Please Help Send 2000 Underprivileged Kids to a Trail Blazers Game in March!

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few months (or this is your first time at the site) you'll know that Blazer's Edge is attempting to sponsor 2000 underprivileged kids and their chaperons, sending them to see the Portland Trail Blazers play the Sacramento Kings on March 28th.

This happens organically, at the grassroots level. Teachers and principals, counselors and coaches write me and share their stories of kids in need. Some teachers work in schools were 90% of the students are below the poverty line. Coaches have pulled money out of their own pockets to make sure kids on their basketball team have shoes to play in. The idea of being able to tell these kids that they're going to a Blazers game seems like a dream.

We make that dream come true. Little by little, by twos and tens (and with one donor, even by a hundred) we purchase reasonably-priced tickets for the game and give them away. The wonderful part is, we don't step in between the kids and the people who work for them. We tell those teachers and counselors and coaches that THEY get to take their kids. They're the heroes. They arrange it. We just quietly slip the tickets into their hands and smile.

Going to a Blazers game seems like a normal event to us. Even if we don't choose to go, we can. Many of these kids don't get out of their neighborhoods ever. Walking into Moda Center might as well be walking into Oz. They'd need a tornado to get them there. This ticket drive is the tornado. Teachers become superstars, kids who don't always get a fair shake get to have a wonderful night, gaps that are hard to bridge get filled up with excitement and cheering and togetherness.

I talked to Lisa Swan, our Trail Blazers ticket representative, and as of February 1st we have accumulated 1,117 tickets for the event. This is fantastic news. Most of our donations come in during the last month of the event. By the standards of any other year, we'd already be done with donations before the last month commenced! You have responded marvelously. Be proud!

But this is not a normal year. We're going to make it to 2000. Requests for tickets have been pouring in and we have 883 yet to donate. The deadline is February 29th. You and I...Blazer's Edge...we're going to do this. This is what makes us special. This defines who we are: not  that we're smarter or louder or more right than anybody else, but that we remember what makes Blazer fandom special. It's about gathering around something that we all have passion for and sharing that with the world. 2000 kids are waiting, hoping we'll share with them. Let's make it happen.

Donating is easy. Just click here and use the promo code:

http://www.rosequarter.com/blazersedge

Promo Code: BLAZERSEDGE

Ticket Costs range from $7-13 (There is a $5 processing fee per order.)

You can also call our ticket rep, Lisa Swan, directly at 503-963-3966. You will need to indicate to her that you are donating the tickets you order to Blazer's Edge Night.

You can send 2 kids for less than $20. You can send 10 kids for $100. The investment pays more dividends than you can dream of.

Also...with 2000 tickets on the horizon we will probably have room to say "yes" to a few more people. We've had requests for entire grade levels at some schools and request from grandmothers who have one grandchild they'd really like to take. We honor those and everything in between. If you work with underprivileged youth or children and would like to request tickets, my e-mail is right below.

--Dave blazersub@gmail.com / @DaveDeckard / @Blazersedge