Blue Sox 'pitch' community night fundraisers for local organizations
Date: 3/18/2009
By Debbie Gardner
PRIME Editor
HOLYOKE -- It s an idea guaranteed to be a home run for the home team and local youth organizations alike.
The Holyoke Blue Sox are returning to MacKenzie Stadium for a second season of New England Collegiate Baseball League play in the Pioneer Valley, and they re bringing with them a great fundraising idea.
The team will be offering local church groups, baseball leagues and other youth organizations an opportunity to participate in home game community nights, with half of an organization's ticket sales going directly back into the group's coffers.
"In today's economy, this is a great way for organizations to fundraise and participate in a community team," Barry Wadsworth, general manager of the Holyoke Blue Sox told Reminder Publications. "They come to a fun family event [and] end up in sharing in the game receipts."
According to material provided by the Holyoke Blue Sox, interested groups choose a home game in June or July as their community night. The Blue Sox sells the group a prearranged number of tickets at a discounted price of $3 per ticket. The organization then sells the tickets at the $6 face value and keeps the $3 profit as their fundraiser.
Wadsworth said multiple organizations can share a community night, if they wish, with each organization receiving funds for the number of tickets their organization sells.
"Tickets will be personalized," Wadsworth said. "Each organization will have their own logo and what they are fundraising for [printed] on the tickets."
Wadsworth said that, depending upon how many tickets an organization sells, they can add as much as a thousand dollars or more to their coffers.
"They get as much as they sell," he said.
In addition to bumping up an organization's bottom line, Wadsworth said participation in a Blue Sox community Night will give the organization an opportunity to recognize their members for fundraising participation.
He said special events during the game can include announcing the organization s name between innings, organization designees throwing out the first pitch, singing the national anthem or announcing play ball, kids going out with the starting positional players for the anthem, kids getting to run the bases after the game and picture and autograph sessions with the players before and after the game.
Wadsworth said the Blue Sox can also arrange other events, such as clinics or a meet-and-greet with the players, for organizations participating in community nights.
"It's a great way for us to meet all these groups we're not familiar with," he said.
To make it easy for local organizations to learn more about the Holyoke Blue Sox community night fundraisers, Wadsworth will be hosting an information night at the Holyoke Holiday Inn, located at exit 15 off I-91, at 6. p.m. on March 30.
Wadsworth said he wants to have all fundraisers finalized by May 1 in order to give the participating organizations 30 days before the home opener to sell their tickets.
For more information about Holyoke Blue Sox fundraisers, contact Wadsworth by e-mail at
barry@wadsworthsports.net, or by phone at 413-652-9014.
About the Holyoke Blue Sox The 2009 season will be the Sox' second year playing at MacKenzie Field. The team, which is comprised of elite college athletes and premiere pro-prospects from around the world, is a member of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, which is funded in part by Major League Baseball. The Sox are one of 12 teams located throughout the six New England States.
