License Plates Available to Pick up at Mount Pleasant High School in Providence
PROVIDENCE, RI - Several hundred Rhode Islanders will be the first in the state to obtain the newly made Rhode Island Red Sox charity license plates on Saturday, October 20. Money raised from the special order plates will fund the expansion of the Red Sox Foundation's Rhode Island Scholarship Award program, given to graduating Rhode Island public high school seniors each June.
To celebrate the newly available license plates, Rhode Island drivers who were among the first 900 to order the Red Sox plates have been invited to pick up their plates at a special event at Mount Pleasant High School in Providence, R.I., from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 20.
Among those expected to distribute the license plates are Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee, Rhode Island Speaker of the House of Representatives Gordon Fox, Rhode Island State Representative Brian Kennedy, Rhode Island State Senator Maryellen Goodwin, Providence Mayor Angel Taveras, Counsel to the Boston Red Sox Jim Skeffington, Boston Red Sox Special Advisor Jeremy Kapstein, and Rhode Island Department of Motor Vehicles officials.
Red Sox Legend Jim Lonborg, Wally the Green Monster and Red Sox Foundation representatives will also be on hand with the 2004 and 2007 World Series Trophies. Rhode Islanders picking up their plates will have an opportunity to take photos with the trophies, get autographs from Lonborg, and win prizes as part of the day's event.
"These exciting new Red Sox license plates are a home run for fans across Rhode Island and for the hardworking students participating in the Rhode Island Red Sox Scholarship Award program," said Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee. "Signing up for these plates is a terrific way for Rhode Islanders to show their Red Sox pride while supporting a very good cause. I want to thank the Red Sox Foundation and the organization as a whole for their ongoing good work in our state. Rhode Island's many members of Red Sox Nation are grateful."
"Rhode Island has some of the most generous and loyal fans in Red Sox Nation, and through their support they will be helping talented, college-bound Rhode Island students with their college education costs," said Red Sox Foundation Board member Linda Pizzuti Henry. "The new Red Sox charity plates will help recipients of the Rhode Island Red Sox Scholarship Award program. We are proud to honor high school students who have not only demonstrated their talent in the classroom, but also shown a commitment to their community."
The location of the event, Mount Pleasant High School, is one of the 10 select Rhode Island public high schools with a Rhode Island Scholarship award recipient this year. In 2012, the Red Sox Foundation honored 10 academically talented Rhode Island public high school seniors who demonstrated academic talent, financial need and a commitment to community service with $1,000 college scholarship awards. In 2013, the Red Sox Foundation will expand the program to 20 public high schools in the state.
Rhode Island drivers interested in ordering a Red Sox license plate can visit www.redsoxfoundation.org to fill out an application. A list of current Rhode Island Red Sox Scholarship Award Winners and the 20 Rhode Island public high schools eligible in 2013 for the award is attached.
About the Red Sox Foundation
The official team charity of the Boston Red Sox, the Red Sox Foundation harnesses the power of Red Sox Nation to support select programs serving at risk children and families across New England. The Foundation's efforts are primarily focused on our cornerstone programs, including the Red Sox Scholars Program, which provides tutoring, mentoring, enrichment programs and a college scholarship to academically talented but economically disadvantaged Boston public school students and the Red Sox Foundation's RBI and Rookie League youth baseball and softball programs serving more than 2,000 inner city teens each summer. The team charity also supports the new Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with combat stress and traumatic brain injury, The Dimock Center in Roxbury, serving more than 40,000 low-income families in Boston's most disadvantaged neighborhoods and The Jimmy Fund, supporting breakthrough cancer research at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
A 501c3 nonprofit, the Red Sox Foundation raises funds through special events, corporate sponsorships and grants. Founded and initially funded by Red Sox Principal Owner John Henry, Chairman Tom Werner, President/CEO Larry Lucchino and their partners, the Red Sox Foundation has won numerous awards for the impact of its innovative programs. In 2010, the Foundation's Red Sox Scholars program was recognized by Major League Baseball with the first-ever "MLB Commissioner's Award for Philanthropic Excellence." In 2009, the Red Sox Foundation was also honored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Sports Philanthropy Project with the Patterson Award as the nation's "Best Team Charity in Sports." The Executive Director of the Red Sox Foundation is Red Sox Sr. VP Meg Vaillancourt. For more information about the team charity, please visit www.redsoxfoundation.org.