Golden Ticket

How many of you have ever found yourself with a ticket to an event—whether a concert, a sporting event, a play or show, or something of that nature—that you were unable to use? Interestingly enough, I found myself in that situation just last night. I was offered a ticket to one of the Stanley Cup playoff games to see the Washington Capitals play the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Verizon Center in D.C., but I had a prior obligation that I could not change. I also have a ticket for the Bruce Springsteen concert next week but I already know that, unfortunately, I will not be able to attend that either. There are so many of us out there; students who have tickets to school events, families and/or companies with season tickets for local sports teams, and other people who just have a ticket to something that they are not able to use. Our first probable instinct in this current economic climate is to sell the ticket, but what if you could donate your ticket and change one person’s life forever?

That is exactly the concept on which the non-profit organization, Most Valuable Kids (“MVK”) was founded. To be honest, the only reason I know about this organization is because its National Director is my family friend. She has been working for the organization, as one of its only two paid employees, since its creation about 6 years ago (the date is not provided anywhere on the www.mvk.org website but I was able to speak with the founder of Most Valuable Kids, Daryle Bobb over the phone and he told me they launched in 2003). Upon speaking with my family friend about the organization, at length, I continue to be impressed by its success in serving both the community and the people (celebrities, companies, teams, and “regular people” like you and me).

Athletes and teams, along with entertainment companies and performers, often have a certain number of tickets as part of their contracts. Teams and production companies likewise have unsold seats that go to waste and, as a business, subsequently portray a bad image in the public eye when seats are empty and arenas/stadiums/venues look dull. Recognizing this untapped resource, Daryle and Beth Bobb saw an opportunity. Mr. Bobb told me that, “[his] market research back in 2002 estimated that more than $30 million worth of tickets for professional and collegiate sporting events as well as cultural events go unused each and every year in the Washington D.C. area alone. …so [he] created this program [to allow] ticket holders to put their unused tickets towards a very good cause and receive a full tax write-off for the face value, and also fill those seats with less fortunate children who are both deserving and appreciative”. Most Valuable Kids definitely does just that. It provides an easy medium for these teams and their athletes, or for these producers and their performers, to fill stadiums, while doing "good" in the community.

We all know that live events are not cheap. Much of our community is not financially able to attend many of these live events, especially young children. Most Valuable Kids provides “boys and girls, 18 and under, through the numerous organizations that focus on children in low-income and underserved households,” with this opportunity. The organization started right here in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area but, based on the homepage of the website which has a drop-down icon in the upper right corner of the screen with links to different cities’ chapters of Most Valuable Kids, it appears to have grown to four other markets (Omaha, NE; Cincinnati, OH; New York, NY; and Cleveland, OH) with the main headquarters still here in Washington, D.C. The concept seems to be catching on and, with the right people to lead and run the various local chapters around the country; I bet it will only continue to spread across the nation.

MVK is successful in serving both the community and everyday people (again, these people refer to anyone who falls into the ticket donor category—athletes, celebrities, you, me, companies with corporate suites or season tickets, family season-ticket holders, and even the teams, leagues, and producers themselves). I remember seeing a sign at a Washington Wizards (D.C. NBA team, for those of you who don’t know that!) game a few years ago saying “Antawn’s Army of Most Valuable Kids”. When I read about the details of this promotion, I found that “as an NBA rookie with the Golden State Warriors, Antawn [Jamison] started "Antawn's Army," a charity ticket program in which he purchased tickets for numerous youth and student organizations every month, enabling them to attend a Warriors home game as his special guests. Antawn continued this program in Dallas when he played for the Mavericks and then in Washington with the Wizards. In 2005, Jamison teamed up with Most Valuable Kids with an Antawn's Army of Most Valuable Kids section in the Verizon Center. Jamison generously donates 20 seats to 20 home games for Most Valuable Kids, and the group gets t-shirts, meal vouchers, and a welcome on the Jumbo-tron."

Here is a perfect example of how an organization basically handed a professional athlete an opportunity to give back to the community. In this case, of course, Mr. Jamison was already providing tickets to underprivileged children on his own, without the help of MVK. But, for other athletes and celebrities out there, this organization provides a tool to make the act of giving a simple, easy and, seamless process. For more on how the process works, feel free to visit this part of the website. There are a few interesting articles and letters from recipient children linked to the “About MVK” section that are also worth a read…especially if you want to be touched and inspired!

The inspirational message one can take away from this can be different, based on which aspect with which you most identify. You may be inspired, like me, to donate just one unused event ticket and change the life of one lucky kid. You could have season tickets and you never attend every game. You may even be an employee at a local Boys and Girls Club and you want to become a recipient organization. You may be a teenager, reading this piece from your school computer, having always dreamt of attending a Redskins game or a Wizards game and you want to submit your name as a potential recipient. Are you an athlete looking to find a way to give back to the local community but you don’t want to have to give a speech or make an appearance anywhere? Here is your chance to make an impact on the lives of boys and girls who need your star power and resources to provide them with the full “game experience”. Or, even more inspiring, to me at least, is the story of Daryle and Beth Bobb, the founders of Most Valuable Kids, and their devotion to creating this amazing organization.

Posted by Stephanie Cantor