In the inaugural year of Cleveland's chapter of Our Children Making Change, 200 area youth raised $20,000 for this year's four designated charities: Autism Speaks, Juvenile Diabetes, Fiona's Friends (to assist a young girl going through a liver transplant) and West Side Catholic Charities.
Before the Indians game on Sunday, August 11, at the Progressive Field Terrace Club, the 200 children will proudly present the money raised to the representatives of the four charities and then as a celebration of their efforts, the Indians will treat them to their game that afternoon against the Los Angeles Angels. The children also will enjoy lunch courtesy of Delaware North Companies, Sportservice.
At the beginning of the summer, 14 children each spoke on behalf of charities that they wanted to raise money for and then the 200 children voted on the four charities that would be designated for this year. Over the last six weeks, they broke into teams and conducted fundraisers such as lemonade stands, swim-a-thons and talent shows to raise the grand total of $20,000.
Our Children Making Change is trying to bring awareness to get more children involved next year. It is a national nonprofit that inspires children ages 5-16 to learn the importance of giving back to their communities and how they can have fun, be creative, and feel good about themselves in the process. It was started by Laura Dulac in New Jersey as she looked for ways to get her own young children involved in the volunteer process.
For more information: www.ourchildrenmakingchange.org.
(Press release from the Indians)
