Foundation and its Riley Hospital for Children Child Life Zone project.

As Randy Bernard, the CEO of INDYCAR said in a recent press release, “We wanted to give Indianapolis a spectacular event that residents could look forward to each year and also support the community that has loyally followed Indy car racing and the ‘500’ for decades. With each annual soiree, we plan to celebrate the Indy 500 and champion a cause worthwhile to our community. Teammates for Kids’ Child Life Zone at Riley Hospital for Children is the first of many causes we hope to benefit.”

The Teammates for Kids Foundation was co-founded in 1999 by Brooks.  They partnered with the Troy Aikman Foundation to build Child Life Zones in hospitals throughout the country. These amazing zones have state-of-the-art therapy offerings and educational environments for children and their families.  The zones include high-tech electronic games, a theater, a performance stage, a broadcast studio and more.  So far, this partnership is created seven Child Life Zones throughout the US and Riley Hospital is slated to be one of the next recipients.

As Garth Brooks said, “Teammates is honored to team with Riley Hospital for Children in bringing the Child Life Zone to the great city of Indianapolis. Not only will the Zone improve the lives of Indiana’s children, it will also improve the lives of children around the globe. Teammates is a large believer in Child Life programming, and we look forward to the many great opportunities the Zone at Riley Hospital for Children will create.”

The event on the 25th will include a VIP reception from 6-7pm for special guests to mingle with Brooks, Indy 500-qualified drivers and other celebrities. The doors open for general admission at 7. Sponsorships and donations can be made at: www.lucasoil.com/indy500soiree or call Detail & Design at 317 423 3590.

Red Bull Racing to Support Wings for Life Charity

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Red Bull has committed to a new project in support of Wings for Life, a charity working to help people suffering from spinal cord injuries.

The project will cover two RB8s with the faces of more than 25,000 fans at the British Grand Prix this coming July. In order to participate, fans simply send a photo and 15 euros in support of the charity. Official confirmation will be delivered, verifying that the photo was indeed added to the collage. Red Bull will match every donation made by its fans, as well.

Mark Webber, a driver, said: “I hope as many people as possible take part in this awesome event. Whoever you want to upload onto our cars- your mum, your dog- it doesn’t matter just upload a photo now and join us.”

Sebastian Vettel, a fellow teammate, said: “This is a great way for fans to be able to join Mark, me and the team at the British Grand Prix and become part of history, while supporting a fantastic charity. So, go to facesforcharity.com now and join us at this year’s race!”

Wings for Life is an organization that believes that “spinal cord injury must become curable.” As a means to achieve this goal, Wings for Life “supports and finances the most promising research projects worldwide aimed at healing the injured spinal cord.”

 

Pop Tabs for Charity Raising Awareness & Funds in Montana

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Morningside Elementary in Great Falls, Montana understands how to motivate students and how to teach them about charity work.  When Melody Stevens, a popular kindergarten teacher, was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, the school decided to show its support by joining Pop Tabs for Charity through the National Institutes of Health Charities.

The idea is for the children to bring pop tabs to school (those little tabs you find on the top of your soda can). Fourth grade teacher Jennifer Westermeyer is in charge of the collection. She explained that the school is about a third of the way towards its goal of having one million tabs.  Once they’ve reached their goal they’ll take the tabs to a recycling center where they’ll receive money.  With the money, they plan to donate to NIH Charities, putting money towards health charities and cancer research.

Westermeyer explained, “We have a contest going on right now. The classroom that collects the most will get a pop party with us at the end of the year.” Beyond the excitement of the pop party, the children are learning about compassion. As Melody Stevens said, “classrooms are getting together, children, staff, people outside of the school are donating. Cancer affects everyone.”

The school is certainly teaching its student amazing lessons.  As Mrs. Stevens gets stronger each day, she recounts an example of the support that she has been receiving.  “We decide to all wear hats the day I was coming in with a hat and no hair, so {the principal}heard of it and he had the entire school wear hats, so when I walked out and saw that, it was amazing”.

Anyone who has a desire to help can bring in or mail tabs to the Morningside Elementary School.

58 Year Old to Cycle for Bee Population

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Quentin Given, 58, plans to ride his bicycle from London to Edinburgh in an effort to support bees.

The bee population has fallen dramatically, and Given, working full time for Tottenham and Wood Green Friends of the Earth, hopes to make a difference by cycling 510 miles next week.

The campaign, known as the Bee Cause, is one of the many Tottenham and Wood Green Friends of the Earth projects which will benefit from the journey. The organization’s other goals include promoting solar energy and preventing climate change.

Given said: “Cycling is part of the solution to some of the problems for health and environment and people doing things like this is demonstrating alternatives to the current way of doing things.

“It is not like saying to the government ‘we must do this’- there are so many things we need to do to bring the bees back, and we need to come up with an action plan.”

Mr. Given believes that the community is obligated to combine their efforts to save the bees. Though the exact cause is unknown, the honey bee population in the UK has fallen 54% in the last two decades. Some theories suggest that pesticide or parasites may be responsible.

As of April 25th, Given raised $2,504 for the cause.

Bees are an important member of ecology, and human society benefits from them greatly. The bee population is responsible for pollinating flowers, which are important for their beauty and fresh scents, as well as for producing fruit. Many areas depend on their produce in order to live, and the entire region’s economy can be affected by fruit production in the long run as well.

Topper’s Pizza Teams Up With SickKids Foundation

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Topper’s Pizza, a Foodservice and Hospitality Top 100 Company, recently announced its new partnership with the SickKids Foundation in an effort to support children’s health. According to Keith Toppazzini, president and CEO of the company, the new relationship fits into their corporate social responsibility program.

The new program will have several different branches, including in-store donations, corporate matching and promotions. In-store donations will be dedicated to family education resource AboutKidsHealth, while other campaigns will benefit the Possibility Fund for the Hospital for Sick Children.

“We’re proud to select SickKids Foundation as our corporate charity,” Keith said. “As a family-run business with strong family values, it makes perfect sense to support a charitable organization that does so much for so many families across our province, Canada, and around the world.”

Kelly Toppazzini, also of Topper’s, added: “By partnering with SickKids, we are making a considerable commitment to support children’s health and we couldn’t be happier to do it.

Adrian Horwood of SickKids Foundation also expressed excitement. “Topper’s Pizza has a wonderful, loyal following of families as customers and we’re looking forward to having them on board as one of our newest corporate partners to help promote awareness about children’s health, as well as to provide us with another way to raise critical funds,” he said.

Laura Bush Keynote Speaker for the Star Executive Summit

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Laura Bush

Laura Bush

Laura Bush is coming out of the woodwork to be the keynote speaker at the third Star Executive Summit on May 24th at the Embassy Suites Frisco Conference Center.  Star Children’s Charity financially supports non-profit organizations in Collin County, Texas that focus on the wellbeing of children. It was founded by Michelle Brennan Hall and Linda S. Paulk in 2007 to focus on assisting children medically, educationally and more.

As of January of 2012, Star Children’s Charity has distributed more than one million dollars in funds to support many worthy organizations including: the Boys and Girls Clubs of Collin County, City House, Children’s Medical Center Legacy, Plano Children’s Medical Clinic and the Samaritan Inn and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano.

Now, Laura Bush will speak at the Star Executive Summit, a yearly fundraising event that brings together business executives, fundraisers, leaders and individuals who will work together to support Star’s mission of raising the level of philanthropy in the community.  For the past two summits, Newt Gingrich and Lee & Bob Woodruff came to share their stories of service.  This year, The Honorable Senator Florence Shapiro will introduce former First Lady Laura Bush while Shelley Slater, WFAA-TV news team member and Plano native, will be the Star Summit emcee.

A co-chair of the event, Cheryl Massey of Michael W. Massey & Associates, said,

“We are honored to represent Star Children’s Charity as we bring one of America's most inspirational leaders to Collin County, First Lady Laura Bush.  Her dedication to advancing education and promoting the well-being of children and families worldwide will definitely be motivating to all who hear her speak."

Fellow co-chair Sandy Golgart of Bentley Premier Homes continued, “The theme, “Be Inspired, Be Inspiring!” is perfect as we know guests will leave encouraged to contribute in making Collin County a place where children come first.”

All proceeds from the evening will go to City House, a location that offers emergency shelter and transitional residential services for both children and young adults who have experienced abuse, neglect and homelessness.

Becca’s Closet Provides Prom Dresses for Teens

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Prom season is arriving and with it the excitement, dreams and stress involving the perfect, often too expensive, dress. Becca’s Closet, a charity organization working to provide teens with their ultimate dress at a lower budget, helps thousands of women every year.

The organization was established in memory of Rebecca Kirtman, who started a community dress drive in her freshman year. Her motto was “Little things can make a big difference.” The foundation now “provides formal attire to high school students who otherwise would not be able to attend their prom/homecoming.”

Ever since the tragic accident in 2003, Becca’s Closet works to continue her mission and fulfill her dream of letting teens have the best prom experience.

This past Saturday, Becca’s Closet provided numerous girls with their dream dresses for this year’s proms.

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Derek Jeter Awarded Doctorate of Humane Letters Degree

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A recent press release revealed that Siena College is awarding baseball wizard Derek Jeter with a Doctorate of Humane Letters degree. Jeter has long been devoted to youth development and service work, and his charity Turn 2 Foundation has helped hundreds of adolescents stay on the right track.

Vice President for Academic Affairs Linda Richardson, Ph.D., said: “We all know that Derek Jeter is a tremendous athlete, but this is an opportunity for the Siena community to honor and share in his commitment to young men and women.”

She added, “Jeter’s Turn 2 Foundation encourages our youth to remain in school and to stay healthy. Siena will support out joint mission of academic excellence by providing two full grants to academically-qualified students who have participated in one of the many Turn 2 Foundation Signature Programs.”

Jeter is thrilled to gain additional support for his efforts. Though he will be playing against the Marlins on the day of his award, his sister will replace him at the ceremony.

Jeter said, “It means a lot to me. It means a lot to my family.”

Golfing for Cancer Research with Jack Wagner

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Just a few days ago, Jack Wagner hosted the 6th Annual Jack Wagner Celebrity Classic golf tournament which benefited The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  On April 16th, 2012, the Emmy Award nominated actor, recording artist and committed philanthropist showed how committed he is to charitable causes and to cancer research.

As Jack Wagner explained his inspiration for the celebrity classic:

"I lost my father in 1990 to multiple myeloma and in 1999 my brother Dennis was diagnosed with leukemia. He has relapsed four separate times, enduring many rounds of chemotherapy and the challenges that come along with recovery. In 2007, Dennis received a complete bone marrow transplant and is still fighting a daily battle against complications associated with this procedure. Despite several hospitalizations over the past year, Dennis remains positive and thankful for the support of this tournament and his family. Let Dennis be an example to us all that our efforts are truly making a difference. Dennis is still with us today because of new life saving treatments but we must push forward for a cure. Remember your contribution goes far beyond my family and this golf event. Thank you for your support."

Wagner was originally inspired to create the celebrity classic after winning $142,550 in 2006 on the Wheel of Fortune.  As the most ever won by a celebrity on the show, Wagner approached LLS to see if they wanted to use the money to create a golf event to raise money for cancer research and cancer patients.  In combination, his Wheel of Fortune winnings, the LLS Light the Night Walk and the Wagner celebrity golf classics have, so far, raised close to $1 million for cancer research and patient services.

Past participants at the golf tournament have included: Marcus Allen, Tim Allen, Vince Coleman, John Elway, Kevin Frazier, Wayne Gretzky, Brett Hull, Bruce Jenner, Janet Jones, Heather Locklear, Jack McGee, Sean McNabb, Joe Pesci, Jerry Rice, Mike Shanahan, Grant Show, and Kevin Sorbo.

Wagner today serves as an official LLS Celebrity Ambassador, and he continues to work tirelessly to raise money for this much needed health charity.