Project 1-2-3: Day 4 - A Great Partner

Note: Starting May 1st and continuing for the 123 days leading up to the start of the 2011 college football season, "Project 1-2-3" will share pictures, videos and memorable moments from the last nine years of Special Spectators game day events.

Since 2002, Special Spectators has hosted approximately 6,000 seriously ill children, parents and siblings at about 185 games. This wouldn't be possible if not for the support and assistance from a number of people - athletic departments, hospitals, coaches, volunteers, donors, strategic partners and sponsors. We'll feature some of these during "Project 1-2-3". Today we introduce you to one of our first partners - CME Group.


Annually since 2004, CME Group has sponsored the Special Spectators events at Northwestern and Illinois. Community Relations Manager, Greg Carroll, and his group of employees and members have passionately created many memorable moments. Each year, a combined 150 Wildcat and Fighting Illini attendees have enjoyed delicious tailgate parties, face painting, VIP visits and games.


The last two years, Greg and his crew have really been unstoppable. The 2009 and 2010 Northwestern and Illinois events were scheduled on the same day. Fortunately, the kick-off in Evanston was at 11:00 AM each year while in Champaign, the Fighting Illini played night games. That means the volunteers from CME Group arrived at Ryan Field around 7:30 in the morning, helped set-up the tailgate party, served a delicious breakfast for 50 attendees, packed up their vans as the Wildcats took the field and embarked on a three and a half hour drive south. Once in Champaign, they set-up the tailgate party outside Memorial Stadium, hosted 100 attendees from Carle Hospital, served a fantastic pre-game dinner, packed up the vans again, watched most of the game, and headed north arriving home close to midnight.


A famous Chicago sports legend is often quoted saying, "Let's play two." Even Ernie Banks would be impressed by the doubleheader pulled off by Greg Carroll and the volunteers from CME Group. Thank You!!!

Project 1-2-3: Day 3 - The Little Ladies Man

Note: Starting May 1st and continuing for the 123 days leading up to the start of the 2011 college football season, "Project 1-2-3" will share pictures, videos and memorable moments from the last nine years of Special Spectators game day events.

The 2004 Special Spectators event at the University of Oklahoma provided great memories, smiles and laughs. We hosted five young boys with Fletcher being the oldest by two to three years.

During the game's second half, we noticed the Sooner cheerleaders heading toward our seats. After it was announced some guests were about to pay a visit and the boys noticed who, the four youngest boys couldn't run away fast enough.


But not Fletcher.

With a big smile on his face, he directed the ladies to sit around him and quickly requested someone to take pictures. As you can see, Fletcher loved the attention. It goes without saying this moment created the day's biggest smiles.

We'll have more on Fletcher later in "Project 1-2-3."

Project 1-2-3: Day 2

Note: Starting May 1st and continuing for the 123 days leading up to the start of the 2011 college football season, "Project 1-2-3" will share pictures, videos and memorable moments from the last nine years of Special Spectators game day events.

On this second day of "Project 1-2-3", we celebrate the second collegiate partner to participate in Special Spectators starting in 2002 - the UCF Knights. Below are pictures from the Special Spectators tailgate with a visit by the UCF cheerleaders and the football team's hospital visit.

Special Spectators Launches "Project 1-2-3"

If you're a college football fan, I don't have to tell you the significance of today, May 1st. Spring ball is over for every FBS program. Your thoughts and excitement are focused on the fall. You're anxiously awaiting the season preview publications to arrive at your local magazine stand. The start of the 2011 college football season is exactly four months from today. The countdown to kickoff is 123 days.

With that in mind, today Special Spectators is launching, "Project 1-2-3".

Over the course of the next 123 days - each and every day - "Project 1-2-3" will be sharing 123 memorable moments, images and videos from the past nine years. There isn't any significance to the order of these moments. It's simple - 123 moments in 123 days. Creating for you, the reader, a range of emotions. A combination of 123 smiles, tears, laughs and moments of inspiration.

The Special Spectators blog will still provide updates as we prepare for the 2011 season and the source for big announcements. Here's a hint - we'll have some big announcements.


"Project 1-2-3" also has another objective. We hope to attract additional collegiate partners, hospitals, sponsors, volunteers and strategic partners to Special Spectators and by sharing these 123 memories, they'll realize that collaborating with Special Spectators is as easy as, you guessed it, 1-2-3.

So, on this first day of "Project 1-2-3" with 123 days until the start of the college football season, it only makes sense to share this video and picture from the very first event Special Spectators coordinated - a hospital visit by the 2002 Arizona Wildcat football team to University Medical Center in Tucson.

Want to Help Create Magical Sporting Days for Seriously Ill Children? Special Spectators Looking for Perfect Agency and Event Co. Partners

Special Spectators, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (www.SpecialSpectators.blogspot.com), creates magical days for seriously ill children and their families at sporting events across the United States. We will be hosting dynamic, fun-filled events at college football games all season long. Our plans are big. And we are in play! But, we need a bit more firepower.

What We Do
We pursue our mission, in partnership with our collegiate partners, by providing tickets to games and designing robust days filled with special surprises and experiences in and around the stadium. Special Spectators is designed to create fun for the entire family and provide a pause from the difficulties they face battling a loved one's illness. And, we have just forged a hands-on strategic partnership with one of the top collegiate sports marketing companies in the country. We now seek an agency partner who can grow with us - helping us take care of all kinds of events, creative and executional needs - and who is looking for a charity with which to align. This will be an incredibly mutually beneficial relationship.

How Can Your Company Get Involved?
More than seeking charitable contribution - we are seeking the perfect partner whose company, clients and employees can benefit in countless ways from involvement with Special Spectators. We are looking for the perfect agency partner with diverse experience in experiential marketing, event production, digital, social media, creative, strategic, mobile and more. A potential partner should have experience in the sports industry and embrace our mission and values. This is an excellent opportunity to potentially provide an unrivaled, valuable sponsorship opportunity for your existing clients and build your business by showcasing your work and services to sponsors of our game day events. In addition, by officially partnering in this way, a partner agency or events company gives its employees a national program in which to participate. We know that employees are looking for more out of their companies; this type of partnership provides an incredible cultural boost for your teams.

More Background
Since 2002, we've hosted about 6,000 patients, parents and siblings at roughly 185 games - mostly college football. Our game day events provide the quintessential Saturday experience complete with tailgate parties, mascots, cheerleaders and marching bands. Special Spectators doesn't just TAKE kids to games, but makes them a PART of the games by providing special access to people and areas of the stadium that are not accessible to most fans. Our youngsters tour locker rooms, meet coaches & players and walk on the field during a time out. You and your team would have a hand in making all of this even more powerful and happen at greater scale.

Special Spectators is poised for dramatic growth as we prepare for the 2011 football season. In the past week, we've added three major collegiate partners - one with average attendance over 80,000 and other two with average attendance over 100,000 per game. Including television and radio coverage, our potential audience is not only sizable, but has very desirable demographics.

If this inspires you - please contact us right away. If you are interested in learning more or discussing how we can collaboratively create magic, inspiration and cherished memories, please contact Special Spectators Executive Director Blake Rockwell at BlakeRockwell@gmail.com. Visit our other pages to view photos and video of some of our most incredible family experiences:

YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Special+Spectators&aq=f
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/specialspectators

We Want to Hear from You - Part Two

Second in a series

If you've ever spent a good portion of a Saturday at a college football stadium, you know the tailgate party is almost as important as the game. Depending on the team you follow, it actually may be more important (and enjoyable) than what's happening on the field.

When Special Spectators volunteers plan our game day events for seriously-ill children and their families, more time is spent designing the tailgate party than any other aspect of the day. Tents, tables, chairs, grills and other supplies have to be coordinated. Visits by student-athletes, cheerleaders, mascots and the marching band have to be scheduled. And of course, the menu must be planned.

Food can make or break the tailgate party. Okay, many of us would say the beverages can make or break the tailgate, but remember, our tailgates are G-rated for the kids. Hamburgers and hot dogs are always reliable standards, but we want to score a culinary touchdown. Plus, don't these kids deserve something better than ground scraps squeezed into a casing?

So, we turn to you - the serious tailgate professionals to ask:

What are your favorite tailgate recipes?

We Want to Hear From You - Part One

First in a series

As Special Spectators prepares to bring seriously-ill children to college football games this season, we thought we'd ask passionate fans for their insight.  We constantly strive to improve our game day events and the overall experience for these kids and who better to help us than the expert fan?  

Our first question to you is this:

What stadium has the best atmosphere and why?

Happy Memorial Day Weekend

On behalf of Special Spectators and our volunteers, I would like to wish everyone a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

Traditionally this holiday honors those who died while serving in our country's military. During this time, however, I can't help but think of those who are no longer with us that Special Spectators had the honor to meet and serve. Their memory inspires us and motivates us to constantly build Special Spectators so that we can reach more seriously-ill children and families.

Most of you recently became fans of our facebook page - THANK YOU! Please take a moment during this three day weekend, to invite just 10 friends to become a fan. As many of you know, we rely heavily on word of mouth to raise awareness and if EVERYONE could take a moment to share Special Spectators with 10 friends, the impact to the organization and more importantly, to the life of a seriously-ill child would be tremendous.

All the best,

Blake Rockwell
Executive Director

The Special Spectators Classifieds - Help Wanted

Over the last couple weeks, the Special Spectators blog has highlighted the different aspects of the typical game day event, its impact on the seriously-ill children and families who attend and what we've accomplished over the last seven seasons. Since 2002, we've hosted almost 5,500 patients, parents and siblings at about 165 games. We've done this at a total cost to the organization of only $85,000. Given our limited resources and no paid staff, we're proud of what we've accomplished, but now it's time to focus on the future and the 2009 college football season.

In order to continue our dramatic growth, we are actively recruiting new volunteers to serve in several capacities including:

• Public/Media Relations
• Social Media
• Web Design
  
• Multimedia
• Mobile Technology
• Legal
• Fundraising
• Volunteer Coordination
• Game Day Event Planning
• Game Day Event Volunteers
• Sponsorships
• Business Development

If you have experience in any of these areas listed and are excited by the opportunity to provide a magical day for seriously-ill children and their families, please consider becoming a Special Spectators volunteer. Maybe you've just graduated from college and the current economic climate has made it difficult to find a job or your a talented professional who has recently been laid-off and are looking to volunteer your time, we want you to join us

This is a great opportunity for exposure as millions of fans each year have been introduced to Special Spectators. We've been featured on ESPN, ESPN.com, FSN, Delta Airlines in-flight entertainment and local coverage in markets such as Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Orlando, Cleveland, Tucson and many more.

We're passionate about Special Spectators, we have a great time and you'll be amazed how spending a day at football game can impact these children and their families. To learn more, contact Blake Rockwell at Blake@SpecialSpectators.org.

Special Spectators - The Impact Part II

Our previous post shared quotes from patients and parents on the impact of attending a Special Spectators event. But the attendees are not the only ones touched by our organization. Student-athletes, fans, coaches and hospital staff also see the benefit from their involvement. Here's what they had to say about Special Spectators:


“I can tell you, quite certainly, that the children and their families had a terrific day away from the usual cares and worries of their weeks.

The diagnosis of cancer and other serious blood disorders is a devastating moment and a long journey for all concerned, and events such as Special Spectators really are important ways in which families cope with the enormous demands that are placed upon them.” Mark Musselman, M.D.


“If we can do one little part to help their life be a little better or to make one night be a very enjoyable night and a lasting memory for not only the young people, but also the families, that’s what college football is all about.” Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern


"I first learned about Special Spectators in 2004 and since then I've had a great experience, a lot of fun meeting all the children, having them come by the office, come by the facility, before games, after games. Really a fun group of kids to be around and it really lightens your heart and lets you keep things in perspective. It's exciting to show them around and see the excitement they have being around your team." Head Coach Bob Stoops, University of Oklahoma


“It was 9:15 and we had the day off from school and I was just like, “Man, I wish I didn’t have to get up this early. But then you come in (to the hospital) and see the smiles on their faces.

We went into one room and her heart monitor started going off. Her heart rate jumped like that when we walked into that room. That’s one of the things I’ll take away from this day . . .” B.H. Student-Athlete