Wranglers donate $1,670 to Susan G. Komen
Cancer is a battle that is tougher than the most contested hockey game, and the Missouri Mavericks and their fans are joining in that fight.
The Wranglers, the official fan club of the Missouri Mavericks, joined forces with the Mavericks and to create the teams first charity calendar. The inaugural effort raised $1,670 for the Kansas City Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the effort of everyone involved, from those who helped put the calendar together to the volunteers who sold it, to the fans who bought it,” said Wranglers President Jim Dornbrook.
Dornbrook lost both his mother and sister to cancer within the past year. Many other members of the Wranglers and the Missouri Mavericks have also lost family and friends to cancer. So the inaugural charity calendar held a lot of meaning for everyone involved, becoming labor of love.
“I really have to say that this calendar and it’s success became a personal obsession, one that was shared by everyone involved, because it represented a chance to fight back against cancer and no longer feel like a victim,” Dornbrook said. “We fought to help those who are fighting cancer now and in honor of those who can’t fight anymore. It was a team effort and we all supported each other. ”
The 2013 Mavericks Men Charity Calendar was made possible due to donations of: photography by Jeff Stead of Jackson County government; calendar design by Chris Curry of the Kansas City Business Journal; dollars and support from several sponsors including Bolero Salon and Spa and Mail Print; the Missouri Mavericks; and numerous Wranglers volunteers.
“We would like to thank everyone who made this donation possible through their purchase of the first Mavericks calendar,” said Cari Good, executive director of Komen Kansas City.
Free skate draws huge participation from Kansas City-area kids
Independence, MO - Kansas City-area kids of all ages were given a chance to ice skate for free on Saturday, March 2 at the Independence Community Ice Rink, many for the first time ever.
The event was a partnership between Let’s Move! Blue Springs and the Wranglers, the official fan club of the Missouri Mavericks. Lets Move! is a program founded by First Lady Michelle Obama that is designed to combat childhood obesity.
Let’s Move conducts events called “Let’s Move! Saturdays” that give school kids a chance to get involved in all sorts of free activities, such as dancing, swimming, gymnastics, golf and bowling. The event organized by The Wranglers was the first time free ice skating was offered. It attracted 264 participants and resulted in a story broadcast by a local television news station.
Wranglers President Jim Dornbrook said the idea for the event came early in the season as he was searching for organizations in the community to partner with. Let’s Move! strives to get kids active and the Wranglers mission includes promoting an interesting hockey and ice skating ice skating. Wranglers membership saw the partnership as a perfect fit and unanimously approved funding for the event, which cost about $600.
The event was made possible by the fundraising activities of the Wranglers, event planning by Wranglers Vice President Tom Awe, and several volunteers who helped teach kids to skate and served as skate monitors.
“The event was a huge success,” Dornbrook said. “It proved that a hockey fan club can have a major impact on the community and have fun doing it. All that is necessary is a desire to be a positive force. I couldn’t be prouder of our membership than I am right now.”
Selinda Ramsey, coordinator for Let’s Move! Blue Springs, said the Wranglers were great to work with and the event generated a lot of excitement.
“We received lots of thank you comments from the participants for the opportunity to try out ice skating,” Ramsey said. “A few said that they were really appreciative, since they wouldn’t have been able to try ice skating otherwise.”
The event led to a lot of interest from participants about coming back to the Community Ice Rink. Many were also gathering information about ice skating lessons.
“This was our first time out with this and we learned a lot of lessons to improve on the event, if members vote to do this again,” Dornbrook said. “It’s expensive, so it would be important to use the success of this event to attract some sponsorships. I also think it would be beneficial to form a partnership with a local amateur hockey organization, which would give us more instructors for the first time ice skaters and give them a new source of kids interested in playing hockey.”
The ice skating event is only one of several ways the Wranglers are impacting the community. So far this season, the Wranglers have:
• Hosted the CHL Fan Club Convention, raising $650 for Hope House, a battered women’s shelter.
• Spent $200 on a sponsorship of the Let’s Move! 5K Fun Run. We supplied information about the club and the Missouri Mavericks, and let kids try out passing a pavement puck in the parking lot.
• Sponsored a table at the Missouri Mavericks’ Dinner on Ice event, raising more than $1,000 for the Boy’s and Girls Club of Greater Kansas City.
• Donated $500 to the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City on behalf of the Missouri Mavericks players, as a Christmas gift.
• Raised more than $1,200 for Susan G. Komen For the Cure, through a charity calendar that was produced and sold in partnership with the Missouri Mavericks.
• We’re currently working in partnership with the Jr. Mavericks to conduct a skills competition for local amateur hockey players, called Skills & Thrills, that will raise money for the Jr. Mavericks’ Assistance Fund.