The Glazer Family Foundation was founded in 1999 to assist charitable and educational causes in the West Central Florida region. In over a decade since, hundreds of organizations in the Bay area have utilized the Foundation's programs to make an impact throughout Tampa Bay and beyond.
The Glazer Family Foundation continues to partner with charitable organizations to make a difference in the community. There are currently multiple opportunities for organizations to become involved with GFF programs; details follow.
Grant Program
Each year, the Foundation awards grants totaling more than $50,000 to West Central Florida programs focused on the health, safety, recreation and education of disadvantaged youth. Twice each year - once during training camp and once at the conclusion of the season - Foundation Co-President Darcie Glazer Kassewitz holds a grant presentation ceremony and roundtable discussion with the grant recipients. The roundtable element was added last year to further discuss the variety of challenges that nonprofit organizations face and ways in which the charities can work together to continue to make an impact. In 2009, 12 nonprofit organizations received grants through the biannual program.
Applications for the Grant Program will only be accepted online and are due by June 1, 2010. To apply or learn more, click here.
Buc-Packs For Back-To-School
The "Buc-Packs For Back-to-School" program provides backpacks filled with school supplies to kids in West Central Florida each summer. To date, a total of 15,500 bags have been given away to 501(c) 3 nonprofit organizations throughout the region.
"Without the necessary tools to learn, children cannot maximize their educational experience," said Glazer Kassewitz at last year's presentation. "The Glazer Family Foundation is dedicated to providing Florida's youth with backpacks and supplies to ensure that students can capitalize on the efforts of our teachers and educators."
In 2009, children from 26 community groups received a total of 2,000 backpacks during training camp at One Buccaneer Place. This year, even more students throughout West Central Florida will have the opportunity to sling Buccaneer bags over their shoulders as they go back to school in the fall. Representatives from each participating organization will once again be invited to receive them at the Bucs' training camp, which will take place for the second year in a row at the team's state-of-the-art headquarters, One Buccaneer Place.
Applications for the "Buc-Packs For Back-To-School" will only be accepted online and are due by July 2, 2010. To apply, please click here.
Gameday for Kids
Among the Foundation's many long-running community endeavors is "Gameday for Kids" (formerly Youth with Promise), an initiative designed to encourage children to achieve their goals through incentive programs run by local community agencies. The Foundation helps local organizations achieve this by providing tickets to every Buccaneers home game as rewards for the kids' accomplishments in various programs.
Attending a Bucs game at Raymond James Stadium is a once-in-a-lifetime event for many children in the Bay area. The Glazer Family Foundation hosts 100 youth at each Buccaneers home game; more than 10,000 children representing over 100 organizations from the Bay area have been rewarded for academic achievement and positive behavior with free game tickets, food vouchers and car flags.
The Glazer Family Foundation accepts applications for the "Gameday for Kids" program from community organizations with 501(c)3 status. Interested organizations should note that the application requires a detailed explanation of how the tickets will be used as incentive.
Applications for the "Gameday for Kids" program are also due online by July 2, 2010. To access the application, please click here.
For more information on all of the Glazer Family Foundation programs, please visit www.GlazerFamilyFoundation.org.
