Zoltan Mesko Foundation asks for MGoBlog's Help

Submitted by WeCheerThemAgain on

This was posted in the Omameh thread by Tim North, former Michigan DE, director of the Zoltan Mesko Foundation, and new MGoBlog user. He asked if someone could start a new thread as he doesn't have enough points to do so.

 

Hello MGoBloggers,

It's so great to see Patrick be recognized for his selflessness and the time he spent at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital throughout his time on the football team - he is truly a Michigan Man in every sense of the word.

In an effort not to take any attention away from Patrick, I am posting on this thread as a new user on MGoBlog (could not create my own thread) and wanted to reach out to the MGoBlog community about the newly established Zoltan Mesko Foundation (http://www.facebook.com/ZoltanMeskoFoundation) and our current fundraising promotion with the New England Patriots and Celebrities for Charity.  My name is Tim North, and I am a former U of M Football defensive end (2005-09) and current director for the Zoltan Mesko Foundation.  Zoltan has greatly appreciated the support from MGoBlog since his freshman year (yes, he was well-aware of the Space Emperor title in 2005), and wanted to make sure we connected with U of M fans to raise awareness for the Zoltan Mesko Foundation and our current promotion: http://www.celebritiesforcharity.org/raffle/zoltan-meskos-london-ticket-...

If a more seasoned MGoBlogger could make a new topic about the Zoltan Mesko Foundation we would GREATLY appreciate the help. Again, we do not want to take any attention away from Patrick so it would be awesome if there was a seperate thread to discuss.

Thanks again everyone and Go Blue!

Tim North and the Zoltan Mesko Foundation

 

MGoBoard
Football
Zoltan the Space Emperor
give money to someone elseeeeeeee

pasadenablue

October 12th, 2012 at 6:20 PM ^

itd be great if we could get some info on what the foundation does and who it helps.

 

cuz i'd love to donate some simoleons.

 

an EIN for corporate matching would also be useful.

Joined: 11/18/2008

MGoPoints: 8296

Wisconsin Wolverine

October 12th, 2012 at 6:58 PM ^

Per the facebook group:

"The mission of the Zoltan Mesko Foundation is to provide financial support to organizations that foster the social, emotional, economic and physical well-being of children. Our goal is to give children and young adults the guidance, mentoring and assistance they need to improve the quality of their lives."

  • The current fundraising activity is a raffle for tickets to the Patriots game in London this year:

http://www.celebritiesforcharity.org/raffle/zoltan-meskos-london-ticket-raffle

  • Watch this video for some more raffle information straight from the Space Emperor of Space himself (skip to 1:30 for info about the organziation):

http://www.myfoxboston.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=7818638

Proceeds go to the Boston Children's Hospital, which I happen to know is strongly involved with biomedical research, in addition to the clinical care it provides.
 

  • This article highlights a recent karaoke-based fundraising activity the organization held:

http://twitter.com/ZoltanMeskoFDN

 

Hope that helps a litte.  Click all the links provided by Mr. North to explore further.




 

Joined: 05/18/2011

MGoPoints: 2382

ZoltanMeskoFou…

October 12th, 2012 at 7:30 PM ^

Hi pasadenablue,

Sorry we don't have more in-depth information online yet aside from our Facebook page - Zoltan Mesko Foundation has just recently gone through the financial/legal approval process and we are still working on getting a full-functioning website up that will provide much more information. For the time being, we have updated our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ZoltanMeskoFoundation) with as much content as possible, including several photo albums of Zoltan's involvement in the community, and have been frequently updating posts to promote our current collobration with Celebrities for Charity and the New England Patriots, "Zoltan Mesko's London Ticket Raffle."

Zoltan Mesko Foundation mission statement: "The mission of the Zoltan Mesko Foundation is to provide financial support to organizations that foster the social, emotional, economic and physical well-being of children. Our goal is to give children and young adults the guidance, mentoring and assistance they need to improve the quality of their lives."

As many of you may know, Zoltan has been deeply involved in community service since his time at Michigan, working heavily with the CS Mott Children's Hospital and UM Comprehensive Cancer Center with various events and weekly visits.  After becoming a Patriot, his drive to help kids has not changed as he spent a great amount of time in the off-season and Tuesdays (day off) during the season contributing to various charitable efforts.  In August, Patriots owner Robert Kraft recognized Zoltan's dedicaiton to the community and he was presented the 2012 Ron Burton Community Service Award (http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/sports/blitz/index.php/2012/08/27/zol…).  One of Zoltan's major contributions in the off-season was the success of "Zolioke" taking place in June. The event raised over $40,000 for the Boston Children's Hopsital. Here are a few links reviewing the event:

The Zoltan Mesko Foundation was established as a non-profit platform to continue Zoltan's goodwill on a new level and allow for more organized events/fundriasers to promote chairtable contributions. This platform allows much greater opportunity for donation in the future and partnerships with other organizations and corporate sponsors. We will have much more information availible regarding future campaigns in the near future, but for right now we are trying to raise awareness about the foundation itself with the resources we have, especially those as loyal as the University of Michigan Football community. 

I followed Tay Odoms kickerstarter efforts pretty closely as I was helping to promote, and I was absolutely amazed by the support the MGoBlog community gave - it really is a testament to how great of a fan base we have at the University of Michigan. As a former player, I can tell you that after speaking to friends who played at other Big Ten schools and other schools across the country, we have a very special network at Michigan.

Details for "Zoltan Mesko's London Ticket Raffle" can be found at the Celebrities for Charity website: http://www.celebritiesforcharity.org/raffle/zoltan-meskos-london-ticket…

I will provide a brief overview, but please feel free to ask me any other questions about ZMF or the event:

Zoltan Mesko's London Ticket Raffle

 

Entry Deadline:  2:00 PM ET on Friday, October 19, 2012

Drawing Date:    Friday, October 19, 2012

Tickets are Just $2.00 Each (Minimum Purchase of 5 Tickets)

Grand Prize:
  • Winner and 3 guests will receive 4 lower bowl tickets to watch the New England Patriots take on the St. Louis Rams, Sunday, October 28th, 2012 at Wembley Stadium in London
  • Winner and 3 guests will receive transportation to and from the game provided by Uber car service by using their smartphone application
  • Winner and 3 guests will meet Zoltan Mesko and Sebastian Vollmer post game for autographs and pictures
  • Winner and 3 guests will receive 4 tickets to a private function at the Sports Cafe - the official fan zone of the New England Patriots - on Saturday, October 27th, 2012 from 6:30 - 9:30 PM located at 80 Haymarket Street
  • Winner and 3 guests will receive 3 nights hotel accommodations for Friday, October 26, Saturday, October 27th and Sunday, October 28th (single room, two double beds)
  • Winner and 3 guests will receive a total of $4,000 to put towards airfare (if needed, if used)
  • Winner will be awarded a cash prize in the amount of $2,117.50 to mitigate the Winner's tax liability that results from winning the raffle. This prize is withheld and paid, on behalf of the Winner, directly to the IRS ($1,750.00) and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ($367.50). The actual amount awarded may be adjusted proportionally based on the value of the actual prizes received.

 

Thanks everyone and Go Blue!

Tim North

 

 

Joined: 10/12/2012

MGoPoints: 526

ZoltanMeskoFou…

October 12th, 2012 at 9:38 PM ^

pasadenablue,

That would be great!  We actually have one of our first full board of directors meetings on Monday with the legal team - I will be able to followup with you and provide the EIN.  If you could please send an e-mail to [email protected] with your name I will be sure to get back with you as soon as I have the details.  I will also post the EIN on this thread - whichever is easier for you.

Thanks again so much for the support and sorry there is not as much information online right now as we would like - we'll get it up soon!

Joined: 10/12/2012

MGoPoints: 526

amphibious1

October 12th, 2012 at 6:46 PM ^

The mission of the Zoltan Mesko Foundation is to provide financial support to organizations that foster the social, emotional, economic and physical well-being of children. Our goal is to give children and young adults the guidance, mentoring and assistance they need to improve the quality of their lives.

Joined: 09/02/2009

MGoPoints: 12657

ZoltanMeskoFou…

October 12th, 2012 at 9:30 PM ^

As mentioned in the previous post, we will be adding much more information in the upcoming weeks that will answer many questions about the overall structure of the Zoltan Mesko Foundation and what specific goals we hope to accomplish.  The main reason for reaching out to the MGoBlog community right now is to raise awareness in the early stages of the foundation and to promote our current raffle ticket fundraiser with Celebrities for Charity as the deadline is October 19th. 

“Zoltan is one of the best punters in the league, but he may be the league’s current MVP for his contributions in the community,” said Patriots owner Robert Kraft. “In the 18 years since we established the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation, perhaps no player has accomplished more in the community in such a short amount of time.”

Each charitable cause the Zoltan Mesko Foundation becomes involved with is selected directly by Zoltan and our board of directors with a target goal.  I want to make it clear that we are not simply asking our audience to make a blind contribution to our foundation - each event and campaign that we announce has a specific focus and donation pre-established.   We want our supporters to believe in the causes we choose to work with because they support our mission and how we hope to make a positive impact.  When our website goes live in the coming weeks this will all be much more clear.

To give the MGoBlog community a sense causes/organizations Zoltan has worked with in the past, here is a short list with many others not mentioned:

  • C.S. Mott Children's Hopsital/ University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center/ Coach Carr Cancer Fund/ Michigan From The Heart
  • American Cancer Society Relay for Life
  • Boston Children's Hospital
  • Make-A-Wish Foundation
  • Hasbro Children's Hospital
  • NFL Play 60
  • The Community Builders
  • KaBOOM!
  • New England Kids Triathalon
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
  • Boys & Girls Clubs of America
  • Best Buddies International
  • + many more

Please feel free to use this thread to ask any questions about the Zoltan Mesko Foundation as I would be happy to answer.  Thanks once again to everyone who helped get this thread started!

 

Go Blue!

Tim North

Zoltan Mesko Foundation

Joined: 10/12/2012

MGoPoints: 526

Go Blue Rosie

October 12th, 2012 at 10:11 PM ^

I work for KaBOOM!, one of the organizations listed. We are a nonprofit that helps build community playgrounds in areas that need them. The Patriots have partnered with us for several years and Zoltan has spent many hours helping build playgrounds for children who need them. He's a hard worker and as sincere as they come. I can't wait to see what he does with his foundation!

Joined: 01/06/2011

MGoPoints: 2761

ZoltanMeskoFou…

October 16th, 2012 at 8:26 AM ^

Also, the Facebook page has been updated with our supported foundations we are working with or have worked with in the past - this should provide further insight on the focus of the foundation.  As I mentioned before, we are currently in the process of getting our full website in gear and it should be up within the next month.

Thanks again for everyone's interest and support! Go Blue!

Joined: 10/12/2012

MGoPoints: 526