LPGA player Val Skinner raised $500,000 for breast cancer research from her charity golf event, the LIFE Event, held at Metedeconk National Golf Course in Jackson, N.J. In four years, the LIFE event has contributed $2 million for its benefactors, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the Cancer Institute of New Jersey.
The Miami Heat donated $200,000 to the Jackson Memorial Foundation's Guardian Angels to support the remodeling of floors in Miami's Holtz Children's Hospital. The Heat Family Outreach Charitable Fund raised the funds through the sixth annual Miami Heat Family Festival, a beachfront fund-raiser held each spring in Miami and organized by Chris Riley, wife of Heat president and coach Pat Riley.
Fox Sports Net Arizona donated 100 tickets to Best Buddies Arizona, a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with developmental disabilities, for the Arizona Diamondbacks-Houston Astros game June 23.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper pledged $500,000 of his salary over the next 10 years to the African American Adoption and Permanency Planning Agency. Culpepper himself was adopted when he was one day old by 62-year-old Emma Culpepper.
Lincoln Financial Group and Philadelphia Eagles place kicker David Akers will continue their Lincoln Financial Field Goals Program during the 2003-04 season. Lincoln Financial makes a donation to the David Akers' Kicks for Kids Foundation for every field goal Akers makes. Last year, the program generated $17,500 for the foundation.
Steve Mariucci, new coach of the Detroit Lions, appeared at the fourth annual Detroit Lions Charities Luncheon on June 13, along with childhood friend Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo. The luncheon raised more than $38,000, which will benefit seven Grand Rapids-area charities. The event was sponsored by Warner Norcross & Judd, National City Bank, Meijer, Axios Inc., and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan.
Miami Heat forward Caron Butler joined the American Red Cross of Greater Miami & the Keys in launching "Swim for Life," a water safety initiative that will educate parents and children about drowning prevention and how to respond to emergencies in, on and around the water. The American Red Cross of Greater Miami & the Keys will be providing 1,000 Miami-Dade children (14 and younger) free swimming lessons with a special voucher program.
The Minnesota Vikings Children's Fund donated $400,000 to benefit children in the upper Midwest.
Brewers Charities, the charitable arm of the Milwaukee Brewers baseball club, introduced a scholarship program for promising students who cannot afford college. The Brewers Charities/Allan H. Selig Scholars Program was created in the name of Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, former president of the Brewers. Up to 10 students who are graduates of the Class of 2003 in Wisconsin high schools will be selected for the inaugural scholarships worth up to $10,000, which must be used at a college or university based in Wisconsin. The scholarships will go to students pursuing careers in sports management, sports journalism or a related field.
The 2003 captains and manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars cheerleaders recently traveled with Mandarin Christian Church on a missionary trip to Tijuana, Mexico, where they helped build houses for impoverished families and led a children's program.
Ilitch Charities, the charitable foundation established by the Detroit Red Wings' Ilitch family to help children in the areas of health, recreation and education, awarded six high school athletes with college scholarships in the first Little Caesars Hockey Scholarship program. Each of the honorees played for Little Caesars' AAA level teams and maintained an overall 3.0 GPA or higher.
Jacksonville Jaguars fullback Marc Edwards hosted the fifth annual Marc Edwards Celebrity Golf Classic, with all proceeds benefiting Teen Response Inc., which provides personal support, mentoring and training for youth.
Derek Jeter, New York Yankees captain and all-star shortstop, hosted the seventh annual fund-raiser, presented by Fleet, at New York's Regent Ballroom to benefit the Turn 2 Foundation. Cal Ripken Jr., Ozzie Smith, Phil Rizzuto and Bob Costas joined Jeter in celebrating the nonprofit's accomplishment and its beneficiaries.
The Ed Block Courage Award Foundation has partnered with Baltimore Ravens coach Brian Billick to present the fourth annual Ravens Rally for Courage House Kids. The event will be held Aug. 13 at McDaniel College in Westminster, Md.
The Atlanta Falcons raised $76,914.88 in proceeds from the Dan Reeves/Whitey Zimmerman Memorial Classic, which benefited the Whitey Zimmerman Scholarship Fund. The scholarship program was established in memory of Zimmerman, the Falcons equipment manager from 1966 to 1994, who died of a heart attack during the 1994 season.
The Charlotte 49ers athletic foundation raised $180,000 at its 20th annual fund-raiser to benefit Charlotte-area charities. The event surpassed last year's total of $171,000.
