Thunder Raises Record of Over $810,000 in Charity

Published on April 21, 2011 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - The Stockton Thunder, a two-time recipient of the ECHL "Award of Excellence," announced in conjunction with its charitable arm, the Stockton Thunder Foundation that a record of $811,490 was donated in cash, tickets, memorabilia and other items to charity in 2010-11, toppling its pervious charitable record of over $650,000 set last year.

The Thunder drew over 6,000 fans per game for the sixth straight season, experienced a six percent increase in attendance with over 6,300 fans per game (largest since 2007-08) and continued to make remarkable strides by reaching out to various community causes and charities and assist in improving lives of people in the Northern California and Central Valley region.

The Thunder toppled a record mark for the fifth year in a row and surpassed $2 million in charitable donations in the organization's six-year history.

"The positive impact the Stockton Thunder makes in our community is a collaborative effort from our fans, players and front office staff," said Thunder team president Dan Chapman. "There are so many worthy organizations and causes in and around San Joaquin County and we're thrilled to again make a positive difference for so many of them."

The success in the Northern California community continued to parallel the strength of the Thunder on the ice as well. The Thunder won 19 games at home, tied a club record with an 11-game unbeaten streak in regulation and finished tied for first place in the Pacific Division with the Bakersfield Condors.

Among the 2010-11 season community highlights:

THUNDER GOES PINK V (November 5-7, 2010)

The flagship event of all Thunder fundraising outreach events during the hockey, the wildly popular "Thunder Goes Pink" event, in its fifth year, expanded to a three-day event for the first time and yielded unparalleled results. Continuing to serve its mission to raise funds in benefiting local breast cancer treatment and prevention, the success of the event, which debuted in November 2006, has inspired other teams across the ECHL to host similar "pink-themed" events of their own.

"Thunder Goes Pink V" presented by St. Joseph's Medical Center in association with Delta Blood Bank, Antonini Freight Express and Union Bank, once again proved to be a definitive success, raising $42,000 in cash, split evenly between the event beneficiaries: American Cancer Society - Stockton Field Office and St. Joseph's Foundation - Breast Cancer Services.

The Thunder has boosted its all-time, five-year total of funds raised through "Pink" to over $187,000.

COATS FOR KIDS (November 21, 2010)

On November 21, 2010, the Thunder hosted its sixth annual "Coats for Kids" drive, helping KXTV-TV News10 to provide coats to needy children during winter season. Each fan who donated a coat at the doors of Stockton Arena received a ticket voucher good for free admission to the 4:00 p.m. game that day against the Victoria Salmon Kings.

This year, a record 1,200 coats were collected for the cause.

SCHOOL INCENTIVE PROGRAMS (season-long); TAKING COLLEGE BY STORM

Continuing its drive to be active in the area of educational initiatives in the Northern California region, the Thunder continued its commitment for the third straight year with its "Taking College by Storm" program, designed to reward students throughout San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Sacramento counties with a free ticket to a Thunder game for achievements such as perfect attendance, meeting reading goals, or earning honor roll recognition.

For the third straight year, the Thunder partnered with the Stockton Unified School District (SUSD) to take part in the special initiative designed to encourage high school seniors within SUSD to take the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Students within the district who took the SAT received a free ticket voucher to a Thunder home game during the 2010-11 season. Through this program, the Thunder was able to donate $5,000 worth of ticket vouchers to honored students.

TEDDY BEAR TOSS (January 22, 2011) The Stockton Thunder once again showed its support to the United Way with its sixth annual Teddy Bear Toss event, presented by News10, Jackson Rancheria Casino & Hotel, KAT Country 103, California Water Service Company and Pepsi, highlighting a 4-1 Thunder win over the Ontario Reign before a sellout of 9,482 - one of the largest crowds of the season.

Thunder fans exuded their patience and loyalty by showering the ice surface with stuffed toys when right winger Jim McKenzie scored the first goal of the game for a 1-0 Thunder in the first period. Continuing the event's tradition, volunteers from the Woodbridge Fire Department, the Stockton Fire Department, and the United Way made their way onto the ice and collected the donations.

The Thunder was able to collect a record 5,835 bears and other stuffed animals to donate to the United Way who in turn distributed them to local children's charities. On Tuesday, February 9, Thunder goaltenders Bryan Pitton, Tyson Sexsmith and defenseman Ryan Constant visited the United Way to wish the kids well, dive into the bears, distribute to meet local children and sign autographs.

"EASY BEING GREEN" CAMPAIGN (March 25-26, 2011) This year, the Stockton Thunder continued its "Easy Being Green" Campaign, with "green weekend" on March 25-26 in two games against Victoria. The two-day event, which drew over 14,000 fans, featured a pre-game "Green Fair" (during each game) featuring local eco-friendly businesses and organizations distributing information and green-themed giveaways.

The event also featured an "Easy Being Green Award," in which $2 from each individual or group ticket sold, along with a portion of the proceeds from the pre-game "Green Fair," were collected to be awarded to a local eco-friendly business for donation to Premier Finishing's Green Award recipient. The Thunder was able to raise over $12,300 for this year's winner - local company CBC Steel Buildings, benefiting Disabled American Veterans.

Continuing its mission as an active community leader in 2011-12, the Thunder was active in other involvement for this past year, which also included numerous player and mascot appearances at schools, churches, and community events.

A proud affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League, the Thunder was voted "Best Local Sports Team" by readers of the San Joaquin Magazine for the third straight year, led the ECHL in attendance for four consecutive seasons and drew over 200,000 fans for the sixth consecutive season in 2010-11. Season tickets for 2011-12 are on sale now. For more information about tickets, merchandise, or other inquiries contact the Stockton Thunder offices at (209) 373-1500 or visit http://www.stocktonthunder.com/.

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