Saves for Kids 2010-2011? (update)

I’m in for whatever format works best.

I guess I’d want to use a current Cap’s charity and base it upon his stats (i.e. Green’s charity, pledge per goal, assist and SOG or something).

My vote is yes- I’d like to do another drive this year. It’s part of Ted’s double-bottom line accounting too.

I had fun participating in SfK last year, and I liked the goalie randomness of it all – it made the games more interesting as I watched my nickel meter rise faster and slower.

Though I had an amount sorta picked in advance – we made that and a little more. I cashed in my piggybank and sent the proceeds to you.

Jose’s charity is still worthy, of course. The little kids aren’t less sick because he’s not playing for the Caps.

But some of the other players do good things too. The Knubles, for instance. And nicky does a lot with sick kids in Sweden.

Maybe a healthy kid who wants to play hockey? Sponsor a kid to Locker’s camp or buy some gear for a local school?

Here’s some more (previously unseen) pix of Theo and BigHeart52:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/19263647@N03/sets/72157624126696876/

I’d vote to do another drive through Washington Capitals charities. I think it’s great that Ted encourages a double bottom line, and that the Caps are committed to being involved in the local community.

I probably will continue to contribute to Children’s Hospital from time to time (I’d made several donations through other campaigns before last year). I think Childrens Hospital has a procedure for memorial gifts – hopefully we’ll know where to ask them to send acknowledgments to Theo.

I know I’ll always have a reminder of Chace’s birth date, since my sister’s birthday is June 23. Last August she had a kidney/pancreas transplant. She’s doing well now, but she was in and out of the hospital from July through October. She’s not much of a sports fan, but she was amused by my stories about the Caps.

I’m not really in a position to contribute very much this year, though I do still owe my pledge from last year. Therefore, I will go with what the majority decides.

One thing I would very much like to have and think is a good idea is the ability to get written confirmation of the amount of large donations for tax purposes. If you plan to claim over $500 total in charitable donations, you’ll need that, and I’d really prefer to work through an organization that can provide same.

If Theo had been picked up by another team, which he still hasn’t (sadface), I’d have made a .05/save pledge based on his performance.

I’m willing to go with what folks decide, though working through Washington Capitals Charities is probably a good idea. I wonder if there’s any way to ask them what charitable organizations they support, and then decide…?

I know that nothing will top last season; I’m not even going to try. But I do know I am immensely proud to belong to a community that came together in support of a great cause, and I hope we can do it again.

I think you’re underestimating the power of folks with a cause… :-)

I used to (before becoming a Caps STH) attend a sci-fi convention held up near Baltimore on Thanksgiving weekend… one year, they raised $613 to bribe a local band into playing a bawdy song. The $613 was donated to Children’s Hospital, and it became an annual fundraiser. The following year, the amount raised was doubled. The economy went to hell for a couple of years, and then when it came back, the convention raised over $5000 in one evening, prompting a promise from the aging, balding, hairy-chested, overweight lead singer to perform selections from Rocky Horror (in costume as Frank-n-Furter) if we raised $10k for Children’s Hospital the next year.

We did it. They did it. I have the photos to prove it. (I won’t subject you to them. It wasn’t pretty, LOL! Just trust me on this one.)

The remarkable thing is that this con has a maximum capacity of about 350 people.

When given the right cause, people will rally. We just have to pick the right cause, and do it for the right reasons. :-)

Count me in again, as well. I’m sorry that I don’t have any suggestions, but will happily go along with whatever we decide.

1. No matter what you do, count me in again for parallel contributions for the Pens games in D.C.—e.g., I’ll go $5 a point for Crosby in games against the Caps, or a buck a save for MAF.
2. Perhaps a charity pickup game hosted at a local rink? We’ve done Rink Rat pickups…why not ask around if a rink or a youth organization with an extra hour or so of ice time would donate it for the cause? The Howard Huskies gave me an hour and a half two years ago for my Leukemia/Lymphoma Society fundraising. Get everyone to throw in $30 for the game, and you’ve got $600 before you know it.

What’s PCOI?

This Peerless Prognosticator link from February makes it sound as if they’ve gone into hiatus.

ok, barring any serious objections, I’ll see what Miek Green’s charity is supporting this season (I think it changes every year?) Once I get that information, we can brainstorm about pledge models and options. And some other options, like docciavelli charity game idea. If it can be done, I’d love to try and raffle of some items for the pledge drive as part of a viewing party.

I’m a little late to responding here, but I’m well in with what the group does and will help out as I can from a two hour plane ride away.

The key is to focus on raising the maximum $$ possible for whatever charity we choose. I worked for my kids’ old private school and am on the Board for the March of Dimes here in STL. I have seen people get over committed in organizing elaborate events and lose sight of the charity.

Not trying to be a bucket of cold water. Just passing on my experience.

STLSpidey raises a good point: keep it simple. You have tapped into a potent zeitgeist here. With “Save the Kids” last season you made it easy for fans to give. We all are at times are guilty of good intentions and you made it simple for me to honor my good intentions. And your focus on Theo’s charity was perfect—clear and direct with immediate impact.

In that vein then perhaps your first suggestion to reuse the “Save the Kids” theme and model would be the easiest and would build upon fan’s memories of how great that fundraising effort was. Perhaps keep it to the whole team though—the number of goals the whole team scored over the season. Or number of wins. I would commit to a pledge amount with that model at the beginning of the season.

RedBirdie has the mechanism ready. Kids need help and Childrens offers it. Most important to me, SfK isn’t Jose’s charity: it’s Chace’s. Are we waiving the kid? Why?

Ok, so as I noted, Saves For Kids, at least as run by the Capitals, isn’t active, and it seems the feeling is to stick with a Caps player charity. One of the huge advantages of this is it gives individuals 4 different ways to send their pledge in: by check or paypal to the Capitals, or by check or paypal (the dedicated account is still open) through me. It ensures that for 3 of those options, you will receive the necessary tax paperwork to deduct the donation from your taxes.

So, for 2010-2011, unless anyone has serious objections, Mike Green’s So Kids Can will be the charity of choice. I don’t know which organization he’ll be supporting, but in 2009, it was Pediatric Prosthetics, Inc., and last year the money went to Children’s to buy games and toy and re-do some of the play areas. Mike donates $100 per goal and $50 per assist, with Eliot Segal matching that.

It will work the same as last season. As we get closer to the start of the season, I will have a new fanpost up where you can post how much you’d like to pledge for each goal and/or assist, and for which games.

I’d like to propose opening up the pledges to include one or two other players (please leave suggestions!). You can decide come pledge time if you want to pledge based on Green only, two of the players, or all three. But these will be the only players who stats are tracked on the pledge spreadsheet; it got a little crazy last season trying to track two goalies, Ovie and Nicky’s stats, games Brooks Laich started, and beard-a-thon days! (docciavelli gets an exemption here) But if you want to give an additional $10 at the end of the season for every dumb hooking penalty Alex Semin takes, I’ll happily thank you for the extra donation :)

Any potential additional activities will be considered during the season once things get rolling. Right now, it’s just pledges. But if you want to start the season off right, I suggest visiting our friends at rockthered.net and checking out their store. All their profits will go to So Kids Can.

WHEW!

As always, a huge thanks to everyone. it’s not possible to do this without you rats and rabbits!