ROCKFORD FAMILY NIGHT A HIT FOR TWENTY-FIVE SEASONS!
Throughout their 25-year
dealing with a somewhat limited
the entire school district, the annual
existence, the West Michigan
supply of sports equipment at his
Rockford Family Night has generated
Whitecaps have strived to find ways
school, was intrigued by the idea so
more than $83,000 and nearly 35,000
to give back to the community
he decided to give it a try.
tickets sold prior to this season’s
through a variety of efforts that includes making sure local youths
event, which will be held on Monday,
He was not disappointed.
have the proper equipment required
May 21, when the Whitecaps host the Fort Wayne TinCaps.
to help them play sports and enjoy a
healthy lifestyle.
the first Rockford Family Night that
helped raise more than $1,000 for
to attend this year’s game as a part of
new equipment.
Rockford Family Night.
No one knows that better than
He was able to sell 521 tickets for Farrell expects about 1,500 people
Rockford Public Schools.
During the Whitecaps’ inaugural
“Once that happened, then I
“We call it Rockford Family
started thinking I really need to share
Night, but I look at it as an
1994 season, Parkside Elementary
this with the seven other elementary
opportunity in this busy culture
physical education teacher Tim
schools,” Farrell said.
that we live in for a family to set
Farrell responded to a letter sent by
aside a night where they can go do
the team that offered partnership
The program has been able to
opportunities for fundraisers for
maintain its success for more than
local schools. Farrell, who was
two decades. Now a joint effort of
something together,” Farrell said. “I really feel that pull of trying to create
an opportunity that hopefully will be
rotate yearly which students will get
Farrell is appreciative of the
a family memory, or something that
to sing the national anthem, and
cooperation of Rockford Public
kids can look back and say we did
some students have even had the
Schools’ superintendent’s office and
that as a family growing up and that
chance to throw out the first pitch.
the generosity of the Whitecaps.
was a special memory.”
Without their cooperation, the event
Prior to the games, Rockford
“Those are the kind of
may have faded away in recent years.
opportunities that I think make
Instead, the partnership continues
families are able to play catch on the
memories for kids and for families,”
to have a tremendous impact
field. The elementary schools also
Farrell said.
throughout the district. Farrell uses
Rockford families playing catch on the field during Rockford Family Night
the example of a $10 basketball. If he has 30 students in his class and he wants one basketball for each child, then he needs $300 - and that’s just one type of equipment for one sport at one school.
That also doesn’t take into effect
the impact of not having enough items, which can force kids to stand around and wait their turn, and opens up the possibility of getting distracted or disinterested in a particular sport.
“If you take 30 minutes of
basketball and every kid has a basketball the whole time as opposed to there’s only 15 basketballs, now they can only touch a basketball half the time,” Farrell said. “Just the amount of hands-on time and opportunities that kids have to have a ball in their hand, to have enough jerseys to wear so we can divide into teams, to have enough jump ropes, on and on and on, is tremendous. It gives kids a chance to have more opportunities.”
In the end, Rockford Family
Night is a legacy Farrell hopes can endure for another 25 years.
“At the end of the day, why would
we not want to take 1,500-1,600 Rockford people and bring them together in a community setting and give them an opportunity to be a family for that evening?” he said. “To me, it just makes sense and I hope that it will be able to keep going for the foreseeable future.”