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The Orlando Magic Continue to Make a Difference in the Central Florida Community

Josh Cohen
Digital News Manager

By John Denton

ORLANDO -- The driving purpose for the Orlando Magic is right there in the organization’s mission statement – “To Be World Champions On and Off the Court, Delivering Legendary Moments Every Step of the Way” – and clearly the team follows through daily on that task. In the past year alone the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation (OMYF), the Magic’s charitable arm that focuses on helping children in Central Florida realize their full potential, handed out $1 million to 21 local charity organizations. The funds are targeted to those children most at-risk and they are given to nonprofit agencies with programs that empower families and change lives. The desire to make a difference in the community starts with legendary owner Rich DeVos, who has a history of philanthropy in Central Florida and throughout the United States. And the passion to make the Magic champions in the community drives CEO Alex Martins, who has established himself as one of Orlando’s visionary leaders with his tireless work on various boards and community projects. “The commitment to our community starts with our owners, the DeVos family, which provides us with the resources and leadership to be difference-makers in Central Florida,” Martins said. “And that philosophy permeates throughout our entire organization. Our front office, coaches, players and staff understand our responsibility on and off the court and they look to be role models and stewards for this great community.” The Magic’s committed push to truly make a difference in the Central Florida community is wide-ranging and all-encompassing. From helping at-risk children, feeding the homeless or honoring our hometown heroes, the Magic make it a mission to do whatever they can to assist. Here’s a look at some of the many ways that the Magic went about giving back to those most in need this past season. In 2014-15 alone, the Magic:·         Established programs and initiatives that annually impact an estimated 100,000 kids each year·         Hosted eight terminally ill children through the Magic Makers program·         Logged more than 700 Magic community ambassador and player appearances at area schools, organizations and neighborhood centers·         Prepared 2,000 kids for school through the Back to School initiative·         Fed more than 700 homeless men, women and children breakfast on Thanksgiving morning at the Coalition for the Homeless·         Distributed 450 turkeys to underserved families for Thanksgiving in partnership with Amway and Magic forward Tobias Harris·         Donated more than 2,500 tickets to youth and families who might not otherwise attend an NBA game through the Share the Magic ticket program ·         Volunteered more than 6,000 community service hours through the Magic Volunteer Program (MVP), which encourages Magic employees to get out and get involved in the community·         Donated more than 200 player autographed items to local nonprofits with an estimated value of $70,000 to help them raise funds·         Refurbished two local basketball courts with Magic Champion of the Community partner, Chase, impacting more than 2,000 youth·         Hosted the second Pink in the Paint Night presented by Florida Hospital which helped fund mammograms and treatment for more than 20 underserved women·         Honored more than 3,000 local military men, women and families during Seats for Soldiers Night presented by Harris.·         Donated 4,000 books to the Early Learning Coalition of Orange County through the Baskets for Books program presented by Florida Blue·         Recognized more than 40 first responders on court as Hometown Heroes presented by Harris·         Packed 12,000 High-Five Kids Packs in partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank and UnitedHealthcare to benefit underserved children who don’t have access to food during the weekend·         Opened a “Love Pantry” at Hungerford Elementary School, which provides the 284 students at the school with emergency food and hygiene essentials·         Tracked more than 1.5 million minutes of physical activity via the Magic’s first health and wellness initiative, Magic Fit.  Through the program’s Magic Fit 8 Week Challenge more than 3,000 Central Florida students were introduced to a new and exciting way of being fit Martins said he is most proud of how the Magic are able to assist Central Florida’s various nonprofit organizations that work on a daily basis to help those children who are at-risk or the most in need. The Magic’s ability to change lives and make Central Florida a better place to live means everything to the team’s CEO.      “We really do get to impact youth by helping all of the great work that all of these organizations are doing,” Martins said. “There are hundreds of youth organizations throughout Central Florida who are doing great work to help at-risk youth and set them on a path for a better life. What we do is just a small way for us to try and help them do their work. They do all of the work, and for us to be able to distribute all of these funds and expand the number of youth that they serve or add another program, it’s incredibly meaningful to us.” As for the OMYF, it was founded in 1988 and began a partnership with the McCormick Foundation in 1994. All donations and funds raised by the OMYF are granted to the Orlando Magic Youth Fund, a McCormick Foundation Fund (OMYF-MFF), where it has an even greater impact with a match of 50 cents on the dollar.  With no administrative costs and the McCormick Foundation match, 150% of each gift goes directly to benefit children in Central Florida. In the past 25 years, more than 500 local agencies have been funded, nearly $20 million dollars has been granted, with more than two million children positively impacted. OMYF fundraising events and programs include: the OMYF Open Golf Tournament, the OMYF Black Tie & Tennies Gala, State of Florida License Plate Program, Employee Giving Campaign, and game night silent auctions. The $1 million worth of grants to 21 Central Florida organizations raises the total given away to $4.8 million over the past five years. During the 2014-2015 season, OMYF raised more than $47,000 through the in-game auction selling more than 330 limited edition items and more than $694,000 through the OMYF Open Golf Tournament and the OMYF Black Tie Tennies Gala. Also, OMYF surpassed $500,000 raised through their Employee Giving Campaign by collecting pledges totaling more than $51,000 from Orlando Magic staff. For more information or to make a secure tax deductible donation visit omyf.org. For more information on the Magic’s community initiatives, please visit www.orlandomagic.com/community