FUNDRAISING

2008 was a very productive year for The Christopher Shatagin Sports Foundation.  Friend and neighbor, Phyllis Palmer, came up with a creative fundraising idea for the foundation in 2007.  Over the years she had enjoyed Betsy Shatagin’s homemade soups and thought others might also.  Thus, the Hug in a Bowl program was born.  Betsy and Phyllis offered four different, homemade soups for donation to friends, neighbors, school teachers and John Salter’s co-workers.  The soup was requested throughout the year and raised a total of $720.00 for the foundation.

Our annual neighborhood yard sale was held on October 12, 2008.  Many of our neighbors gave both merchandise and money.  We didn’t price anything; people were free to take whatever they wanted and contributed whatever they liked.  We made $600 that day.  All left over merchandise was donated to the Salvation Army and Burlington’s Recycle North.

We would like to thank our friends and family who generously contributed both money and time to Christopher’s legacy.  Without their support, we would not be able to continue our mission of improving the lives of disadvantaged youth through sports.

DISTRUBUTIONS

In the spring, we made donations to help fund summer programs for three local organizations in the Burlington, VT area, The Sarah Holbrook Community Center, King Street Youth Center and the Boys and Girls Club.

• The Sarah Holbrook Community Center serves a diverse community in the Old North End of Burlington.  Their services include a pre-school, after school programs, summer camps, a teen program, food assistance and English classes.

• King Street Youth Center also provides services to the youth of the Burlington area.  These include a pre-school, after school and teen program.

• The Boys and Girls Club of Burlington offers a number of programs.  Their three core areas of focus are arts and technology, career readiness and life skills, and athletics and health.

We completed our fifth year of sponsoring baseball camps in conjunction with the Fundacion A. Jean Brugger in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua.  We have been funding two baseball camps a year for 25 children (boys and girls) with the help of the Executive Director of the foundation, Jon Thompson.  The Fundacion A. Jean Brugger’s mission is to identify, improve, and expand educational opportunities in partnership with the community of San Juan del Sur.  Our two foundations have joined together to support the idea that every child deserves to learn and play baseball.  At the end of camp the participants keep a baseball cap and baseball, a shirt with “SHATAGIN” on the back, and life long memories. 

We are so pleased that the Foundation has served so many young people.  It is exactly what Christopher would have wished for.  We are grateful that his name is kept alive in such a positive way.