The Checkers, in conjunction with Wheels for Forest, surprised a local teen’s family with a new van during the first intermission of their home game on April 7. Hendrick Automotive Group donated the van, which will be fitted for handicap accessibility by the Checkers and Van Products, a Raleigh-based company that provides mobility to physically-challenged individuals.
Two charity hockey games took place at Time Warner Cable Arena in March and raised more than $30,000 for charity.
On March 10, the Checkers hosted a charity game between employees of Wells Fargo and US Airways to benefit the United Way of Central Carolinas. A portion of ticket sales proceeds, a silent auction and proceeds from Chuck-A-Puck combined to raise $6,700.
The seventh annual Salute to Heroes, presented by American Airlines, then took place on March 11 and raised more than $23,000 for families of fallen public service workers. The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department/Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office team defeated the Charlotte Fire Department/Mecklenburg County EMS team 3-2 in a shootout and now trails the overall series 4-3.
Checkers players, staff members and Chubby were busy throughout March and April as they visited 23 area schools. Several of the visits were a part of community programs such as PowerPLAY, which promotes an active and healthy lifestyle, the Science of Hockey, a 12-school program designed to teach students the elements of science that apply to hockey and the Wells Fargo Reading First program.
Three separate donation drives helped collect several hundred items and raise more than $3,000 for charity in March and April. On March 10, the Checkers and FSI collected more than 500 General Mills box tops to raise money for area schools and the Community Blood Center of the Carolinas collected 28 units which could help save up to 84 lives. On March 16, the Checkers and Goodwill held a collection drive and CheckMates fashion show and collected hundreds of items of clothing.
For more information on all of the Checkers’ community initiatives, please click the community tab above.
This Community update is brought to you by Goodrich Corporation, who is a proud sponsor of all Checkers community initiatives. Goodrich Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, is a global supplier of systems and services to the aerospace, defense and homeland security markets. With 2007 revenues of $6.4 billion, Goodrich is headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., and employs more than 24,000 people worldwide in approximately 90 facilities across 16 countries.
