How an Ex-Baseball Player Raised Money for a Worthy Charity
Raising money for charity can be an exhausting process but the need to organize an event that not only raises the profile of a charity but also spreads awareness of said event and cause is essential on so many levels. Although giving large monetary donations is an honorable feat, through specially organize events it helps initiate a response from other people, and helps sustain donations for years to come.
With the social status of baseball its important for individuals involved in the sport, whether professional or at an amateur level to enlist the help of their respective communities in order to be appreciated by a wider audience.
Former MLB player Jeff Conine saw the need to reach a wide audience so he chose to organize an annual charity poker event. The event, which was first held at Caulder Casino & Race Course in 2011, is still going strong today. He chose poker because of its popularity and the ability to showcase it at a local casino he saw as the ideal venue for his poker tournament.
The first event in 2011 raised $75,000 for the Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital Foundation, which was established in 1994 to help fund its hospital that provides “ongoing availability of safe, quality, cost-effective, patient- and family-centered care, regardless of one’s ability to pay.“ The hospital performs “cardiac catheterization, open heart surgery, pediatric heart transplantation and pediatric dialysis in Broward County.”
Conine took inspiration from reading about the charity, and decided he wanted to help with a fundraiser of his own. With the aforementioned popularity of casino gaming, which is currently played by around 40 million people online per year according to Scribd ever since its inception in 1996 through InterCasino, it has seen a gradual rise every year until Black Friday hit the U.S. Hence, why this form of fundraiser is perfect for raising money for charity.
But regardless of Black Friday, poker is still very popular in the U.S., and garners primetime television slots, which ultimately make it a big draw. Therefore, Conine’s idea, although not a new one, has been so successful in helping raise money for the Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital Foundation over the last 4 years..
Other professionals involved in baseball should take a leaf out of Conine’s book, and start organizing their own charity poker events to help raise money for a host of worthy causes.
