A Thanksgiving Story
Patrick Quinn died Sunday at age 37 after a seven-year battle with ALS. He was a brave man- you have to be brave when you have ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease).
The degenerative neuromuscular disease eventually robs its host of nearly every bodily ability, even swallowing. But the disease leaves the mind intact.
And Patrick used his mind to the utmost. He is credited with co-creating along with two other ALS sufferers, the hugely popular Ice Bucket Challenge which in 2014 raised $220 million for the ALS Association. If you’ll remember, people, including many celebrities, took selfies being doused with buckets of ice water and challenged their friends to do the same.
That funding allowed the Association to make important advances for treatments for ALS, in eye movement communication technology and helping patients and their families cope with the disease. Many lives have been made better because of the efforts of Patrick and his friends.
These advances have allowed what Patrick called “a new sense of hope”.
So, what does this story have to do with Thanksgiving?
Well isn’t hope really the unheralded twin of gratitude?
When we give thanks for what we have today, is there not an implied hope for tomorrow?
However you choose to celebrate, we at sportingAcause wish you a safe and thankful day.
Travelers Championship is Back (with changes)
As sports-related fundraisers are cancelling and postponing all over the Tri-State area this spring, here is a fresh breeze of good news. Organizers of the Travelers Championship have just announced that the event is still on for June 25 – 28 this year!
And although this year’s version will be a non-spectator event because of the Covid-19 pandemic, area charities, large and small, will be able to benefit from Connecticut’s largest sporting event.
What many may not know is that besides the signature charities that the Travelers supports such as a dozen or so military-related charities as well as organizations dedicated to COVID-19 relief efforts, the Tournament also supports nearly 200 small charities around the northeast, and that’s great news for charities in sportingAcause’s Tri-State area.
Any 501(c)(3) registered charity can join the Travelers Birdies for Charity program and take advantage of their fundraising platform. In addition, Travelers will add 15% to whatever funds each charity raises up to a total of $1 million!
Last year local non-profits like the Housatonic Valley Regional High School golf team were able to raise some much-needed money by selling discounted tickets to the Travelers through the Chip in for Charities program. Well that program went away because there are no tickets to sell this year.
But all of those charities can switch to the Birdies for Charity program. Here’s how:
All registered 501(c)(3) organizations registered in the Northeast United States are eligible. There is not a limit on the number of organizations that can participate.
- Register with the Travelers Championship and we’ll provide the materials and information you need to get started.
- Solicit donations – ask donors, sponsors, co-workers, friends, and family!
- Direct your donors to the tournament website, www.TravelersChampionship.com or to your personalized donation website to make a contribution.
- Submit all donations to the Travelers Championship by Sunday, June 28 at 6:00 p.m.
- In the early Fall of 2020, the Travelers Championship will give you a check for 100% of donations received, plus an additional 15% from our Bonus Bucks pool. It’s that easy!
For more information about Birdies for Charity, please contact Taylor Whiting at 860-502-6805 or via email at twhiting@travelerschampionship.com.
Now, having said all of the above, things could still change. Even though the Travelers organizers are moving forward, changes in our fight against the pandemic could alter plans. Stay tuned for updates, but definitely enroll in the Travelers fundraising program!
Here’s to a Hopeful New Year
For my final blog of 2019 I have listed the charities that have found their way into sportingAcause.com. It is a long scroll, but I hope you will take the moment to roll it. You will see the massive national and international charities that tackle diseases like Alzheimer’s, breast cancer and autism, but also tiny ones you’ve likely never heard of. They operate under the radar easing the miseries of the hungry, homeless and troubled. They put back together the lives of children broken by sexual and domestic violence. This is quiet work. We don’t learn the names of the people helped, nor should we.
Please read the list to the bottom because I believe you will begin to understand the essence of what sportingAcause is about. Hope.
Police Activities League (Torrington)
NWCT YMCA
Regional Food Bank of NENY
Youth Mission Outreach (Poughkeepsie)
Brain Injury Association of MA
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (MA, NY CT)
Angels of Light (Hudson Valley)
Morris Elementary School PTO (MA)
Barkhamsted Elementary School
Arts Education at Olana Partnership
Bantam Lake Protective Association
Great Barrington Rotary Club
Berkshire Community College Nursing Program
Berkshire South Teen Outreach Nutrition Program
Alzheimer’s Association (MA, NY CT)
Litchfield Community Center
Bethlehem Fuel Bank
Berkshire County ARC
Camp Jewell YMCA
Burlington Community Fund
New Marlborough Cultural Council
Camphill Village
Action For Alex
Nick Biancucci Memorial Basketball Courts
Water or People
Cornwall Consolidated School
Berkshire County Kids Place
Connecticut Resource Conservation and Development
Lee High School Scholarship Fund
Dover Plains High School Scholarship Fund
United Way of Dutchess-Orange Counties
Upton Lake Christian School
Falls Village Volunteer Fire Dept.
St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital
People’s Pantry (Great Barrington)
Indian Mountain School
Housatonic Youth Service Bureau
Michael J. Fox Foundation
Northern Dutchess Hospital Foundation
Ferncliff Forest Preserve
Free To Run
Make a Friend Be a Friend
Gilbert School Athletics
Junior Women’s Club of Litchfield Hills
Glenholme School
Goshen CT charities
Gould Farm
Porchlight VNA
Panichi Family Center for Communications and Learning
Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association
American Legion Post 178
Millerton Fire/Rescue Squad
EXTRAS (Salisbury)
Salisbury Central School 8th Grade
Right to Dream
Amenia Fire/Rescue Squad
Wassaic Fire Dept
High Watch Recovery Center Scholarship Fund
Litchfield Area Veterans
Running for Rescues
Volunteers in Medicine, Berkshires
Upper Housatonic Heritage Area
Relay for Life- American Cancer Society (MA, NY, CT)
Harwinton Handicap-Accessible Trail Fund
Eagle Santa Toy Fund
Litchfield Parks and Recreation
Berkshire United Way
Kent Food Bank
Julia’s Wings
Special Olympics, MA
Lee, MA High School Cross Country Program
Lenox, MA High School Cross Country Booster Club
Lenox Dale Fire Co.
Litchfield Youth Athletics
Scholarships for Litchfield, Wamogo and Forman Schools
Hartford Marathon Foundation
CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (Trail Maintenance)
Making Strides, Litchfield County
Brain Injury Association, NY
Dana Faber Cancer Institute
Miles For Hope Breast Cancer Foundation
Camp Moe Scholarships
Millbrook Early Childhood Education Center
MTM Scholarship Fund
Norfolk Land Trust
Norfolk Volunteer Fire Dept.
Norfolk Rails to Trails
Great Mountain Forest
NWCT CROP
Matt Herring Foundation
Peach Hill Park
Berkshire Medical Center Programs
Brodie Park
Morris Recreation Dept.
The Little Guild of St Francis
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
United Nations Association Adopt-A- Future
Great Barrington Land Conservancy
Culinary Institute of America Scholarship Fund
Northwestern Regional School District 7
Sandy Beach Restoration Fund
Bethlehem Food Pantry
CJ First Candle
Sharon Daycare Center
Sharon Recreation Center
MediShare
Sparrow’s Nest
St Mary’s School
Pine Plains recreation
Moments House
Autism Connections
Torrington Trails Network
Cancer Care Fund of Litchfield Hills
United Way of Dutchess County
Boy Scout Troop 114, Valatie, NY
Ichabod Crane Central School BackPack Program
Family Services Domestic Violence (Poughkeepsie)
Camp Wa Wa Segowea Scholarships
Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, Berkshire and Litchfield Counties
Prime Time House
Torrington Area Parkinson’s Support Group
National MS Society, MA, NY and CT
Construct
ALS Association
Parks and Recreation Wamogo Scholarship Fund
Sandisfield Library and Community Center
Massachusetts Audubon
Berkshire Humane
Adopt- A – Family
Amenia Fire Co.
Amenia Lion’s Club Scholarship Fund
Ancrum Fire Co.
Susan B. Anthony Project
FISH of NWCT
Community Kitchen of Torrington
McCall Foundation
Open Door of Winsted
Canaan VFW Scholarship Fund
Taconic Scholarship Fund
Charlie Ormsby Children’s Golf Clinic
Coarc
Columbia-Greene Community Foundation
Sheffield Kiwanis Club
Fairview Hospital Med-Surg Unit
College Possible
Boy’s and Girl’s Club, Berkshires
Millbrook Community Pre-School
EPIC Youth Empowerment Program
Grace Latino Outreach Program
Food For Life Pantry
Church Alliance Senior Housing
Harwinton Youth Sports Association
Hearts of the Father Outreach
Immaculate Conception Church of St. Martin of Tours Parish
Isaiah Lamb Fund
Canaan Exchange Club Scholarship Fund
Kara Zinke Emergency Fund
Kent Volunteer Fire Dept.
Knights of Columbus Scholarship Fund
Food Pantries of Woodbury, Watertown and Salisbury
Litchfield Sports Booster Club
Canaan Fire Co.
Maplebrook School Scholarship Fund
Oliver Wolcott Technical High School Scholarship Fund
Help Hope Live Northeast Transplant Fund
Possum Queen Foundation
Salisbury Central School
Salisbury Winter Sports Association
Salisbury Youth Hockey
Sharon Fire Dept.
Region One Athletic Fund
Stockbridge and Lenox Libraries
Torrington Area Families for Autism
St. Anthony of Padau and Our Lady of Grace Churches Scholarship Fund
Litchfield Sports Booster Club
Great Barrington Rotary Club Scholarship Fund
Roeliff Jensen Community Library
Thomas J. Berlinghoff Memorial Fund
Torrington Lion’s Club Scholarship Fund
All Hands Volunteers
Pearson School Playground
Sabin Institute
Torrington Youth Service Bureau
Hurricane Relief, Virgin Islands
Tanzanian Children’s Fund
Mekele School for the Blind
Northwest United Way
Jane Lloyd Fund
Salisbury Volunteer Ambulance Service
American Cancer Society
Bantam Lake Projects
Helping Hands FILAM Fund
Norfolk Curling Club
Sunday in the County Food Drive
CT Children’s Medical Center
Habitat For Humanity, Dutchess County
NWCT Rod and Gun Club
St. Peter/St. Francis School
Accelerate Brain Cancer Research
CT Brain Cancer Alliance
Musella Foundation for Brain Tumor Research
Special Olympics, CT
Housatonic Valley Regional High School Basketball Programs
Kenneth Krom Scholarship Fund
Mt. Everett High School Booster Club
Sharon Parks and Recreation
Litchfield High School Senior Class
New Hartford Land Trust
Sharon Fire Dept.
John Rice Scholarship Fund
Keri Perotti Scholarship Fund
Hudson River Housing
Donate Life
Corner Food Pantry
Karen DuCotey Fund for Kids
Burlington Parks and Recreation
St Paul’s Children’s Center
Be As You Wear
ALS Therapy Development Institute
Playground Golf Foundation
HVRHS Golf Team
Ryan McElroy Foundation
Lustgarten Foundation (for pancreatic cancer research)
Villa Veritas Foundation
Goshen Stampede Foundation
Premier Cares Foundation
Cerebral Palsy of Ulster County
Local VFW’s and American Legions
Torrington Child Care Center
Friends of Moe
Cornwall Food and Fuel
Falls Village Day Care
Food Banks of Region 1 towns
Project Playground
Torrington Parks and Recreation
Berkshire Rattlers
Center for Compassion
Salisbury Association
Sheffield Volunteer Hose Company
Sharon Hospital Bike Rodeo for Kids
Christopher Unsworth Scholarship Foundation
Refugee and Immigration Center for Education and Legal Services
Servicenet
Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation
Guiding Eyes for the Blind
Louison House
Women’s Support Services
Lake Waramaug Task Force
Washington Volunteer Ambulance
Washington Volunteer Fire Co.
State Police Explorers Post (Litchfield)
Steep Rock Association
Families United in Newtown
Fidelco Guide Dogs
Hospital For Special Care
Bike New York
Bike Walk Connecticut
Community Development Corp of South Berkshire
Cornwall Food and Fuel
Lakeville Pony Club
Church World Service
Happy 2020!
