Fanatics
Sports fan merchandise company Fanatics has become a fan of helping kids in crisis get an experience. The company, founded by Michael Rubin, has become an “Official Sports Partner” of Make-A-Wish, kicking off the effort with a $10 million donation to the foundation, while opening more than 900 sports partnerships and exclusive contracts with thousands of athletes to the organization with non-profit dedicated to creating life-changing experiences for children with critical illnesses.
“The ability to help make the world a better place by creating lasting memories for these children is ingrained at the core of what we do at Fanatics,” Orlando Ashford, CEO of Fanatics, tells me. “These values, combined with our unbreakable connection to athletes, teams and leagues, make this partnership with Make-A-Wish a natural fit.”
Fanatics, now a global digital sports platform that serves as an official partner for the five major U.S. professional team sports leagues—the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS—along with NASCAR and the PGA, plans to use its partnerships and contracts to help for creating “once-in-a-lifetime experiences for wishing children and their families,” all part of Make-A-Wish’s broader sports-related efforts.
Fanatics
Efforts include supporting wishes around athlete meet-and-greets, championship games, All-Star Weekends, rookie drafts and other premier sporting events.
“Critical illness upends childhood, bringing months and sometimes years of fear and traumatic stress into the lives of children and their families,” said Leslie Motter, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish America. “Our partnership with Fanatics will help us create transformative experiences that will leave a lasting, positive impact long after the wish, often marking a turning point in a child’s treatment and recovery.”
Fanatics says the brand’s more than 900 partnerships and contracts in the world of sports, with teams, leagues and individual athletes, open up the brand to give Make-A-Wish unprecedented access to the world of sports.
Fanatics founder Michael Rubin.
Fanatics
“Fanatics has championed Make-A-Wish and its incredible efforts for many years, and this partnership will be a continued testament to the power of sports and the opportunities for children to heal through connections with their favorite teams and sports heroes,” Ashford said. “The fan connections and access to thousands of athletes across all sports, an extensive list of superb partners and an expanding sports platform will be used to give these incredibly brave children and their families the most memorable, once-in-a-lifetime experiences, which we are honored to provide.”
To kick things off, Make-A-Wish is holding a Fanatics-sponsored event in New York City on October 24th, featuring Tom Brady, Aaron Judge and Jayson Tatum, all granting wishes to scores of kids who meet and spend time with the athletes. Such events continue through the 2023 World Series.
As part of the partnership, Fanatics will make a $10 million donation to enable Make-A-Wish to access additional resources, including merchandise and production costs for external storytelling efforts as it builds a comprehensive partnership.
“We are honored to be able to use our relationships to bring the magic of once-in-a-lifetime sports experiences to young people who need it most,” says Ashford. “This partnership also creates a great opportunity for our employees to give back in a meaningful way at events and experiences throughout the year.”
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