Charity Events
The Lowell Spinners are involved in a variety of ways throughout our community of the Greater Merrimack Valley. Often times, we choose to be involved in activities of which we opt to be silent partners. It is important for us to support various causes in the area while keeping a modest profile. There are, however, a few causes which we promote our involvement with. On a personal level, our Front Office members volunteer time in causes including the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Program, the Junior Achievement BASE Program, the Lowell General Hospital Cancer Walk, Special Olympics, and Cerebral Palsy.
Since 1996 the Lowell Spinners have partnered up with the Lowell Sun, AAA, and Fred C. Church Insurance in making an annual donation to Dana Farber Cancer Research (Jimmy Fund). Each time a Spinner hits a homerun at LeLacheur Park $100 is donated to the Jimmy Fund. This donation is made upon the conclusion of each season.
The 1998 season began our partnership with the Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce and their annual scholarship awards. Thousands of dollars are given away to honored contestants that participate in this annual activity. The winners are announced in a special Spinners pre-game ceremony each year at the ballpark. Interested in applying? Contact the Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce for details.
In 1999 we developed a little concept entitled "Spinner Charities". This is actually a vital mechanism for us to quietly donate funds to worthy causes in our community while keeping a low profile. When you attend a Spinners game and you hear special announcements over the public address system and see them on the scoreboard, that means dollars towards "Spinner Charities". Fans can get their special announcement to be a part of our event by making a $10 donation to "Spinnner Charities" at our Information Booth located atop section 103 by the main stairwell of LeLacheur Park. We have established a deadline for when we stop accepting donations each game. This ensures that we are able to get all our messages out to the fans in a timely fashion.
During our 5th season, in the year 2000, we were able raise a considerable amount of funding for the Gage School playground in Lowell. Through a series of raffles and a small public awareness campaign, we realized that we were able to make valuable contribution to a worthy cause and decided it was time to get more involved. More on that a little later.
The Lowell Spinners Fine Arts Scholarship Competition began in 2001. This year we will offer $1250 worth of Visual Arts Scholarships to two (2) graduating high school seniors in the Merrimack Valley. The eligible seniors are from Acton-Boxboro, Andover, Bedford, Billerica, Chelmsford, Concord-Carlisle, Dracut, Groton-Dunstable, Lawrence, Lowell, Methuen, North Andover, Tyngsboro, Tewksbury, and Westford High Schools. First and second place winners will receive on-field recognition, tickets to the game and a monetary prize of $750 and $500 respectively.
Remember how we mentioned that we decided to get more involved? Well in 2002 we began the concept of selecting one local charitable organization that we assist in raising public awareness and funding. We select a charity which revolves around children. This process begins with an extensive interview process of an organized committee of Spinners Front Office Staff members. We then narrow it down to the cause in which we feel that we are able to develop the strongest partnership with. In the past we've partnered with the Cystinosis Research Network and Crohn's & Colitis Foundation. Our 2005 partner is Ironstone Farms. Through a series of 50/50 raffles during the season (all proceeds go to the charity) raffling off a Harley Davidson motorcycle (all proceeds go to the charity), matching funds with other available resources, and donating proceeds from our annual Alumni Award Dinner, we have been able to raise nearly $100,000.