Omaha Storm Chasers' Community Relations 2012 Review
1.
2. Kansas City Royals Caravan
Kansas City Royals’ players Alex
Gordon, Mitch Maier and Johnny
Giavotella, along with several other
Royals dignitaries, stopped in for the
annual Kansas City Royals Caravan in
January 2012.
This year was special as one really lucky fan of the KC Royals met his hero
Alex Gordon during the Children’s Hospital visit. Then the players met the
Omaha Storm Chasers fans at the Kroc Center for Q&A.
3. Speakers’ Bureau
Members of the Omaha Storm Chasers Speakers’ Bureau
spoke at dozens of engagements throughout the
Omaha metro area in 2012.
4. Read Across America
Omaha Storm Chasers staff took
time during the months of
February and March to read to
local schools around the Omaha
metro area.
5. How to Score
Mark Nasser, Director of Broadcasting for the
Omaha Storm Chasers, visited schools in the
Omaha metro area and taught them how to
keep score in baseball with a pencil and paper.
6. Hit the Books
The Hit the Books reading program was a huge success this season
with a 45 schools participating, a total of 14,173 students.
7. Cox Home Run for Youth
& Library Day
Cox Home Run for Youth was held on April 10.
Over 2,000 students attended the game.
On August 5 and 6, the Omaha Public Library distributed 24,000
donated tickets for their Summer Reading Program.
8. Home Run Foundation
of Greater Omaha
Robinson Athletic Scholarship
This year was our fourth annual Home
Run Foundation of Greater
Omaha-Robinson Athletic Scholarship.
This years recipients were Damaris
McKeiver and Jazmine Polk.
Each recipient received a
$500 scholarship.
9. 89.7 Kids Who Rock
The Omaha Storm Chasers teamed up with 89.7 The River
for the “Kids Who Rock” program. Fifteen children from
the ages 7-17 were nominated to come out to a game
and an exclusive picnic at Werner Park.
10. Community Organization
of the Night
Through our partnership with
Today’s Dental, the Omaha
Storm Chasers provided non-
profits the opportunity to come
out to Werner Park throughout
the 2012 season. Each non-
profit received:
- Concourse booth
- First pitch
- On-field interview
- Radio interview
11. Sam’s Club Canned
Food Sunday
Every Sunday home game, the Omaha Storm Chasers and Sam’s Club
help collect non-perishable canned goods in exchange for a FREE
McDonald’s Berm ticket. Over 3,600 items were donated.
12. Ronald McDonald House
With help from McDonald’s and Nissan of Omaha, the Storm
Chasers shattered the previous record by raising $17,720 for the
Ronald McDonald House.
13. PlaySmart
For Every RBI, $10.00 went to PlaySmart, courtesy of Werner
Enterprises. $3,840 was raised in 2012.
14. Public Service Appreciation
On August 4 the Omaha Storm Chasers held the
annual Public Service Appreciation night for local
police, fire, rescue and other service personnel.
15. Chasers FUNdamentals
Mission Statement
Bringing the game of baseball to the youth of minority populated
areas in Omaha. In partnership with the Boys & Girls Club of the
Midlands and the Salvation Army North Corps, our efforts are
focused on connecting Minor League Baseball and the Omaha
Storm Chasers to those communities during a culturally diverse
youth clinic program.
16. Chasers FUNdamentals
The 2012 season marked the third year for
the Chasers FUNdamentals
program, presented by the Home Run
Foundation of Greater Omaha and run by the
Omaha Storm Chasers front office staff.
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Omaha
participated in an eight-week clinic every
Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at
Hillside Little League ball fields.
The Salvation Army North Corps also took part in
a four-week session of Chasers
FUNdamentals, taking place at the North Corps
location.
Each Wednesday, bus transportation for the
participants of Chasers FUNdamentals was, for a
third year, provided by the Peter Kiewit
Foundation.
17. Chasers FUNdamentals
Goals of the Program
• Bring baseball back to
minority communities
• Teach minority children the
fundamentals of baseball
• Assist local youth
organizations in securing
funding and equipment
18. Chasers FUNdamentals
In 2012, the Storm Chasers
were honored to welcome
Major League Baseball great
Darryl Strawberry for a Chasers
FUNdamentals clinic.
Darryl was the 1983 National
League Rookie of the Year and
an 8-time All-Star. In his 17-
year career he hit 335 home
runs and had 1000 runs batted
in.
Darryl spoke to the kids about
the importance of
education, hard work, and
dedication. His lasting
message was “if you believe
it, you can be it.”
20. Autism Action Partnership
Jersey Auction
Again for 2012
Autism Action
Partnership night
was held at Werner
Park. Game worn
jerseys were
auctioned and
raised $5,950 for
Autism Action
Partnership.
21. Nebraska Colon Cancer
Jersey Auction
The jersey auction on July 14
went to the Nebraska Colon
Cancer, raising $3,840.
22. Aflac Children’s Cancer
Center of Atlanta
Omaha Storm Chasers
players and coaches
sported blue pinstripe
jerseys in honor of Aflac
Children’s Cancer Center
of Atlanta on
Thursday, July 19. The
Aflac Children’s Cancer
Center of Atlanta raised
$3,940.
23. Nebraska Organ Recovery
Jersey Auction
On August 4, the Omaha Storm Chasers auctioned off special
jerseys for Nebraska Organ Recovery at Werner Park.
They raised $4,095.
24. CARE Program
Chasers Actively Reaching Everyone
Thanks to all the season ticket holders who turned in their
unused tickets to give over 500 children the opportunity to
come out to Werner Park during the 2012 season.
25. Donations
The Omaha Storm Chasers were very proud to have donated
over $39,000 in monetary
donations, merchandise, suites tickets, min plans and
birthday parties.
26. Staff Community Hours
The Storm Chasers staff members
volunteered throughout the 2012
season. Collectively, they had a
total of 901 hours.
27. Player Appearances
The Omaha Storm Chasers
baseball players made 73
different appearances
during the 2012 season.
28. Mascot Appearances
Stormy, Casey and Vortex were busy as the Omaha
Storm Chasers mascots. Besides the 75 home
games they also did 129 free mascot appearances.
29. Jirschele Family Memorial
Golf Outing benefiting MDA
This was a very special day for the Jirschele
Family, the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the
Omaha Storm Chasers. The outing was held at Eagle
Hills Golf Course, raising $1,395 in support of MDA.
31. Memories for Kids
The Omaha Storm Chasers were the first to
host an event for the Omaha Memories for
Kids. On February 25, the LaHood family
and friends took a sneak peek in the Chasers
locker room, took batting practice, and
toured Werner Park.
33. Pitch, Hit and Run
Werner Park hosted Pitch, Hit and Run on
April 22, 2012.
34. Great Plains Black
History Museum
The Omaha Storm Chasers hosted the Great Plains Black History
Museum at Werner Park from May 17-May 20.
Thanks to Werner Enterprises for helping transport the exhibit.
35. VODEC Dance
The Storm Chasers were proud
to host the Vocational
Development Center’s (VODEC)
dance under the “Big Top” at
Werner Park.
36. Walk to Defeat ALS
- For the second consecutive year, the Walk to Defeat
ALS was held at Werner Park.
- The walk is an opportunity to bring hope to ALS
patients and to raise money for a cure.
- This year’s walk helped raise over $127,716.70 to
defeat ALS. The Omaha Storm Chasers
raised over $10,000.
37. Boxer 500
The Omaha Storm Chasers
were proud to host the 2012
Boxer 500 5K Run/Walk, 1M
Walk & Kid’s Run at Werner
Park. Over 1,000 people ran
or walked in support of Colon
Cancer Awareness.
38. Light the Night Walk
On October 11 the Leukemia & Lymphoma
Society held the Light the Night Walk at Werner
Park. Over 1,500 participated in the walk.
39. The Omaha Storm Chasers would
like to thank all of our fans and
partners for your support during
the 2012 season.
For more information about the
Omaha Storm Chasers Community
Relations Department, contact:
Andrea Stava (402) 738-5115 or
andreas@omahastormchasers.com
See you all next season!
