ORLANDO – The Magic Volunteer Program (MVP) contributed 7,394 hours of community service for the 2018-19 Magic season (July 1, 2018 – June 30, 2019) surpassing the goal of 7,000 hours as an organization for the 13th straight year. More than 300 employees (full time, part time, interns, players and coaches) participated in numerous events throughout the year with a large focus on the Magic’s three areas of interest—education, hunger and health/wellness. The events included full staff food packing and distribution event with UnitedHealthcare benefiting Second Harvest Food Bank, Magic Fit Fun Day at Freedom Middle School, Thanksgiving at the Coalition for the Homeless, Inaugural Orlando Wine Festival & Auction benefiting the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation (OMYF), OMYF Open charity golf tournament, Magic and PepsiCo. youth holiday shopping spree, Hoops for Hunger Love Pantry, Hoops for Troops service project and Habitat for Humanity, among others. This past season, the Magic had 35 staff members serve on a total of 65 different local boards including the Foundation for Orange County Public Schools, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida and United Arts of Central Florida, to name a few.
"Through the DeVos family's leadership, a core value of the Orlando Magic has always been giving back to the Central Florida community," said Magic CEO Alex Martins. "As an organization, we are so proud of our staff for their dedication to our great community and salute them for their generosity of time and treasure. The Magic is also grateful for the support we receive from our city and will continue its commitment to make Central Florida one of the best places to live, work and play."
The MVP was developed to encourage Orlando Magic employees to get out and get involved in the community. The program began in July of 2006 with the goal of performing 2,000 hours of community service during the 2006-07 season; 3,800+ hours were tracked that first year. Since program inception, more than 80,000 hours in the Central Florida community have been tracked.
The MVP is unique in that it allows employees to volunteer during work hours. As an added incentive, employees who reach a certain level of volunteer hours in the community will be rewarded and receive a monetary donation to a charity of their choice. Magic staff distributed $6,100 to local charities of their choice this past season. There is also an annual award given to the Magic staff member who contributes the most hours in the community.
In addition, through the MVP, employees are assisted with board placement in the community, opportunities to volunteer at all Magic-sponsored community events, OMYF sponsored projects and other nonprofit organizations while matching employees in a youth mentoring program.