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Pittsburgh Penguins’ Beard-a-thon Raises Over $113,000 for Mario Lemieux Foundation |
- East Aurora, NY - The 2009 Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins led all teams in the first annual playoff “Beard-a-thon”. Over 1,700 Penguins’ fan grew playoff beards and raised $113,541 for the Mario Lemieux Foundation.
“Once again our fans have shown that they are the best fans in the NHL,” said Penguins president David Morehouse. “Their generosity, passion and commitment are inspiring to all of us.” Tom Grealish, President of the Mario Lemieux Foundation added, “Proceeds from the Beard-a-thon will allow the Lemieux Foundation to continue our important cancer and neonatal projects.”
Across the nation, nearly 7,000 hockey fan participated in the Beard-a-thon and, combined raised nearly $400,000 for local charities. Among the nine participating teams, the Boston Bruins were second raising $93,659 and the Carolina Hurricanes third, raising $55.071. The top fundraiser nationwide was former NHL player and current Director of Development for the Boston Bruins Foundation, Bob Sweeney. Bob raised $21,563 for playoff beard. The Penguins’ top fundraiser was Robbie Hofmann who generated $9,039 for the cause.
The Beard-a-thon encouraged fans to “grow one for the team” for the duration of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and have their friends, family, and business associates pledge them. Fans who were unable, or unwilling to grow a playoff beard, could also pledge their favorite NHL player or build a virtual playoff beard on the website. Proceeds from the Beard-a-thon benefited local team charities. For more information, log onto www.beardathon.com/penguins.
The Beard-a-thon program was developed by East Aurora, NY based CENERGY. CENERGY worked with the NHL and its participating teams to implement this program. Planning for the 2010 Beard-a-thon is underway. For more information on Cenergy, log onto www.activatingbrands.com.
About the Playoff Beard
A playoff beard is the superstitious practice of a National Hockey
League player not shaving during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The player stops shaving when his team enters the playoffs and does not shave until his team is eliminated or wins the Stanley Cup. The playoff beard tradition was started by the New York Islanders’ dynasty teams of the 1980’s. In recent years, other sports and other players have claimed the playoff beard tradition, but it is, and always will be, a hockey tradition.
CONTACT:
John Cimperman
Cenergy
716-523-8805
john@cenergycom.com
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Posted on:
Monday, June 22, 2009 12:06 PM |
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