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The Phoenix Suns do a ton of work in the community, regularly donating tickets to schools and youth programs throughout the state. Nearly every Suns game has some group of kids there, either performing a halftime set or simply to take in an NBA game.
By not usually 1,000 of them at one time. That's my goal. Not just a few hundred (we are at 259 donations so far, with a few weeks to go), but a clean 1,000. Plus chaperones.
That's a LOT of kids! I'm imagining a few upper level sections being filled up with excited, wide-eyed budding Suns fans.
The first annual Bright Side Night, set for November 14, could possibly be the biggest group of kids they've ever assembled at one time. The Suns know how to distribute tickets to kids and their chaperones, but there's so many available tickets that they are open to suggestions.
Help Spread The Word
This is where you come in.
If you have already donated, thank you. If you are planning on donating, don't forget.
But you can do more. Even if you can't afford to make a donation yourself, you can still help get the word out. Between word of mouth and social media we can work together to help reach our goal.
If you're reading this and you can find one other person to help the cause we're going to get to 1,000.
Here's what I have done.
Right at the beginning of the campaign I started supplicating friends and family to help out. My wife went on facebook and posted about the event. After that my sister got on board.
Not only that, but my wife actually put the word out at work. Just yesterday one of her coworkers, Paul Baker, donated $32 to send two more kids to the game. Thanks Paul!
Just think about it. If a hopelessly sardonic doom merchant like myself can get others involved, what can a completely awesome person like you accomplish!
Help Us Find Children For The Game
Do you know a class at a nearby school (even your kids' class) that have never been to a Suns game? Or small school? Or a youth program?
I still remember several years ago, my youngest daughter's whole class was given tickets to a Suns game for winning some contest at school. They rode over in a bus with their teacher, got to meet some of the Suns players before the game, and called out on the court before tip as that night's "High Five Kids". We still have the picture of her class with Eric Piatkowski. Sure, the seats were up in the upper level, but she had a great time and couldn't stop talking about the game for months. She's still a Suns fan today, and it all started right there.
Email me your targets for tickets, and I'll pass them on to the Suns for vetting. You don't need to donate the tickets yourself, or any tickets, in order to suggest a group of kids to benefit from our donations. We're all in this together, and I'd love to know we played a part in picking the kids.
But if you're going to donate tickets anyway, why not give us an idea where to send them?
Think about it. This could be a cool combination.
1. You recommend a group of kids
2. You donate 10 tickets ($160) or more, and get two free lower-level tickets for yourself out of it (worth the $160 alone)
3. You and those kids get to go to the November 14 game together!
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Here's How It Works To Donate
- You click this link to donate: Suns.com/brightsideofthesun
- Follow the links, and use the code 'SUNS' when prompted
- Make sure you select 'Suns Blog Bright Side of the Sun $16 donation' when prompted, then follow the prompts, pick the number of tickets you're buying, and make the payment
- Select as many tickets as you can afford
- $16 sends 1 kid to the November 14 Suns game against the Nuggets (chaperones will also get tickets)
- $32 sends 2 kids to the game, $64 sends 4 of them... you get the picture
- Provide the payment method, and voila! you're done
- You will get a confirmation email directly from the Suns
If you bought 10 tickets at once to earn the lower-level tickets, the Suns will contact you personally about how you want to use the lower-level tickets (you can use them yourself, re-donate them or whatever).
I just got a call from Lauren Baum of the Suns this morning thanking me for my donation.
As we approach November 14, the Suns Community Relations team will identify the kids get them the tickets, make sure they all have chaperones, and take care of them on game day.
This is a great cause, folks. These kids will remember this forever.