Thanks MGoShoe, we really want to make sure we are being as tranasparent as possible with everything and keep the community in the loop. We know how involved and detail-oriented Michigan Football fans are with all activity surrounding the program (... MGoBlog followers obviously taking it to another level) so we don't want to leave anyone in the dark or left guessing. As I mentioned in a previous post, we exceed our goals with the initial raffle ticket fundraiser so we are able to do a few more things donation-wise right now than originally planned. A large majority of the revenue from the raffle is being budgeted to pay for the upfront costs of this year's ZoliOke event in June as we really hope to make it a much larger production than last year.
I'll make sure to continue keeping MGoBlog updated as we progress. Please feel free to ask me any questions you might have along the way and if you have any other resources you might be able to help us out with outside of cash donations please do not hesitate to reach out!
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!
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!
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!
Thanks for the heads up Everyone Murders, we are in the process of getting in touch right now. Thanks to the great MGoBloggers, another thread has been started but I appreciate your response. Hope that you'll get involved with Zoltan Mesko Foundation!
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.
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.
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.
Recent Comments
I will post the information shortly
Thanks MGoShoe, we really want to make sure we are being as tranasparent as possible with everything and keep the community in the loop. We know how involved and detail-oriented Michigan Football fans are with all activity surrounding the program (... MGoBlog followers obviously taking it to another level) so we don't want to leave anyone in the dark or left guessing. As I mentioned in a previous post, we exceed our goals with the initial raffle ticket fundraiser so we are able to do a few more things donation-wise right now than originally planned. A large majority of the revenue from the raffle is being budgeted to pay for the upfront costs of this year's ZoliOke event in June as we really hope to make it a much larger production than last year.
I'll make sure to continue keeping MGoBlog updated as we progress. Please feel free to ask me any questions you might have along the way and if you have any other resources you might be able to help us out with outside of cash donations please do not hesitate to reach out!
Thanks again everyone!
Tim
Thanks jblaze, forgot to post the link myself.
Twin City socks will save your feet!
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!
Just for everyone on this thread was wondering before, our EIN is 45-5191838. Feel free to e-mail us with any additional questions: [email protected]
As promised, the EIN number is: 45-5191838
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!
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:
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
Thanks a ton, Misopogon!!
Haha we appreciate it WolvinLA2 - the effort was there!
Thanks for the heads up Everyone Murders, we are in the process of getting in touch right now. Thanks to the great MGoBloggers, another thread has been started but I appreciate your response. Hope that you'll get involved with Zoltan Mesko Foundation!
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:
Thanks everyone and Go Blue!
Tim North
Thanks a ton for starting this thread WeCheerThemAgain!
Thanks so much!
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