After the conclusion of their 21st season, the Saginaw Spirit Charitable Foundation raised $497,695 to benefit local nonprofits across Saginaw County and the Great Lakes Bay Region. Through postgame jersey auctions, fundraising tickets, 50/50 sales and more, the Saginaw Spirit Charitable Foundation worked all season to benefit numerous local organizations.
“This is another great example of why I call Saginaw, ‘Sagin-awesome,’” said Spirit president and managing partner Craig Goslin. “The people of the Great Lakes Bay Region are the Saginaw Spirit. It’s the strong spirit of the community that makes these major charitable initiatives successful. All successful projects take good people to make them happen. In the Great Lakes Bay Region, we have awesome people that have a great narrative on the charity they represent. The Saginaw Spirit Charitable Foundation is honored to partner with each of them.”
On March 11th, Hockey for the Homeless night raised $77,000 for the Rescue Ministries of Mid-Michigan and the new Samaritan Youth Shelter. Of that total, $29,782 was raised when the Spirit auctioned off their Video Game themed specialty jerseys. The difference was raised by fundraising tickets, a pregame broomball tournament, telethon and the help of numerous sponsors. Since the first Hockey for the Homeless night, the Saginaw Spirit Charitable Foundation and the Rescue Ministries of Mid-Michigan have raised more than $477,000 for homeless and at-risk youth in the community.
“This is an amazing partnership that could only happen through the tremendous efforts of Saginaw Spirit staff and the passion of its leadership to better our community,” said Dan Streeter, CEO for the Rescue Ministries of Mid-Michigan. “The funds raised will help provide a safety net of care for at-risk homeless youth in the Great Lakes Bay area.”
The Spirit hosted their 15th annual Shocks and Saves charity game on January 28th in conjunction with Central Michigan University and the Pulse 3 Endowment. From that night, $18,799 were raised to promote heart health awareness and add more automated external defibrillators (AED’s) to the community.
From their six jersey auctions alone, the Saginaw Spirit Charitable Foundation raised more than $125,000 throughout the 2022-2023 season. The highest grossing jersey auction came during the aforementioned Hockey for the Homeless night, with the light blue Video Game jerseys going for a total of $29,782.
Additionally, the Saginaw Spirit Charitable Foundation made $53,710 worth of in-kind donations to various community organizations during the regular season. The foundation also accumulated $176,375 from its 50/50 drawings during the regular season and six home playoff games.
As the summer comes to a close, the Spirit prepare for their preseason opener on September 2nd in Erie. The regular season begins in Kitchener on September 29th. Saginaw hosts Sarnia the following night at 7:05 for the team’s 2023 home opener. Single game tickets go on sale August 14th.
