Where Is The Event Held? At What Time Is The Event Held?

The event is being on Saturday April 23, 2011 at Hawken School's Walton Stadium. The stadium is located at 12465 County Line Road, Chesterland, Oh 44026. The Games schedule is below.

12 p.m. - varsity game - Medina vs. Wooster

12:30 p.m. - middle school game - University School vs. Hawken School

2 p.m. - JV game - West Geauga vs. University School

2:30 p.m. - varsity game - Seneca Valley (Pa.) vs. University School

4:30 p.m. - varsity game - Avon Lake vs. West Geauga

5 p.m. - varsity game - Orange vs. Hawken School

This Year's Guest Speaker - Sgt. Joe Gross

We are proud to annouce that this year's guest speaker is Sgt. Joe Gross (Stow, Ohio) of the Wounded Warrior Project. Sgt. Gross lost his leg in a suicide car bomb while serving in Bagdad in 2005.  During his medical treatment and recovery Sgt. Gross and his wife (now ex) stayed in the Fisher House at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio for an extended period of time.  Read more about Sgt. Gross and the Wounded Warrior Project.

This Year's TV and Radio Spots

• ESPN Cleveland's Munch is joined by Burning River's Woody Calleri to talk about the upcoming Fisher House Charity Lacrosse Showcase (Click here for the interview)
  
  
• Burning River's Woody Calleri is joined on the set of WKYC TV3's Good Company by Joe Gross of the Wounded Warrior Project and the "Lax Bros" to talk about the Fisher House Charity Lacrosse Showcase and the "Lax Bros" fundraising efforts (over $6,500). (Click here for the TV show)
  
  
• Jim McIntyre's interview with Sgt. Gross and Coach Calleri about Fisher House and the wounded warrior project.
  
  

Auction To Raise Funds For Fisher House (Lacrosse And Non Lacrosse Related Items)

We have the following lacrosse related:

• Autographed jerseys (Syracuse, Virginia, Notre Dame, Princeton, Penn State, Roanoke, Denver Mammoth
• 1 Pair of limited Edition Rich Peoples gloves signed by Matt Danowski,
• 3 Signed Warrior Lacrosse Heads (Matt Danowski, Ken Clausen, Chris Fiore),
• 2 Signed Brine Lacrosse Heads (Mike Leveille, Kevin Leveille),
• 2 Harrow Howitzer shafts , 2 Harrow Crossbow duramesh heads, a Harrow 300i lacrosse shaft,
• Free entry / registration to a NDP Tournament
• Two (2) all session passes to the NCAA Lacrosse Championships
• one (1) free admission to 'The Goalie School' valid at any 2011 camp

and non-lacrosse related items

• Josh Cribbs autographed football,
• 2 round of golf at Red Tail golf course,
• 4 tickets to an Indians game In June (Game to be determined),
• 4 Indians tickets for the Red Sox game 5/24.  Section 151, Row V, Seats 3-6) 

that we are auctioning off to raise money for the Fisher House Foundations.  100% of the proceeds from the auction will go to benefit the Fisher House Foundation.  The view the items and/or make a bid please click here.

What Is The Fisher House Foundation?

The Fisher House program is a unique private-public partnership that supports America's military in their time of need. The program recognizes the special sacrifices of our men and women in uniform and the hardships of military service by meeting a humanitarian need beyond that normally provided by the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.

Because members of the military and their families are stationed worldwide and must often travel great distances for specialized medical care, Fisher House Foundation donates home-away-from-homes, built on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers.  These homes enable family members to be with their severely wounded and/or ill family member(s) during those service members’ medical treatment and/or lengthy physical and/or occupational therapy treatments. 

There is at least one Fisher House at every major military medical center to assist families in need and to ensure that they are provided with the comforts of home in a supportive environment. Annually, the Fisher House program serves more than 11,000 families, and have made available nearly three million days of lodging to family members since the program originated in 1990. By law, there is no charge for any family to stay at a Fisher House operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs; and Fisher House Foundation uses donations to reimburse the individual Fisher Houses operated by the Army, Navy, and Air Force. No family pays to stay at any Fisher House!

For a Fisher House Fact Sheet Click Here. For a Fisher House Brochure Click Here.

For more information on the Foundation please visit their website at www.fisherhouse.org.

Who Are Your Sponsors? (See This Year's Inside Lacrosse Magazine AD)

Over the past year's the event has been sponsored by the following companies (this year's sponsors in bold):

Goalie Level ($5,000+)
Sullivan / RPM International (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
Team Wendy (2008)
InsureOne Benefits (2008)
Sports Construction Group (2008)

Defense Level ($2,500 to $4,999)
Bob Lee Capital / Swigercoil (2010, 2011)
Hawken School (2009, 2010, 2011)
University School (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
Runzheimer International (2009, 2010, 2011)
Sports Construction Group (2009)
WestParm Pharmaceutical Services (2009)
Impact Ceramics (2008)
McManamon Insurance (2008)

Midfield Level ($1,250 to $2,499)
LEK (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)

Attack Level ($750 to $1,249)
Cleveland Marble (2009, 2010, 2011)
Carnegie Corporation (2009, 2010, 2011)
Harrow Sports (2011)
Brine (2011)
Brewer-Garrett (2009)
Diamond Indoor Sports (2009)
Medical Mutual (2008)

The event also received merchandise and/or donations from

• Gatorade (signed Derek Jeter and Dwayne Wade Jerseys, in addition to 14 cases of Gatorade),
• Gait by DeBeer (5 lacrosse sticks, lanyards)
• Brine (lacrosse sticks and two pairs of custom Army gloves),
• Anthony Kelly (a pair of NY Titans gloves, a pair of Brine LA Riptide gloves, STX Katana Shaft,  2 brand new heads, 2 brand new shafts - a Reebok, and a titanium),
• Neil Duffy – Autographed copies of his lacrosse book “the Spirit in the Stick”
• The Goalie School (Camp admissions).
• Cleveland Printwear (Event banners)
• Cleveland Indians (Tickets)
• Cleveland Browns (autographed merchandise)
• Denver Mammoths (autographed merchandise)
• University of Maryland, The Ohio State University, Princeton University, Roanoke College, and Syracuse University (Team Autographed Jerseys)
• Andrew 'Buggs' Combs (Autographed helmet -courtesy of Midwest Lacrosse)
• Paul Rabil (Autographed pair of Mayback Maverik gloves - courtesy of Midwest Lacrosse)
• Kevin Leveille (Autographed Razor X (Warrior) heads -courtesy of Midwest Lacrosse)
• NDP Lacrosse (Free entry fee to NDP sponsored youth tournament)
• Chilis (Gift Certificates)

If you would like to sponsor this event please contact Woody Calleri at 216.373.5684

2011 Fisher House Event Information (For Flyer Click Here For Press Release Click Here)

Burning River Lacrosse is hosting the 4th annual Fisher House Charity Lacrosse Showcase on Saturday April 23, 2011.  This year the ‘Showcase’ is an all day series of High School and Middle School lacrosse games held to raise money and awareness for the Fisher House Foundation.

The event, held at Walton Stadium at Hawken School, begins at 11:30 AM and currently features four High School Varsity lacrosse games

• Medina (2010 Ohio High School State Semifinalist) vs Wooster at 12 PM
  
  
• Seneca Valley (2010 PAHS State semifinalist) vs University School (2010 OHSLA State Finalist) at 2:30 PM
  
  
• Avon Lake vs West Geauga at 4:30 PM
  
  
• Orange HS vs Hawken School at 5:00 PM
  
  
• A Junior Varsity game - West Geauga vs University School at 2:00 PM and
  
  
• A Middle School game University School vs Hawken School at 12:30 PM. 

Teams are paired up on the field to show their talents, have some fun and learn what it’s like to give back to their community.  Players are given the opportunity to show their appreciation to our military families and participate in an event to benefit others.  The success of this event is made possible by local and national sponsorships, many parent and coaching volunteers and of course the main attraction – the players. 

In the past three years the event has had the following results:

• Raised over $125,000 (sponsorships, donations, ticket sales, auction, raffle, t-shirts, programs) for America’s military families so that they can be with their severely wounded and/or ill family member(s) during those service members’ medical treatment and/or lengthy physical and/or occupational therapy treatments. 
• This is the second largest one day event (Marine Corp marathon) Fisher House is associated with.
• Sold over 5,500 tickets
• Received coverage in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Inside Lacrosse magazine, Chagrin Valley Times, regional Observer papers and Cleveland.com.
• Received coverage on Cleveland TV (WKYC TV3 - interview on good Company), Cleveland Radio stations (WGAR, WDOK, Q104, 90.3 (Morning Edition) and WTAM) and Columbus Radio stations.
• Had special guest, former Army lacrosse player John Uberti, speak with the participants about how lacrosse impacted and shaped his life, how the participants can use what they learn on the lacrosse field to become men of substance and impact, and what the Fisher House Foundation and events like the Fisher House Charity Showcase mean to our military families.
• Had special guest Major Zoltan Krompecher - Green Beret, who served two combat tours; one in Iraq with a Special Operations Unit and one with Operation Enduring Freedom, speak with the participants about how Fisher House has been there for his men/women, the positive impact it has had on his troops and the impact events like this has on our military families.
• Had special guest Justin Kalenits – speak about his experiences with Fisher House. He is medically retired from the 173rd Airborne and his rank was Specialist.  He was shot in an ambush in November 2007 in Afghanistan.  He was on a foot patrol with 12 of his buddies when they were ambushed by 180 Taliban fighters.  Six of his friends died and 6 were wounded. They fought for hours and it took several hours to get medivaced.  He was the most critical.  He had surgery in field and was placed on a respirator.  Within two days he was flown to Landstuhl (Germany).  His parents were then flown, using Fisher House ‘Hero miles’, to Landstuhl to be by his bedside.  While in Germany they stayed at a Fisher House.  Justin told participants about Fisher House and what they did for his family and those of his wounded buddies. 
• Had special guest Lt Col Patrick Powers, a highly decorated member of the Special Forces speak about what Fisher House means to the men / women in his command.  Lt Col Powers also took part in a ceremonial face-off prior to each of the games last year.

2011 Showcases Goals And How You Can Help (Program AD Specs)

This year's team goals are to raise $40,000 and sell 2,500 tickets (to date we have raised over $12,000).

There are many ways to help us raise money and get the word out to local and national newspaper, television, and radio outlets about the Fisher House Charity Lacrosse Showcase and its efforts to help our wounded soldiers and their families during their time of need.  You can:

Sponsorship
100% of the proceeds from sponsorships go to benefit the Fisher House Foundation.

You can provide sponsorship in return for signage, program space, and/or on site/off site sponsor benefits depending on the level of sponsorship.  You or your organization can contribute at the following levels.  All donors will be listed in our program which will be distributed on game day.

• Goalie Level (primary/exclusive) sponsors are with contributions of $5,000 or more.
• Defense level donors are from $2,500 to $4,999
• Midfield level donors are $1,250 to $2,499
• Attack level donors are $750.00 to $1,249

Should you chose to sponsor the event at the Goalie or Defense level your company and it’s logo will be prominently displayed on the ceremonial check given to Fisher House, your company will receive a full page ad in the event program, your company will be mentioned in the program with Special Thanks, your company will be mentioned in all Media interviews (to the best of our abilities – those outlets control the edits), your logos will be prominently displayed on the event website (www.brlax.net)  and you will be given tickets to the event.  We are also willing to give you a point of sale (POS) table so that you could interact with the public at the event. 

Program Ads
100% of the proceeds from program ads go to benefit the Fisher House Foundation.
Do you have a family member, friend, neighbor, and/ or coworker that works at a company or knows of a company that would be willing to take out an AD in the program?  It can be in support of the event or a coupon to drive business to that company.  You may place an ad in our program by sending a business card or by contacting us with your specific design.  Program ad prices are as follows.

• Full page ad $600.00
• Half page ad $400.00
• One fourth page ad $250.00
• Business card size ad $125.00

Donation
You can make a tax deductible monetary donation (even a few pennies help) to help us reach our goal of raising $40,000 to help our military and their families during their greatest time of need.  Fisher House Foundation is recognized by the IRS as a valid 501(c) (3) organization and their tax ID number is 11-3158401.   Click on the link to donate

www.active.com/donate/FisherHouse2011LAX

Event Tables
You can run a point of sale (POS) table at the event and donate a percentage of the sales to Fisher House.  This benefits both your organization (publicity and sales) and Fisher House (donation).

Endorsement
Do you have a family member, friend, or neighbor that knows a local celebrity (sports, news, political, etc) that you could speak to about helping with the event?  It could be anything from autographed jerseys, to website/twitter support, to an appearance at the event.

Equipment / Jersey Donations
You can donate lacrosse related (helmets, sticks, gloves, signed/unsigned jerseys, shorts, t-shirts, etc.) and non-lacrosse related items (Baseball, football, hockey Jerseys or equipment, Airline tickets, gift cards, merchandise, etc.) that may be used as auction items.  100% of the proceeds from the auction will go to benefit the Fisher House Foundation.  In the past we have auctioned off jerseys from Derek Jeter and Dwayne Wade and several college programs have agreed to donate autographed team lacrosse jerseys.  Do you know of any coaches that might be willing to help in non-lacrosse sports?

Social Networking
You can put the event information on your Facebook, MySpace or LinkedIn account pages.  You can send the event information to family, friends, neighbors who have served in the military.  Do you/someone you know belong to an Alumni association that you could forward the information to? Do you/someone you know belong to a local group that might be willing to send the information to its members (Kiwanis, Optimist Club, etc.)

Posters
You can speak with local businesses (coffee shops, libraries, grocery stores, donut shops, etc) about putting up an event poster in their store.  Most companies have a policy to allow non-profits to hang posters.  You can visit local military organizations (VFW posts, AMVET, Order of the Purple Heart) and speak with them about putting up a poster to raise awareness.

Publicity
Do you have a family member, friend, neighbor, coworker with contacts at local media outlets?  If so would you be willing to contact them about doing a story on the event? 
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In Kind Donations
100% of the proceeds go to benefit the Fisher House Foundation.
Do you have a family member, friend, neighbor, and/ or coworker that works at a company that is willing to trade in kind donations that we can auction or raffle off?  For example, a free massage, oil change, financial planning, etc.  They get great publicity for their company and Fisher House gets the proceeds.

Volunteer
You can donate your time and effort to help ensure a quality event.  To that end we need people to help with the following: ticket takers, program sales, t-shirt sales, field preparation, ball boys and scoring.

Attend The Event
We would be excited to have you, your family, friends and neighbors attend the Showcase and provide encouragement and support to the players.  Our goal is to sell 2,500 tickets.  Please come see one or all of the games.

If you have any questions about the Fisher House Charity Lacrosse Showcase or our request please feel free to contact Woody Calleri at wcalleri@brlax.net or 216-373-5684.