Community Development
YOUR TEAM IN THE COMMUNITY
Stinger Appearances
Speakers Bureau
Player Appearances and Donations
EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES
BlueJackets@School in partnership with OhioHealth
Blue Jackets Book Jackets presented by Univar
Summer Reading Club
#61 Club Good Health Challenge
Junior Achievement BizTown Blue Jackets Hockey Shop
ORGANIZATIONAL INITIATIVES
Adopt A Family
SWACO
Faith Mission
Hockey: It's In Your Blood!
Tickets for Charity
Jackets for Jackets Coat Drive
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS FOUNDATION WEBSITE
Community Development Department
The Blue Jackets Community Development Department serves as the team's liaison to central Ohio through a variety of grassroots outreach programs designed to develop a strong presence in the Columbus community. The Columbus Blue Jackets are a team of dedicated individuals who have worked diligently throughout the year to touch thousands of lives through a variety of educational programs, special events, and fan development initiatives.
The accomplishments of the Blue Jackets off the ice are the result of a dedicated group of ownership, management, players and wives, front office staff and the generous contributions of the team's Championship and First-Line Partners. The team is proud to be a part of the greater Columbus community and remains committed to "Sticking with the Community" it calls home.
For more information on Blue Jackets community programs, please call 614-246-3707.
Click here to view the Blue Jackets Foundation Annual Report or call 614-246-3707 to receive your own copy.
Download the Columbus Blue Jackets donation policy
YOUR TEAM IN THE COMMUNITY
Donations
The Columbus Blue Jackets organization realizes the important role it plays in the community, and is committed to “Sticking with the Community” far beyond the on ice excitement. Its main goal is to establish a reputation of integrity and professionalism through the initiatives sensitive and responsive to the community it represents. Each month the Foundation donates $300 in autographed Blue Jackets merchandise to non-profit organizations to assist in their fundraising efforts.
Due to the significant number of requests the Columbus Blue Jackets receive on a daily basis, the following guidelines and criteria have been established to outline how donations will be allotted. These guidelines are in place to assure fairness, professionalism, and to maximize the support the Columbus Blue Jackets organization can provide the greater Columbus community.
View the Columbus Blue Jackets donation policy
How to request:
No email or phone requests will be accepted.
All requests must be submitted in writing on the organization’s letterhead (mail or fax) to:
Columbus Blue Jackets
Attn: Kate Furman / Donations
200 W. Nationwide Blvd.
Columbus, OH 43215
Fax: 614.246.3738
All requests submitted must include the following information:
- Organization’s Name, Address, Phone Number, Fax Number
- Organization’s IRS 501 (c)3 number
- Contact Person’s Name
- Title and date of Event
- Type of fundraiser (i.e. silent/live auction, reverse raffle, Chinese auction, etc…)
**ALL DONATIONS MUST BE USED TO RAISE MONEY (not as door prizes, giveaways, etc…)
Appearances
The Blue Jackets players, coaches, and staff are dedicated to being an active part of the Columbus community both on and off the ice.
Any organizations interested in securing a representative from the Blue Jackets can do so by faxing or mailing a request on the organization’s letterhead to the Blue Jackets at least 6 weeks prior to their upcoming event. Once submitted, the Blue Jackets will process the request, attempting to identify the representative that best fits the request. Organizations will be notified either way.
To request a Blue Jackets appearance please include on the organization’s letterhead:
- Name of organization
- Non profit status of organization
- Paragraph regarding purpose of visit (including CBJ representative’s responsibilities)
- Date of event
- Time frame of event
Mail to:
Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation
200 W Nationwide Blvd
Columbus, OH 43215
Fax: 614-246-3738
Player Appearances
The Blue Jackets players and coaches enjoy giving back to the Central Ohio community. BEFORE requesting a player or coach appearance, please consult the Blue Jackets current season schedule and note that NO player or coach appearances are available on:
- Home games
- Away games
- Days before home games
- Travel days (typically day before away games)
- Summer months (end of the season – middle of September)
Please note that the players and coaches are often times accessible to the fans after open practices at the Ice Haus (call 614-246-3380 for an updated daily practice schedule).
Broadcaster Appearances
The Blue Jackets broadcast crew is an excellent resource for speaking engagements and celebrity appearances at your upcoming event. Please note, however, that they do travel with the team to all road games. As such, please consult the Blue Jackets current season schedule and note that NO broadcaster appearances are available on:
- Home games
- Away games
- Travel days (typically day before away games)
- Summer months (end of the season – middle of September)
Speakers Bureau
The broadcasters and Blue Jackets executive staff visit a variety of professional associations, civic groups, corporate events, colleges, and universities to deliver a high energy presentation on "Your Team."
The speaker will deliver a presentation to run 20-40 minutes, depending on your individual needs. The show content encompasses information on your favorite Blue Jackets players, history of the franchise, current promotions, community initiatives, and ticket information.
The Blue Jackets broadcast team features:
George Matthews, Radio Play-by-Play, Blue Jackets Radio Network
Bill Davidge, Radio Color Analyst, Blue Jackets Radio Network
Jeff Rimer, TV Play-by-Play, FSN Ohio
Danny Gare, Color Analyst, FSN Ohio
Larry Hoepfner, Senior Vice President of Business Operations
Cameron Scholvin, Vice President of Corporate Development
Marc Gregory, Vice President of Marketing
Todd Sharrock, Vice President of Public Relations
T.J. LaMendola, Chief Financial Office
Wendy Bradshaw, Executive Director of Community Development and the Blue Jackets Foundation
Please contact Jason Zumpano - 614-246-4152 or e-mail
JZumpano@BlueJackets.com for further information.
Ticketing Fundraisers
Companies for the Community
The Columbus Blue Jackets Companies for the Community program is an initiative developed by the Blue Jackets and the Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation. Together, a program has been built that allows the Central Ohio business community the opportunity to create memories for thousands of children that might not otherwise get the chance to attend a game.
Blue Jackets Companies for the Community is a turn-key program that is fully managed by Blue Jackets ticketing staff and includes the following benefits for the Children and Sponsor:
Children's Benefits:
- Block of 75 tickets ($57 face value) in the same seating area
- A visit by CBJ Mascot Stinger
- Blue Jackets gift for each child
- Actual Package Value: $5,265
Sponsor Benefits:
- PA & Scoreboard recognition
- Website recognition
- Tax Deduction confirmation letters
- (4) Time Warner Cable HD Lounge tickets ($186 each) to corresponding game including VIP package
Total Blue Jackets Companies for the Community Price: $3,150
For more information on how to get started call a Blue Jackets Group Even Specialist at (614) 246-PUCK.
Blue Jackets Assist
The Blue Jackets Assist program is a fundraising and awareness opportunity for local non-profit organizations. With Blue Jackets Assist, your organization may purchase Blue Jackets tickets at a discount and resell them up to face value, creating a profit for your organization.
Fundraising Opportunities:
- Sell 100 tickets - Raise up to $2,000
- Sell 200 tickets - Raise up to $4,000
- Sell 300 tickets - Raise up to $6,000
- Sell 400 tickets - Raise up to $10,000
For more information on Blue Jackets Assist and Blue Jackets Assist Night please call a Group Event Specialist at (614) 246-PUCK.
Concession Fundraising
Non Profit groups are able to make money by working concession stands at all Nationwide Arena events. For information regarding this program, please contact Tammy McCann in Delaware North Companies – Sportservice at 614-246-3686
Mascot (Stinger) Appearances
Add a little BUZZ to your upcoming event with a visit from the Blue Jackets mascot Stinger. Each season, Stinger makes over 350 public appearances at various corporate, private and non profit events. Fans can also book the city's busiest bug to drop by their seat during a Blue Jackets home game to celebrate a birthday, anniversary or any special occasion. A variety of packages are available and all the proceeds benefit the Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation.
To book a Stinger appearance, please call Jason Zumpano - 614-246-4152 or CLICK HERE to download a request form and return to jzumpano@BlueJackets.com.
EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES
BLUEJACKETS@SCHOOL in partnership with 
The Columbus Blue Jackets and OhioHealth invite you to capture the excitement of hockey in your classroom with the BlueJackets@School Program.
Visit www.BlueJacketsAtSchool.com today to enroll your classroom and access this FREE, state-wide, teaching resource based on the Ohio Academic Content Standards!
The BlueJackets@School Program, presented by the National Hockey League’s Columbus Blue Jackets in partnership with
OhioHealth is available to educators across Ohio and features classroom-ready lesson plans, adaptable overtime activities, the popular Book Jackets reading incentive program presented by Univar, and clear curriculum connection in the areas of language, science, social studies, and health/nutrition/physical education.
For more details and to access this FREE, state-wide, cross-curriculum based resource and to find out how you can WIN cool prizes for your school, visit www.BlueJacketsAtSchool.com, call the Blue Jackets at 614-246-4168, or e-mail kfurman@BlueJackets.com.
BOOK JACKETS presented by UNIVAR
Check back in August 2009 for the 09-10 updated materials!
The Columbus Blue Jackets Book Jackets program is a literary initiative in partnership with UNIVAR, established in 2000, to encourage students in grades K-8 to spend more of their free time reading. Students keep "score" of minutes read throughout a 4-week reading period and are rewarded with Blue Jackets prizes upon completion.
How the Program Works
- Download the Starter Kit
In your Starter Kit, you will find:
- An Instructor Manual
- Student Scorecards
- Classroom Poster
- Puck Name Markers
- Certificate of Completion
- Book Jackets All-Star Roster Form
- Help your students track their reading minutes over a four-week period on the STUDENT SCORECARDS and CLASSROOM POSTER
- Complete and submit the ALL-STAR ROSTER FORM by January 16, 2009
What's In It for My Students?
Your students can receive the following prizes upon completion of the program:
1st Period (200 minutes) - official Book Jackets Membership FREE Ticket offer, FREE t-shirt voucher
2nd Period (400 minutes) - a FREE voucher for skating and skate rental at a local rink
3rd Period (600 minutes) - autographed Blue Jackets pennant, official certificate of completion
OVERTIME (1000 minutes) - an invitation to the All-Star Kids Rally at Nationwide Arena, which will include skating, autographs, games, prizes and more with the Blue Jackets players and mascot, Stinger!*
*Blue Jackets will attempt to invite ALL Overtime Readers, but will be based on availability due to building limitations
How Do I Enroll?
Visit www.BlueJacketsAtSchool.com or click here to download the Starter Kit
Library-Based Involvement:
Each season, the
Columbus Blue Jackets
and the Columbus Metropolitan Library System host celebrity reading appearances throughout the Book Jackets school year.
Check back in August 2009 for the 09-10 library dates!
Summer Reading Club
The Columbus Blue Jackets know that it is important to read throughout the summer months and therefore team up each summer with the
Columbus Metropolitan Library, Southwest Public Libraries and Worthington Libraries to present the Summer Reading Club.
For more info on how to get your Game On and Read! next summer CLICK HERE!
#61 Club Good Health Challenge
Hi Kids, this is #61, Rick Nash, inviting you to be part of my #61 Club Good Health Challenge!
Check back in August 2009 for the 09-10 updated materials!
Join the Challenge – How it Works (kids in grades K - 8 eligible)
1. Download the #61 Club Good Health Challenge chart
2. Make 61 healthy choices and record them on the chart (can make up to 2 per day)
3. Submit your completed chart to the Blue Jackets (address below) by December 31 to be
entered into a drawing to win tickets to the #61 Club at an upcoming Blue Jackets
game! Giant Eagle and I will also visit one lucky winner’s classroom this season to
share our favorite healthy habits and hints.
4. Winners of the #61 Club tickets (2 per winner) and classroom visit will be notified by
February 2008
My teammates and I know that it is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle both on and off the ice. Sometimes it is hard to make healthy choices, but I want to help you set and reach that goal!
You can start down the road to great physical shape and a better diet by making small changes in your lifestyle. In fact, if you make just one or two small healthy choices a day in the next two months, I guarantee you will feel better, have a great sense of accomplishment, and make healthy habits for the rest of your life!
Here are a few helpful hints to get you started:
• For your first exercise, challenge a friend at school to a race during recess. Then do it again on Day 61 and see how you’ve improved.
• Judy Dodd, a nutritionist for Giant Eagle, offers a great tip: Eat breakfast! Start the day with the energy your brain needs to think and your body needs to be active. If you can’t eat at home, carry a whole-grain snack bar or fruit with you to eat on the way to school.
Have fun and be creative! The best exercises are the ones you don’t even realize you're doing.
Junior Achievement BizTown - Blue Jackets Hockey Shop
The Columbus Blue Jackets are teaming up with Junior Achievement to prepare kids for the real world. The Blue Jackets have invested in JA BizTown, a life-like city where kids in grades 4th through 6th grades become adults for the day by taking on jobs in different businesses, opening bank accounts, and managing personal and corporate finances.
The Blue Jackets opened the Blue Jackets Hockey Shop where kids act as retail workers with the goal of producing and selling Blue Jackets and hockey merchandise. Within the business are a CEO, CFO, Sales Manager, and Designers.
In conjunction with this program, the Blue Jackets will host JA Biz Town nights during Blue Jackets home games where all former Blue Jackets Hockey Shop CEOs will have the opportunity to meet with Blue Jackets President Mike Priest to discuss his role as CEO of the club followed by a question and answer session.
To learn more about JA BizTown, please call Cheryl Dritz or Jan Bambach at (614) 771-9903
ORGANIZATIONAL INITIATIVES
The Columbus Blue Jackets players, coaches, and staff understand that being involved in the community off the ice is integral to the team's success on the ice. Throughout the season and off-season, the Blue Jackets remain entwined in the local community by being involved in the following programs and events:
Hockey: It's In Your Blood!
Each year, the Columbus Blue Jackets and OhioHealth partner with the American Red Cross to promote the organization of blood drives in the Columbus community. Thanks to this season's generous donors, the Central Ohio Community collected
18,552 blood products just in the month of September!
To kickoff the Hockey: It's In Your Blood month-long September campaign, the Blue Jackets host a special day during which all donors are able to receive a pair of tickets to one of the Blue Jackets pre-season games, a goodie bag from OhioHealth, and a special ticket offer to come to Hockey: It's In Your Blood night at the arena!
Trauma victims, cancer patients, premature babies and children who suffer from sickle cell disease often need blood products to survive. Every two seconds, someone in America needs blood, and in Central Ohio alone, the Red Cross needs more than 650 donors a day to support patients in need at 56 hospitals and medical facilities, including OhioHealth associated hospitals.
“Donating blood only takes about one hour, and yet a single donation can save up to three lives,” explained Rodney Wilson, Red Cross spokesperson. “By donating during ‘Hockey: It’s in Your Blood,’ not only will donors have the opportunity to help save lives and prevent blood shortages, but they may also soon find themselves cheering on the Blue Jackets at a hockey game!”
For more information about next year's blood drive and/or to get information about organizing your own drive, please contact Kate Furman (614) 246-4168 at the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Faith Mission
Each month, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Columbus Destroyers staff and players visit Columbus' Faith Mission to assist in the preparation and serving of hot meals to the
organization's nightly guests.
If you are interested in getting involved with the Faith Mission please contact Kate Furman (614) 246-4168 with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Adopt A Family
Each December, the Columbus Blue Jackets players and staff team up with the Homeless Families Foundation to "adopt" families and individual children for the holidays. After fulfilling each child's wish list, the Blue Jackets are then able to deliver all of the items to the Homeless Families Foundation and make the holidays special for children and families throughout Columbus.
If you are interested in getting involved with the Homeless Families Foundation please contact Kate Furman (614) 246-4168 with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
SWACO
The Columbus Blue Jackets team up each season with SWACO (Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio) who provides financial support, recycling containers, instructional information for consumers as well as waste management resources to the venue.
An estimated 44,000 bottles are collected per event at Nationwide Arena. In addition to Nationwide Arena, SWACO works with the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium, COSI, The Ohio Expo Center & State Fair, King Arts Complex, Cooper Stadium and Crew Stadium.
SWACO was created in 1989 when the Ohio General Assembly passed House Bill 592 to address the issue of waste management, as at the time Ohio was projected to run out of landfill space by 1996. When signed, the counties of Ohio formed associations called solid waste districts. Most of the solid waste districts encompass multiple counties.
SWACO, one of 52 such agencies in Ohio, runs a number of operations in Central Ohio, from the Franklin County Landfill to composting facilities, waste transit stations, and educational programs.
An important part of their mission established is to work with the residents of Franklin County to help educate and motivate them with regard to wise waste management, including the practices of reducing, reusing and recycling in order to reduce reliance on limited landfill space.
For more information on SWACO, log onto www.swaco.org.
Jackets for Jackets
Each season throughout the month of December, fans are invited to join the Columbus Blue Jackets #61 Rick Nash and the Dispatch Media Group to help keep Columbus families warm by donating to the “Jackets For Jackets” coat drive.
Thanks to the collaborative efforts of the Blue Jackets fans, Dispatch Media Group, the Chiller Ice Rinks, the Dispatch Ice Haus, Nationwide Arena, and the FS Ohio Blue Line locations, over 1100 coats were collected for the Salvation Army's Coats for Columbus program this season!
Mark your calendars for December 2009!
Tickets for Charity
The Tickets for Charity program enables season ticket holders to donate upcoming game tickets to the Foundation which in turn, provides the opportunity for local non-profit organizations within the Central Ohio Community to experience Blue Jackets Hockey!
TO DONATE:
By Phone - call any ticket service representative (614) 246-GOAL
By Internet - log on to your account manager via http://bluejackets.nhl.com/tickets/myaccount.htm
- click "Get Started" under the Manage your Tickets tab
- follow instructions to forward tickets to charity/Foundation
TO RECEIVE:
If you are an organization interested in being a recipient of the Tickets for Charity program, please fax/mail the following information on organization letterhead to:
Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation
200 W. Nationwide Blvd
Columbus, OH 43215
fax: (614) 246-3738
Name or Organization
501 c 3 number
Description of organization's mission
Description of organization's beneficiaries
Contact person and information (address, phone, email)
Tickets typically become available to organizations via a call from the Blue Jackets with very short-term notice and in small quantities.
