COUNTRY MUSIC SUPERSTARS TRAILER CHOIR, CHUCK WICKS AND KEITH ANDERSON TEAM UP WITH THE JOE NIEKRO FOUNDATION AND GO TO BAT FOR ANEURYSM RESEARCH

Trailer Choir, Chuck Wicks and Keith Anderson...Playing for a Cause

Country Music Superstars Trailer Choir, Chuck Wicks and Keith Anderson have teamed up with The Joe Niekro Foundation for a weekend of festivities in Houston, TX, April 27th and 28th.  It’s all in celebration of the 3rd Annual Knuckle Ball…A Pitch for Life, with proceeds benefitting brain aneurysm research, treatment and education.

Friday, April 27th will kick things off at Dan Electro’s Guitar Bar with a special acoustic, in the round performance, beginning at 8P.   Patrons will hear hits like Rockin’ the Beer Gutt, Off the Hillbilly Hook and Shakin’ that Tailgate from Trailer Choir, Stealing Cinderella, All I Ever Wanted and Old School from Chuck Wicks, and Every Time I Hear Your Name, Pickin’ Wildflowers and Lost In This Moment from Keith Anderson.  These hits plus many more will fill the stage and make country music memories, while attendees experience an up close and personal view of these country megastars.

The festivities continue at Minute Maid Park on Saturday, April 28th as the entertainers will be joined by athletes from across the country at the 3rd Annual Knuckle Ball…A Pitch for Life, as they pay tribute to the beloved 13-year Houston Astros All-Star,  Joe Niekro.  At the peak of his Major League Baseball pitching career, Joe Niekro was famous for his command of the knuckleball, a baseball pitch with an erratic, unpredictable motion. Like a knuckleball, Niekro’s life took an unpredictable path on October 27, 2006, when he died suddenly from a ruptured brain aneurysm.

Niekro served 22 years in the Major Leagues, 13 of those with the Houston Astros.  He became the team’s first 20-game winner, and remains the all-time leader in wins among Astros pitchers.  Teaming up with his brother, Hall of Famer Phil Niekro, the two combined for 539 wins over their respective careers making them the most successful brother combination in Major League history.

In honor of his memory, daughter Natalie Niekro created The Joe Niekro Foundation, with a mission to raise funds for brain aneurysm research, treatment and help bring public awareness to this devastating condition affecting as many as 1 in 15 people.

A number of Astros players, along with former MLB, NFL and NBA Stars, will be on hand at the black-tie gala, featuring a reception, formal dinner, silent and live auction (for a list of previous attendees, click here).  Joe’s brother and Hall of Fame pitcher, Phil Niekro will serve as the evening’s Master of Ceremonies, with a special presentation of The 2012 Joe Niekro Humanitarian Award to Haynes and Boone, LLP Partner and current Chairman of the Board of the Harris County – Houston Sports Authority, J. Kent Friedman.

We invite you to join us for a weekend of fun as we raise money for a condition that is killing thousands every year. For tickets and more information on both events and The Joe Niekro Foundation, visit www.joeniekrofoundation.org/knuckleball.

April 27th – 8P – Country Music Concert

Dan Electro’s Guitar Bar, 1031 E. 24th St. Houston, TX 77009

Tickets: $75

April 28th – 6:36P – Knuckle Ball…A Pitch for Life (Joe Niekro’s #36 symbolizes the start time)

Minute Maid Park, 501 Crawford Street, Houston, Texas 77002

Tickets: Individual Tickets start at $336, with table sponsorships ranging from $5,036-$25,036.

Thank You Minnesota! The Twin Cities ROCK!

Foundation Board Member, Kari Ulrich and Medical Advisory Board Member, Dr. Robert Brown, join Natalie Niekro with Tim Laudner (left), Dan Gladden (center) and Tony Oliva (right) for the pre-game autograph session

What a day, what a day, what a day!!!!!  It was Brain Aneurysm Awareness Day at Target Field in honor of The Joe Niekro Foundation.  My day started with a fabulous pre-game autograph signing session with former Minnesota Twins players Dan Gladden, Tim Laudner and Tony Oliva.  Hundreds lined up to make a $20 donation to The Joe Niekro Foundation in exchange for a Wanna Get Lucky? shirt that would then be autographed by these three greats.  What can I say – not only are these three amazing, but the Minnesota fans are too!  What smiles, positive attitudes and compliments they made as they made their way through the long line.  My right hand gal through it all – Mrs. Kari Ulrich – without you Kari, today would never have been what it was.  I can’t thank you enough for your vivacious energy, fundraising tenacity and pure commitment to our cause.

Kari and Natalie sporting their Wanna Get Lucky? shirts

Kari, an aneurysm survivor herself, didn’t slow down once today!  As we made our way onto the field for the pre-game ceremony with Dr. Robert Brown, neurologist and brain specialist from Mayo Clinic, we were welcomed by a wonderful applause from the Minnesota fans, with their generosity continuing through the night as we collected donations through the foundation’s Text to Give campaign.  As message boards lit up around the stadium with “Text STRIKEOUT to 20222 and make a $10 donation to The Joe Niekro Foundation” we watched hundreds grabbing their cell phones in support of our cause.  We want to thank all those that supported us today, plan to support us in the future and will continue to spread the word about our organization and mission.

If you haven’t yet, grab your phone now and Knuckle Up for Aneurysm Research – text STRIKEOUT to 20222!  Your donation WILL make a difference.

Text STRIKEOUT to 20222 and make a $10 donation to support brain aneursym research, treatment and awareness

Former Tiger Dave Bergman is All About The Joe Niekro Foundation

 

Dave Bergman and Joe Niekro Snook Fishing in the Florida Everglades

1984 World Series Champion and former Detroit Tiger Dave Bergman stays busy with The Joe Niekro Foundation.

Dave Bergman came to Detroit in 1984 to help the Tigers win the World Series, and the former first baseman has been helping his community every day since.

A resident of Grosse Pointe Woods since 1985, Bergman is all about the causes that are near and dear to his heart, donating his time and his talents to both his community and MLB family. Specifically, he’s an active member on the Board of Directors currently serves as treasurer for The Joe Niekro Foundation.

Three to four times a week, Bergman can be found on the high school ballfields at Grosse Pointe North and Grosse Pointe South with his Redbirds teams. He is busy mentoring, managing and encouraging four teams of players who are aspiring to be great ballplayers and even better young men. The organization stresses academic excellence, high moral standards, discipline, respect, concern for others and a winning attitude.

An ongoing project nearest to Bergman’s heart is one that began in 2006, after the passing of his dear friend and big league pitcher, Joe Niekro. Niekro was the younger brother of pitcher Phil Niekro and enjoyed 22 years of playing in the MLB; most notably known for his knuckleball and as a Houston Astro.

Joe Niekro was also Bergman’s fishing partner for 30 years.  Encouraged by his baseball friends over a breakfast in Cooperstown, NY, four years ago,
Bergman created a series of guided fishing trips to the Everglades as a fundraiser for the Joe Niekro Foundation.

The Joe Niekro Foundation was established in 2007 in honor of Joe who lost his life from a sudden cerebral brain aneurysm. The nonprofit foundation is committed to aiding in the research and treatment of aneurysm patients and families. Four all-inclusive, four-night and three-day guided fishing expeditions dubbed The Niekro Tradition of Snook Fishing in the Everglades are available; two in the fall and two in the spring. Bergman himself will be at the helm and accommodations are provided at the Niekro family’s fishing condo in Chokoloskee, FL. Detailed
information about the vacation condo and amenities can be viewed here.

“It’s truly a win-win situation for everyone,” said Bergman. “The donation is tax deductible, less the fair market value of the trip. We always have a
great time and the snook fishing is outstanding. In the past we’ve had husband and wife teams come down, close buddies, brothers. Joe and I were always on the water by 5:40am and we would stay out all day. But we fish now according to our clients.”

When not helping out on and off the field, Bergman is a partner and senior portfolio manager for Sigma Investment Counselors in Southfield.  Thank you Dave for being such and integral part of The Joe Niekro Foundation and continuing to support our casue each and every day.  if you are interested in experiencing this once in a lifetime opportunity, please contact Natalie Niekro at nniekro@joeniekrofoundation.org.

 

Giving Is Viral…It’s Time to Live, It’s Time to Give

What if you could take your “loose change” and apply it to a charity in a scalable way???  Well, now you can!  Through a company called Swipegood, your credit or debit card purchases are rounded up to the next dollar, with the change being deposited directly into your charity of choice’s bank account.  It’s that easy.  We all use credit/debit cards everyday, so instead of collecting the change for your piggy bank, why not help support any one of the registered organizations.  As soon as I heard of this program, I immediately signed up The Joe Niekro Foundation.  There is no cost to participate and its a turn key way for the foundation to earn money each and every day.  It may not seem like much, but in just the past few days, my rounded up change has benefitted the foundation by $29.37.  Again, this is not a significant amount by any means, but I am only a few days in and get to continue to watch the foundation earn money simply through the technology I use everyday.  You can also set a limit for your card meaning your monthly total cannot surpass your documented limit.  Its a great program and I encourage everyone to get involved.

The Joe Niekro Foundation is working hard to “think outside the box” in ways to raise money, which is why we have implemented programs like Swipegood, IGive.com, Text to Give and Ebay Giving Works.  All of these fundraising methods are using the tools that we surround ourselves with everyday.  Swipegood donates your rounded up change, IGive.com offers those online shoppers a way to give to via their purchases – and the best part is that the retailer, not the shopper, donates the percentage of your purchase to the charity of your choice.  The IGive toolbar allows for one to earn a $.01 to their charity for every qualified internet search done through this browser.  With the millions of web searches done every day – think how quickly those pennies will add up!  By Texting STRIKEOUT to 20222 you can make a direct $10 donation to The Joe Niekro Foundation and that $10 charge will simply appear on your next cell phone bill.  And of course, there’s Ebay Giving Works which offers sellers on Ebay to donate a percentage of every purchase to the charity they choose. 

So, its simple – lets use our everyday technology to help support our cause.  Get signed up for Swipegood today, download the IGive.com toolbar and start earning $ with every online search, when you are shopping online, do it through IGive.com and you can directly see the impact of every purchase for your charity of choice – plus you will also notice some HUGE savings by utilizing this shopping portal.  Pull out your cell phone and send the word STRIKEOUT to the number 20222.  And lastly, if you are an Ebay seller, which many of us are, sign up for Ebay Giving Works and start selling for a cause! 

It all comes down to us – we can choose to make a difference and we can choose to make that difference TODAY, so come join me in all the fun of giving!

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”                  

Winston Churchill

Smartgiving with Smartgood…Even Pennies can make a difference

We have exciting news! The Joe Niekro Foundation is now supported by SwipeGood – a platform that allows you to enroll your credit or debit card to round up all your transactions automatically and donate the change directly to The Joe Niekro Foundation. 

 Why not take the typically selfish act of purchasing and turn it into an act of giving? The Joe Niekro Foundation has partnered with SwipeGood, the company that maximizes your loose change for charity.  To get started, all you have to do is go to our page on Swipegood and sign up your credit or debit card. SwipeGood rounds up your purchases to the next dollar, and lets you donate the change to The Joe Niekro Foundation.  How good will it feel to go about your every day shopping knowing that each purchase you make helps support brain aneurysm research, treatment and education.  I can tell you it feels great – like you have a warm halo over your head. Learn more, enroll your credit or debit card today with https://SwipeGood.com/joe-niekro-foundation and change the world around you, one purchase at a time.