Teams are showing their care about the public as more than just customers.
Patriots defensive lineman Ron Brace, a Springfield native, has begun fundraising efforts for tornado relief. In addition, the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation said it was teaming up with the United Way to match up to $ 100,000 in public gifts that will be put toward relief for tornado victims in Massachusetts.Brace spoke at Stagg Field on the Springfield College campus.SPRINGFIELD - In normal times, fans turn to their sports teams for entertainment, enjoying an escape from the pressures of the real world/.
But these are not normal times in Western Massachusetts, where a June 1 tornado ripped apart homes and neighborhoods, and inflicted emotional damage that cannot be tabulated.
Their teams are coming to the rescue as best they can. The recovery effort is underway - the biggest comeback rally in the history of a proud region.
"When our owner, Charlie Pompea, heard about the tornado, the first thing he did was to write a personal check for $5,000, and instruct us to donate from the team account as well,'' Springfield Falcons president Bruce Landon said..
"We put in $2,500, for a total of $7,500, but more is coming. We are running an online auction of NHL and American Hockey League jerseys, many of them actually worn in games.
"In five business days, our friends around hockey donated 24 jerseys. I think that was a remarkable response.''
From Amherst to Springfield to Boston, teams are responding to the need. The New England Patriots have pledged a goal of $200,000 in tornado aid, half coming through fundraising and charitable donations.
Entitled "Winning Drive,'' The campaign is being coordinated through the Patriots Charitable Foundation. The family of Patriots owner Robert Kraft will match the first $100,000 in donations.
Spokesman Stacey James said Thursday that $80,000 had already been raised. He said the team hope to reach its goal by Wednesday, when a public event entitled "Drive Chart,'' will provide an update
Patriots defensive end Ron Brace is taking a personal approach. The Springfield native has launched a series of charity events, including a fashion show to aid the drive.
"That's where I was born and raised,'' Brace told media last week.
He has a Springfied tattoo on his back, he said.
"(The city) made me the person I am today. I can't forget where I came from; everybody I love lives there,'' Brace said.
Other Boston teams have joined the efforts as well.
The Red Sox raised $10,000 in the aftermath of the tornado, and media relations spokesman Pam Ganley said other relief efforts are being developed.
The baseball team collected $5,000 in profts from the June 3 raffle at Fenway Park, when the Red Sox played the Oakland Athletics.
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They Red Sox will match that total from their own coffers.
The Celtics Shamrock Foundation will match $10,000 in donations from the public. They are soliciting fans to text Celtics to 20222 and pledge a $5.00 donation.
The Celtics are working in conjunction with the Massachusetts Disaster Relief Fund and the United Way. Some other teams are working with the American Red Cross
Landon said the Falcons' commitment is multi-faceted. The hockey jersey auction ongoing.
One item drew a $1,500 bid, Landon said. The fhe final tally will be "significant.'' and will represent the major portion of the team's contribution, he said.
The Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks, who played the Stanley Cup final, were among the jerseys contributors.
The Bruins did not let a Stanley Cup championship run distract them from helping in other ways. The team donated $10,000 of their 50-50 raffle, held during Game 3 of the Cup finals on June 6, to tornado relief.
That contribution doubled to $20,000 when the winning couple in the raffle, Joyce and Steve Eby of Braintree, donated their $10,000 share to the cause.
American Red Cross executive director Rick Lee said the generosity of the team and its couple were remarkable and inspiring. The Eby couple had put down the final $10 they were carrying to enter the raffle, according to reports in Boston media.
The 50-50 winner gets half the pot. The Ebys did not hesitate to divert it to the relief effort.
"We had Red Cross volunteers on the concourse that night, selling tickets for the raffle. The Bruins and the couple really stepped up, and not only that, the Bruins brought home the Cup,'' Lee aid.
Landon said the Falcons reached out on a personal level, contacting season ticket holders in areas affected by the tornado.
The team also staged a drive for food, clothing and supplies in the wake of the tornado.
"In one day, we filled up a locker room and a huge Salvation Army truck. It was a remarkable response by our fans and the public,'' Landon said.
The tornado is personal to the Falcons. The teams' home arena, the MassMutual Center, was barely spared the wrath of the storm, which ravaged Springfield's South End.
University of Massachusetts men's basketball coach Derek Kellogg was affected personally as well. Kellogg grew up in Springfield and is a 1991 graduate of Cathedral High School, which absorbed severe damage.
Kellogg first reacted by bringing players from his team to the Red Cross shelter at the MassMutual Center, where residents left homeless by the tornado were housed.
"We tried to bring some happiness to people who had been suffering,'' he said.
The UMass basketball program is still exploring ways to help in fundraising and other ways. Kellogg expects his team will stage a series of basketball clinics in cooperation with the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
"There is a ton of stuff on the table. We're talking about raising money from one of our games next season,'' he said.
Before UMass could become financially involved, even for a charitable effort, Kellogg said he had to make sure NCAA rules were not violated.
Most of his team's help iis still forthcoming, but Kellogg thinks there is value to making contributions down the road.
"Once the initial interest dies down, there will still be a lot that needs to be done. That's where I think we'll be able to (sustain) the help,'' he said.
On Thursday, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference presented a $5,000 check to the relief efforts. The MAAC will be holding its basketball championships at the MassMutual Center, beginning in 2012.
Siena basketball coach Mitch Buonaguro came to Springfield to present the check.
The Springfield Armor pro basketball team, which also plays at the MassMutual Center, has enlisted the support of the NBA and the New Jersey Nets, who serve as NBA's parent club to the Armor.
Armor general manager Alex Schwerin said a total contribution of about $25,000 has been targeted. Similar to the Falcons, the Armor has conducted an online auction of signed basketball items and memorabilia, which has already raised more than $2,500.
"The full proceeds, 100 percent, will be donated to the Red Cross,'' said Schwerin, who said the team expects to present a check during the week of July 11.
The cost of the tornado is staggering in financial and human terms. Four lives were lost, and the state Division of Insurance reports that 9,500 claims have been filed, totaling about $175 million.
Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said one third of the city was hit. More than 1,200 buildings were demolished, condemned or damaged.
In Monson, costs have been estimated at up to $5 million.
The sports teams are trying to help with fundraising, while also trying to let the affected residents know they look at their public not just as customers, but as friends.
Kellogg said he does not know of any UMass players who have lived through a comparable natural disaster.
"When I took them to Springfield, we walked through the decimated neighborhoods,'' the coach said.
"They saw what had happened, and they talked to the people there. It was very moving. We want people to know we care about them,'' he said.