By Staff
No matter the final score, the real winner of tonight’s second-annual Blue Lights vs. Red Lights charity basketball game will be Eagle’s Wings and Beaufort County.
Tonight’s game is less about putting points on the scoreboard and more about putting dollars in the coffers at Eagle’s Wings, a Washington-based food pantry that provides food, and other services, to the poor. The game between the Washington Police Department and the Washington Fire-Rescue-EMS-Inspections Department serves as a fundraiser for Eagle’s Wings.
Then again, it is about putting points on the scoreboard. Austin Thomas, being billed as the fire department’s secret weapon, will collect from several sponsors either $10 or $20 for each point he scores, up to $300 from each sponsor. Some sponsors have capped their donations to $100. Other sponsors have placed $200 caps on their donations. The remainder have limited their contributions to no more than $300.
Those donations, combined with other funds the game raises by way of food sales, will help provide food for needy people in the area. That, in and of itself, is reason enough to go to the game. Admission to the game is free.
Debbie Adams, executive director of Eagle’s Wings, is excited about the game and what it means for the charity.
There’s a reason the community is taking Eagle’s Wings under its wing. Eagle’s Wings gets the most bang for its bucks. When people who contribute to charities see their donations being used wisely and efficiently, they appreciate such efforts.
Eagle’s Wings helps eliminate immediate hunger needs of the impoverished and homeless in Beaufort County. It helps poor people who have problems paying for needed medications. In some cases, Eagle’s Wings pays gas bills and electric bills for people who are unable to pay those bills.
Eagle’s Wings continues to implement its long-range plan that includes expanding its services. That expansion is needed because Eagles’ Wings continues to serve more and more people, Adams told the City Council a year ago.
Serving more and more people will require more money. That’s where fundraisers like tonight’s game come in. It’s also where people come in, people who have the resources to help those who struggle making ends meet, especially in these tough economic times.
Eagle’s Wings served 2,181 clients in 2007. Eagle’s Wings surely will serve more clients this year because of recent layoffs and reduction in hours for some area residents.
It’s time the community served Eagle’s Wings. That can be accomplished by going to the game tonight.
Want to know who will win tonight? Got to the game and look around. We are the winners.