CRONKITE SPORTS

Thunderbirds raise over $10 million at Waste Management Phoenix Open

Sep 15, 2017, 2:37 PM

From their work with the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the Thunderbirds raised more than $10 milli...

From their work with the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the Thunderbirds raised more than $10 million for Arizona charities. (Photo by Perry Cohen/Cronkite News)

(Photo by Perry Cohen/Cronkite News)

PHOENIX  — The Thunderbirds announced another record-breaking performance for the Waste Management Phoenix Open. This time, it wasn’t just about attendance.

At the newly-renovated emergency department at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, tournament chairman Andy Markham revealed Wednesday the 2017 event raised $10,147,441 in charitable donations.

The total eclipses the previous record, set in 2016, by approximately $850,000 and marks the sixth year in a row the Thunderbirds have set a new fundraising high.

All proceeds raised at the tournament by the Thunderbirds are donated toward a variety of Arizona Charities.

Since its inception in 1932, the Phoenix Open and Thunderbirds have raised more than $122,000,000 in charitable donations.

Janette Micelli, manager of external communication for Waste Management, said the high dollar amount is impacted by attendance.

“We certainly set a record attendance number this year,” Micelli said. “What people don’t realize is just by attending the tournament, buying a ticket, drinking a beverage, by having a hot dog, all of the money that comes together goes directly back into the community.”

Micelli also noted that this year’s tournament marked the fifth straight year of zero waste, supporting an initiative for a cleaner, greener Arizona.

A percentage of the money raised is donated to Phoenix Children’s Hospital. In 2015, the Thunderbirds made their largest charitable donation directly to the hospital: $500,000 to help expand the emergency department.

When the pediatric hospital opened in 1983, it consisted of 71 beds. Today, it holds 450 and is the sixth-largest children’s hospital in the nation.

“As a children’s hospital, all of the services we have rely on the philanthropy of the community,” said Toni Gross, associate director of the emergency department. “Just the space of this place couldn’t be made possible without the donations.”

The donations help the hospital run more efficiently and relieve stress from the patients and families that are in need, Gross said.

“We see everybody. It doesn’t matter what their socioeconomic status is.”

The Thunderbirds’ beneficiaries include youth sports. The philanthropic group donates to youth sports monthly, rather than the large yearly donations they give to other areas.

“Thunderbirds were found with the motto of promoting the Valley of the Sun through sports,” Markham said. “We’ve always been a sports- and youth-based charity.”

One organization directly impacted by the support is Arizona Special Olympics, which is solely funded by donations. Aside from law enforcement, the Thunderbirds are the largest donor group partnered with Special Olympics.

The Thunderbirds completely fund the young athlete’s division (ages 2½ to 7) and work directly with them, said Sarah Haines, Special Olympics’ Senior Director of Volunteers and Competitions.

“We bring our athletes out to do the celebrity putting contest,” Haines said. “It’s a chance for our athletes to putt with their golf heroes and local celebrities and it means a lot for them to get the same kind of limelight that those celebrities have.”

Large donations from the Thunderbirds and other Arizona-based charity groups allow the Special Olympics to provide its 20,000 athletes with cost-free training and competition.

The Thunderbirds and Waste Management both announced they would also be making donations toward the recent hurricane relief efforts.

Waste Management pledged to donate $3 million toward the relief effort in Houston, the headquarter base of the company.

The 2018 Phoenix Open is scheduled to start Jan, 29 at the TPC Scottsdale.

Comments

Comment guidelines: No name-calling, personal attacks, profanity, or insults. Please keep the conversation civil and help us moderate comments by reporting abuse.
comments powered by Disqus

Cronkite Sports

Cronkite Sports

Sports gambling in Arizona moves closer to reality

In the near future, the Arizona sports fan’s experience could include the ability to place bets inside sports venues while the action unfolds.

3 years ago

Higley quarterback Kai Millner committed to Cal this spring, despite visiting the campus just once ...

Cronkite Sports

Arizona high school football recruits still committing amid coronavirus

Despite visiting campuses few times if at all in some cases, class of 2021 high school football prospects from Arizona are committing at record rates.

4 years ago

(Photo via Cronkite News courtesy Mesa Community College Facebook)...

Arizona Sports

COVID-19 prompts junior colleges to push for cancellation of sports

The 2020-21 school year for Maricopa County community colleges may not include sports, schools await a decision by the district chancellor.

4 years ago

New Coyotes President and CEO Xavier Gutierrez believes outreach in the Arizona Hispanic market is ...

Cronkite Sports

New Coyotes CEO Xavier A. Gutierrez looks to reach Latino community

New Coyotes CEO Xavier A. Gutierrez is the first Latino president and CEO in NHL history and hopes to reach new fans in the Valley.

4 years ago

Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, who joined the Phoenix Mercury in the offseason, is ready to get the WNBA...

Cronkite Sports

Full pay, 22-game season in Florida on tap for Phoenix Mercury

Another league has agreed on a return-to-play plan in the month of July. This time it’s the WNBA, whose members include the Phoenix Mercury.

4 years ago

Phoenix Rising FC assistant coaches Peter Ramage (left) and Blair Gavin are awaiting details about ...

Cronkite Sports

Phoenix Rising players await news on resumption of USL Championship

Phoenix Rising FC and the USL Championship are set to resume play July 11 while players wait on more details for the return.

4 years ago

Thunderbirds raise over $10 million at Waste Management Phoenix Open