RECAP: 2018-19 Sharks Foundation Giving Campaign

Each season the Sharks Foundation hosts its annual Giving Campaign which focuses on different causes each month and features key activations with Sharks players, coaches, alumni, executives, broadcasters, team partners and mascot S.J. Sharkie.
In line with its mission to provide emergency aid, the Sharks Foundation hosted a pregame collection drive during a Sharks preseason home game and made the California Fire Foundation its 50/50 Raffle presented by Black Oak Casino Resort beneficiary to raise funds in support of the Northern California wildfire victims.
To kick-off the 2018-19 Giving Campaign, the Sharks Foundation focused on Healthy Living during the month of October and partnered with Kaiser Permanente to create a Tealtop Street Hockey Court for students at Selma Olinder Elementary School. Sharks Brenden Dillon and Logan Couture distributed gear and participated in a friendly game with the students on the new court.

In partnership with Vision to Learn, the Foundation, S.J. Sharkie and Evander Kane visited Columbia Middle School to distribute 80 free pairs of eyeglasses to middle school students.
Later that month, the Foundation and Kaiser Permanente provided a $50,000 Community Assist Grant and volunteer support to Pacific Autism Center for Education to build a bike track and garage, while also providing ten adaptive tricycles for its special needs students. The Fit Kids Foundation received monetary support as a 50/50 Raffle beneficiary for the last Sharks home game in October.

In celebration of the NHL's Hockey Fights Cancer campaign in November, the Foundation partnered with Kaiser Permanente to host a board game night for pediatric oncology outpatients and their families at Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara. The Sharks Aaron Dell, Justin Braun and Melker Karlsson, as well as San Jose Barracuda's Jake Middleton, Keaton Middleton and Antoine Bibeau all participated in the fun, playing classic games with 50 guests. They also visited some of the youth inpatients at the hospital.
On November 17 it was the Sharks official Hockey Fights Cancer Night presented by Kaiser Permanente. The Foundation invited families affected by cancer to take part in a pregame on-ice ceremony, watch the Sharks game from a suite and meet the team later that evening. The event also included a special ceremonial puck drop by a cancer survivor and all fans in attendance received a purple rally towel to join in on a celebratory moment to honor those that had been lost, were battling or have survived the fight.
Throughout the month, non-profits Coastal Kids Home Care, Dec My Room, Jacob's Heart and the American Cancer Society all benefitted from 50/50 Raffle jackpots, resulting in more than $63,000 donated to support those impacted by cancer. In-game auction beneficiary There With Care receive a donation of $9,300 thanks to fans bidding on unique Hockey Fights Cancer-themed items at the Sharks Foundation Booth and purchasing custom warm-up pucks used on the ice that evening.
Additionally non-profit Okizu received enough funds through the Goals for Kids program to support 52 oncology patients to attend it's 2019 summer camp at no cost.

Also in November, the Sharks celebrated Veteran's Day by honoring service members. The evening included a special puck drop by Mission Volant skydiver and military veteran, Javi Lopez. Through in-game auction and 50/50 Raffle proceeds, the Sharks Foundation was able to make donations to both Mission Volant and United Heroes League to aid in their assistance of veterans and their families. The honored guests enjoyed a suite during the Sharks game and a meet-and-greet with the roster.
December marked the holiday season and the Season of Giving campaign with initiatives that supported communities near and far. The Sharks Foundation's Young Professionals Board executed two service events, the first being at Second Harvest Food Bank of San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties where they sorted and packed 5,520 pounds of canned food. They then hosted a pre-game collection drive where they gathered 10 barrels of toys for the Good Tidings Foundation's Winter Wonderland event.
In support of those impacted by the Camp Fire, the Sharks Foundation raised $25,400 through the 50/50 Raffle for the Silicon Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross and worked alongside the Lady Sharks to collect $28,000 in cash which was turned into gift cards and hand delivered to the students of Paradise High School. The Sharks coaching staff, players, broadcasters and front office partnered with ANA-All Nippon Airways to host 28 families for the annual Holiday Assist Party at Solar4America Ice where guests were treated to complimentary skating, a hot meal and holiday surprises.

The Sharks Foundation focused on heroes in January. Operation Freedom Paws, which trains service dogs for veterans and people with special needs, received a visit from Sharks Aaron Dell and a $8,400 donation through the 50/50 Raffle. As hockey heroes in the community, the Sharks Alumni Foundation was also included as a 50/50 Raffle beneficiary, receiving funds to advance its goal of providing scholarships to children who do not have the financial support to participate in sports otherwise.
A donation to Racing Hearts through the Goals for Kids program allowed the non-profit to outfit 150 SJPD patrol cars with AED machines, giving the officers the tools to save lives. To conclude the month the Sharks partnered with SAP, the City of San Jose, and the NHL to refurbish an outdoor street hockey rink at Roosevelt Park. The $500,000 legacy project was in celebration of the 2019 NHL All-Star Game hosted at SAP Center.

In February, the Foundation focused on character building and development. Greater Opportunities, which provides independent living support services to its differently-abled clientele served as a 50/50 Raffle beneficiary in addition to receiving a visit from Barracuda Head Coach Roy Sommer.
As a non-profit that identifies at-risk youth, Friends for Youth received a $5,000 Community Assist Grant and the Foundation and SAP also celebrated its third ainstallment of the Tech Museum of Innovation through its Code Teal Design Challenge. The STEM learning tool is designed to teach youth how to use coding techniques on a tablet to move a motorized hockey puck across a tabletop hockey rink.
Additionally, Goals for Kids funded the Special Olympics Northern California's annual Floor Hockey Regional Competition, which hosts over 300 athletes and their families.
Education was at the forefront in March and in partnership with SAP, the Foundation unveiled the MidPen Media Broadcast Van at SAP Center. Students from Midpeninsula Community Media Center were then hosted in a suite to watch the Sharks and received a tour of the Sharks Tech Services control room, press box and NBC Sports California TV truck.
Ariel Outreach Mission, Breakthrough Silicon Valley, and Summer Search, all education focused non-profits, served as 50/50 Raffle beneficiaries throughout the month while Goals for Kids beneficiary Books Aloud, Inc. received funds to provide audio book libraries to Title I schools.
In its fifth season, the Foundation's Stick to Fitness program powered by Kaiser Permanente visited nine local elementary schools, providing complimentary street hockey equipment and educating the importance of a healthy, active lifestyle wuth the help of an official team doctor and defenseman Brenden Dillon. Finally, the Foundation donated a $35,000 Community Assist Grant to Western Digital to transform a community youth space in East Palo Alto into a mini tech lab.

The Foundation rounded-out the regular season with Environmental Awareness Month in April at Santa Cruz for a beach clean-up alongside team partner Poly. A beautification day occurred at Mt. Pleasant High School where SAP and the Sharks Foundation sponsored a City Year AmeriCorps team.
In partnership with Citrix, the Sharks Foundation provided a $30,000 Community Assist Grant to non-profit South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition and spent a Saturday collecting debris from the Guadalupe River alongside Sharks President John Tortora and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo.
Breathe California received nearly $15,000 from the 50/50 Raffle for its Youth for a Cool Earth program, which gives students the tools and skills to fight greenhouse gas emissions.
The Sharks Foundation also challenged Sharks Territory to assist in its "Fill the Tank" campaign by purchasing 50/50 Raffle tickets and reaching a $60,000 jackpot to provide funds to the Boy Scouts of America Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council. The goal was met, and the Foundation provided funding to construct four water tanks at Camp Chesebrough for potable drinking water and wildfire protection.

With the help of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoff run, the Sharks Foundation raised extra revenue to provide a $200,000 Community Assist Grant to Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley for its Bridge Housing Communities project with team partner SAP. The funding will help build 26 Emergency Sleeping Cabins in downtown San Jose. In addition to the funding, 50 Sharks and SAP employees spent an August day volunteering for Habitat for Humanity to prepare for the project.
By the end of the 2018-19 season, the Sharks Foundation provided more than $1.5 million in financial support to local non-profits organizations and the youth and families they serve.