Cleveland Cavaliers: Champions on the Court and in the Community
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Cleveland Cavaliers: Champions on the Court and in the Community The Quicken Loans Arena and Cleveland Cavaliers Organization – including the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters and AFL’s Cleveland Gladiators – strives to set the standard for being champions not only on the field of play, but out in the community as well. The organization is deeply committed to making a positive impact on the lives of children and families in Northeast Ohio. Throughout the year, the teams support a full roster of community outreach initiatives that address important social issues, with an emphasis on education, youth and family services, health and wellness, volunteerism and entrepreneurship. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Each year the Cavaliers are able to reach more than 130,000 children in Cleveland and across several counties in Northeast Ohio through the team’s many programs. Several of those focus on the importance of education at all levels, kindergarten through high school: the Cavs coordinate reading initiatives in schools through “Read to Achieve;” recognize hardworking teachers and students with “Head of the Class,” “All-Star Kids” and “Straight ‘A’ All- Stars;” and partner with Huntington Bank to award college scholarships With health and wellness being a pillar of the Cavs community efforts, players, coaches and other staff can often be found leading kids through basketball clinics, talking about living a healthy lifestyle, and even practicing 130,000 yoga with Cleveland-area kids, thanks to the team’s “Fit as a Pro” initiative Children Reached The team also hosts awareness nights at games throughout the season to help support important causes, including breast cancer, colon cancer and Annually autism. In addition, the Cavs organization also holds two major events each year to benefit The Children’s Tumor Foundation. Understanding the positive influence they can have on our youth and others in the Greater Cleveland community, Cavaliers players and coaches make an average of 200 community appearances each year, including hospital visits, serving meals to the less fortunate, distributing toys during the holidays and much more With more than $42 million total in community, civic and charitable giving, a wide range of local non-profit organizations and charities have benefited from the Cavs in the 20-plus years the team has been in downtown Cleveland. The Cavaliers Youth Fund, the charitable arm of the Cavs organization, has made grants totaling more than $23 million to deserving groups in the area The Cavs have also provided more than $19 million in community gifts and contributions Most recently: o The team distributed more than $750,000 to several local charitable organizations as a result of the 2016 NBA $42 Million Championship playoff run. The money was collected through 100% of admissions to road game watch parties, plus additional Given funds were raised through 50/50 raffles and auctions. o Over the last two years, the team has donated more than $150,000 to the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, resulting in over 500,000 meals provided to those in need. Through grants from the Cavaliers Youth Fund, the Cavs have also supported the Food Bank's “BackPacks for Kids” program, providing school children with food to take home in order to sustain them over a weekend. o The team hosts two events each year – Flashes of Hope’s Big Shots & Little Stars and Cupid’s Undie Run – to benefit the Children’s Tumor Foundation to help them in their fight to end Neurofibromatosis, raising well over $1 million between the two every year. o The past two years, the Cavs have participated in the #BestSchoolDay, a nationwide initiative through DonorsChoose.org that allows people to fund supplies and resources for classrooms. The team has donated $25,000 per year to schools in Cuyahoga County, helping provide teachers and students with what they need to succeed. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Dan Gilbert and the Cavaliers’ family of companies have helped lead the recent $60 Million local fight against blight by playing a core lobbying role in securing federal Hardest Hit Funds to fight blight in Ohio. Specifically, Cuyahoga County Secured to Fight Blight received $60 million in 2015 to initiate a demolition program for 5,000 blighted homes. The Cavaliers also contributed $50,000 this past year to help launch the initial phase of the local Western Reserve Land Conservancy program also working towards local blight elimination. The Cavaliers organization provides the opportunity for thousands of children and families to attend home games at The Q every year. The Cavs donate approximately 15,000 tickets per season to organizations that include local 15,000 charities, non-profits and schools. This also includes a player ticket program Tickets Donated where Cavs players personally purchase tickets, food vouchers and t-shirts to donate to non-profit groups. Annually In addition, on a daily basis the Cavs also send giveaway, auction and raffle items to various organizations throughout Northeast Ohio to help them with their own fundraising efforts. The team fulfills approximately 5,000 requests each year. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In an effort to provide children in the Northeast Ohio region with better access to books and technology, the Cavaliers create Reading & Learning Centers and Learn & Play Centers in community-based organizations and schools. This allows a qualified non-profit organization to improve the condition of its current facility as well as to improve the quality of its literacy and educational programming. Since 2004, the Cavaliers have created 17 Reading & Learning Centers and Learn & Play Centers at multiple Boys & Girls Clubs, schools, 23 leadership academies and other organizations Long -term The Cavs also aim to lift spirits and provide everyday necessities to those in our community. Since 2008, the Cavaliers have completed six “Legacy Projects” that Investments are designed to provide children and families in Northeast Ohio with safe places to live, learn and play. The team has funded and constructed a home for Habitat for Humanity; provided an outdoor basketball court at East End Neighborhood House; built an outdoor sports court at Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital for Rehabilitation; refurbished the family lounge at Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital for Rehabilitation; redone the family room and resource center at Ronald McDonald house of Greater Cleveland; and renovated the activity center at Cleveland Clinic Children’s. Quicken Loans Arena, A Promise That Keeps On Giving In October of 1994, a new era of sports and entertainment began in Northeast Ohio when Quicken Loans Arena (then Gund Arena) opened its doors in the heart of downtown Cleveland and the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers came back home after 20 seasons in suburban Richfield. Fast forward 23 years later and Quicken Loans Arena and the Cavaliers have lived up to the promise of being a world-class attraction and an essential building block for the economy of all of Northeast Ohio . Thanks to a unique public/private partnership Before and After: The Gateway District between civic and business leaders and with the support of Cuyahoga County voters, in 1990 the decision was made to build Quicken Loans Arena and Progressive Field (then Jacobs Field), home to the MLB Cleveland Indians, side-by-side on the former Central Market site in downtown Cleveland. The project formed a centerpiece of the Gateway development, to be known as the Gateway District. The Central Market site, located on the southern end of the city, was a desolate part of downtown and perhaps the area of highest disinvestment. Logistically, it was the entry way into Cleveland that consisted of primarily empty commercial buildings and underutilized surface parking lots, with only six full service restaurants and no hotels or residential properties. Today, the Gateway District is a vibrant live, work and play destination. It is now the focal point of downtown Cleveland and has been the beneficiary of over $1 BILLION in completed, underway or funded retail, residential and hotel development. The Gateway District consists of 25 residential properties, nine hotels, and over 70 full-service restaurants and eateries that service it’s nearly 2,000 residents and five million visitors each year. In addition, four properties are under construction or in design/development for additional housing, hotel and retail. The First 20 Years, Just the Beginning For two decades, Quicken Loans Arena (The Q) has provided Cleveland with a modern-day sports and entertainment venue that spurred an era of dramatic economic growth and renewal. The Q hosts close to 200 events and welcomes more than two million guests each year. It is a must-stop destination for major concert tours and family shows, and in addition to the 2016 NBA Champion Cavaliers, The Q is home to the American Hockey Leagues’ and 2016 Calder Cup Champion Cleveland Monsters, the American Football Leagues’ Cleveland Gladiators and the Mid-American Conference Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments. With its full calendar of events, The Q has helped to stimulate dozens of job-creating restaurants and new hotels to downtown Cleveland. Those developments have had a cascading effect, resulting