The Athletes for Relief initiative, hubbed around a bespoke site at athletesrelief.org, was recently launched in the USA with the help of sport and entertainment agency Octagon with 100% of profits raised going to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s Covid-19 Response Fund.
The project, which launched with the copy “This affects all of us. The more participation. The more money. The more relief.”, is a fundraising tool for athletes hosted by platform PledgeIt.org.
The objective is to team-up with athletes from across the sporting spectrum (and from all talent agencies – not just Octagon) and ask them to offer a piece of their memorabilia, a signed artefact or even an in-person service to be auctioned off through the platform.
Thus far more than 100 athletes have joined the cause – including NBA superstar Stephen Curry, swimming icon Michael Phelps, gymnastics legend Simone Biles, golfer Rory McIlroy – and have made public or private donations to help those that have been affected by the outbreak and to help their local communities battle the coronavirus pandemic.
For example, Milwaukee Bucks and NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo pledged $100,000 to staff at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Zion Williamson promised to cover the salaries of all of the workers at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans for the next 30 days, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer hosting a waffle ball game for charity.
“There had been an unbelievable outpouring of donations from athletes to arena employees and food banks, but all I kept hearing was people asking how could they do more, and how could they do something as a community,” explained Octagon Executive Vice President David Schwab.
“I’ve always been impressed by the sports and entertainment world and how it rallies around tough times with things like telethons, concerts, exhibition matches, or personal fundraising drives to provide awareness and raise funds,” Schwab said. “This is an effort to give that community an online sharing platform in addition to everything else that they’re doing.”
Comment:
An admirable initiative which demonstrates that it’s not just rights-holders and players who can help raise funds in times of crises, but agencies have a role to play too.
Links:
Athletes For Covid-19 Relief
Octagon USA
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