FIESTA’S BEST FIE STA B OWL C HA R I T I E S NEWSL ETTER
VOLUME 7
DESERT FINANCIAL FIESTA BOWL CHARITIES
Wishes For Teachers
In its sixth year, the Fiesta Bowl Charities Wishes for Teachers program granted classroom wishes to 400 teachers across the state of Arizona – twice as many as previous years. Each teacher received a $2,500 grant for a total of $1 Million, to purchase resources and materials that made their classroom wishes come true.
5,311
63
TOTAL YEARS TEACHING
DIFFERENT CITIES AND TOWNS SELECTED
227,232
STUDENTS IMPACTED
296
DIFFERENT SCHOOLS SELECTED
122
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES REPRESENTED FROM TEACHER ALMA MATERS
Wishes for Teachers DRAFT DAY PRESENTED BY SALT RIVER PROJECT (SRP) Fiesta Bowl Charities Wishes for Teachers recipients were invited to video calls during Virtual Draft Day presented by SRP to receive an important update on their application. During those calls, teachers were surprised by corporate partners, community champions, local celebrities, and board members who shared the exciting news that their wishes had been granted. One hundred virtual rooms, 50 phone calls and four in-person wishes took place over the course of three days to surprise teacher recipients with the great news.
Wishes for Teachers
GUARANTEED RATE BOWL HALFTIME RECOGNITION During the Guaranteed Rate Bowl halftime, 200 Wishes for Teachers recipients joined Fiesta Bowl Leadership on field to be recognized and honored as recipients of their grant.
F I E S TA B O W L . O R G
PG 3
Wishes for Teachers CELEBRATION! In February, more than 100 teachers and their families gathered at Main Event Tempe for a day of play to celebrate and thank them for all their dedicated work. Each teacher was presented with a Fiesta Bowl Wishes for Teachers recipient award, enjoyed breakfast and spent the morning bowling, playing arcade games and laser tag along with their families.
Thank you so much for the gift of time with my family! My mom, daughter and I had a blast together at Main Event and it was definitely something that we would never have thought would be so much fun! We appreciate the time, support and dedication Fiesta Bowl Charities has towards education! Amidst the horrible things happening right now in our schools, Sunday was a literal day of sunshine for us all! Nicole Tilicki, 4th grade teacher at Innovation Academy, Oro Valley, AZ
PG 4
F I E S TA B O W L C H A R I T I E S
NEWSLETTER | VOLUME 7
Teacher Feature:
PARADE CENTERPIECES TEACHER Alexis Rokes
SCHOOL Sky Crossing Elementary School
SUBJECT Art
As part of the 2021 Fiesta Bowl Parade festivities, a VIP breakfast was hosted for sponsors and celebrities to connect and hear more about the organization’s impact and support to bring Arizona communities together for 50 years. Alexis Rokes, an art teacher at Sky Crossing Elementary School and a Wishes for Teachers recipient, worked with her third and fourth grade students to create the float-inspired centerpieces that decorated the breakfast tables that morning.
My 3rd/4th grade students learned about parades and looked at a variety of different floats. We also were able to learn more about Arizona while making these. This was great because students were doing their Arizona unit in Social Studies at the same time. It was so fun to see them work 3-dimensionally together and learn what their favorite part of Arizona is!
F I E S TA B O W L . O R G
PG 5
Player Outreach Throughout Bowl Season game week, all four teams from the Guaranteed Rate Bowl and the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl spent time giving back to the Arizona community through player outreach events with nonprofit partners. The Minnesota Golden Gophers enjoyed a morning of bowling, arcade games and laser tag at Main Event Tempe, together with children from Muscular Dystrophy Association. The West Virginia Mountaineers participated in a day of play at Mavrix in Scottsdale with youth from Special Olympics Arizona, Mikey’s League and Z Kick for Life Foundation. In partnership with Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation, Notre Dame student-athletes were each paired with a child for a ‘Shop with a Jock’ event at Dick’s Sporting Goods. Studentathletes from Oklahoma State University teamed up with 40 Wishes for Teachers recipients from Title 1 schools for a friendly competition, presented by PNC, to fill up 1,000 backpacks with school supplies for the teachers to bring back to their students. During a busy week for the teams in Arizona, the impact the student-athletes had in the community is further proof that the Fiesta Bowl truly is More Than Just a Game®.
The time I spent with the West Virginia Mountaineers the Sunday before the Guaranteed Rate Bowl at Mavrix was fun and meaningful. I got to meet some great guys and we found that we have a lot in common, not just for the love of sports in competition on the field, but also the love of the competition in the arcade! They took time to get to know me and treated me like I was one of the guys they have known for a long time.
Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation was honored to invite 30 children in foster care to participate in the Fiesta Bowl’s “Shop With A Jock” event. From the minute the Notre Dame athletes ran off the bus, they were 100% engaged in making sure that the kids who came out for the event had the time of their lives. The excitement and enthusiasm of the children was matched smile-for-smile by the excitement and enthusiasm of the players.
William, Mikey’s League Athlete
Kris Jacober, Executive Director, Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation
WATCH HIGHLIGHT VIDEO
COMMUNITY RESOURCE ROOM Fiesta Bowl Charities, in partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, renovated a space at YMCA of Southern Arizona Mulcahy/City in Tucson, unveiling the newly named Fiesta Bowl Charities Community Resource Room. With two sections that will be used by about 65 children daily, one side is a multi-purpose room where kids can play and grow their social skills, while the other room features equipment and activities designed to promote STEM skills. On December 10, representatives from Fiesta Bowl Charities, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and YMCA cut the ribbon to celebrate the unveiling of this new space.
Our kids deserve a building that reflects their greatness. Through the generosity of Fiesta Bowl Charities and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, we can provide a space where the children can explore, grow and feel good about themselves without barriers. Kayla Dunaway, Youth Development Director for YMCA of Southern Arizona
F I E S TA B O W L . O R G
PG 7
NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT GABRIEL’S ANGELS Gabriel’s Angels received a $25,000 grant during the 2021- 22 Fiesta Bowl Charities Grant Cycle for their Pet Therapy - Animals, Books and Children Program. On March 9, Fiesta Bowl Charities attended a day of celebration and programming hosted by Gabriel’s Angels at Copper Canyon Elementary School. The charities team participated in an ABC Program Celebration for two students who received their certificates of completion and a medal. Each student was gifted a backpack filled with books, stickers and other supplies to continue their love of reading. The ABC Program is a 14-week reading program where volunteer Pet Therapy Teams visit a school weekly and spend time with three children individually to improve reading skills, comprehension and assist with core social behavior development. Each Pet Therapy team receives Gabriel’s Angels training, materials and support specific to this program.
We are so thankful for donors like Fiesta Bowl Charities, who do so much to support the children and youth in our communities. With their generous gift, we can offer services like the ABC program for free. We are thankful for the opportunity to have included them in this celebration, and their continued generosity supports the transformational work that our pet therapy teams do with children in improving their literacy skills, which has a lasting impact. Melissa Steimer, Executive Director, Gabriel’s Angels
PG 8
F I E S TA B O W L C H A R I T I E S
NEWSLETTER | VOLUME 7
Kaboom!
CAMP VERDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Fiesta Bowl Charities unveiled a 2,000 squarefoot playground at Camp Verde Elementary School in partnership with Salt River Project (SRP) and KABOOM! in February 2022. More than 50 volunteers put shovels to mulch, drills to screws and paint to sidewalks to bring a new play space to life. In the span of seven hours, volunteers built an obstacle style playground that includes a rock wall, zipline and double racing slides.
Additionally, freshly painted sidewalk games were installed across campus for kids to enjoy hopscotch, tic-tac-toe and four square. The state-of-the-art play space will serve 700 students and hundreds more who live in the community and will attend Camp Verde Elementary for years to come. This playground build is Fiesta Bowl Charities’ 11th KABOOM! playground across the state.
We told kids that they were going to design a playground and they were so excited. Each teacher facilitated a design process within the class, then students met with KABOOM!. They shared a lot of very imaginative ideas for this playground. Through that process we were able to take the kids’ ideas, look at all of the different pieces of equipment we could have on the playground and put it into action. Jaclyn Campbell, Principal of Camp Verde Elementary School WATCH HIGHLIGHT VIDEO
F I E S TA B O W L . O R G
PG 9
FIESTA BOWL
KINDNESS ARIZONA After last year’s inaugural launch, the Fiesta Bowl Kindness Arizona tour returned to spread kindness across the Phoenix Metro Area. In a three-day caravan across the valley, Fiesta Bowl staff and volunteers made six stops to deliver acts of service and community impact. During the three days, Fiesta Bowl Charities donated clothing, supplies and more to local organizations and refreshed a teachers’ lounge. Quick facts about 2022 Fiesta Bowl Kindness Arizona: • Interacted and engaged with 38 senior citizens from Foundation for Senior Living • 500 clothing totes packed and donated to foster youth from Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation • 75 pounds of trash collected from Papago Park • 200 cups of coffee poured for hospital employees • 150 lunches provided to individuals at random at Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers
This wonderful gift has provided a space for fellowship and relaxation that helps the Alta Vista staff provide the high level of academic and emotional support that the Alta Vista students deserve day in and day out. The staff loves the lounge and it is fun to see them in there enjoying the space like I haven’t seen before! Cody Riding, Principal Alta Vista Elementary School
• 65 teachers and staff impacted by the teacher lounge refresh at Alta Vista Elementary School SUPPORTING PARTNERS
Empowering Diversity SCHOLARSHIP PRESENTED BY BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF ARIZONA AND FIESTA BOWL Continuing our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, Fiesta Bowl and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona have opened applications for the third year of the Empowering Diversity Scholarship. The Empowering Diversity Scholarship was created to support Arizona minority residents with their educational goals. This year we will continue to support two tracks, the GED and the post-secondary tracks. Applications for both tracks are now open and close on April 28.
GRANT CYCLE It’s that time of year, the 2022-23 Fiesta Bowl Charities Grant Cycle is now open. Arizona nonprofit organizations can submit applications until Thursday, May 19 at 5 p.m. Applications will be reviewed by the charitable giving committee and selected organizations will receive funding from Fiesta Bowl Charities.
F I E S TA B O W L . O R G
PG 11
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