2024 Thunderbirds Charities Newsletter
The Thunderbirds & Thunderbirds Charities
Celebrating
$208 Million in Charitable Giving
The Thunderbirds continue to make a profound impact on communities as the 2024 edition of “The People’s Open” raised a record-breaking $17.5 million for charities, and have eclipsed $208 million in charitable giving in 89 years.
Thanks to the unwavering support of fans, sponsors, and partners, this record-setting donation directly benefited organizations like VALLEYLIFE, the Foundation for Blind Children, Stardust Non-Profit Building Supplies, NourishPHX, and the Valley of the Sun YMCA, providing essential resources, expanding life-changing programs, and building stronger, healthier communities.
HERE ARE HIGHLIGHTS FROM A FEW OF OUR CHARITY PARTNERS.
Highlighted Stories:
Valleylife
VALLEYLIFE is a 77-year-old nonprofit organization that provides premier services to individuals with disabilities to enhance their quality of life. The organization is committed to helping people with disabilities in the community by enriching their lives with rewarding experiences and valuable opportunities. VALLEYLIFE Members’ diagnoses range from physical, developmental, and cognitive disabilities to behavioral health issues, age-related conditions, mental illness, and traumatic brain injury.
In early 2024, VALLEYLIFE officially started operations within its Healthy Prep Kitchen, a program designed to help prep healthy meals for 21 of its 25 group homes. Thanks to a generous grant from Thunderbirds Charities, in the summer of 2024, the Healthy Prep Kitchen was expanded to include a Bistro. The Thunderbirds Charities Bistro functions as a space where smaller sponsored events can be hosted and Healthy Prep Kitchen volunteers can relax on-site. Since its creation, the Thunderbirds Charities Bistro has become a welcomed addition to the Healthy Prep Kitchen program, hosting nearly a dozen small events and welcoming supporters from around the valley to the Main Campus.
Foundation For Blind Children
Foundation for Blind Children In 1952, four determined families came together to create a brighter future—not only for their children with vision loss but for their entire community. Today, the Foundation for Blind Children (FBC) proudly serves over 2,000 people of all ages, from newborns to seniors over 100. As Arizona’s only agency of its kind, FBC has become a lifeline for the blind and visually impaired
community, offering vital resources, guidance, and hope. At FBC, vision loss is seen not as a limitation but as an opportunity to approach life differently. The mission is to empower every individual, from infants in the Early Childhood Program to young students and adults, providing tools, support, and encouragement every step of the way.
Thanks to the generosity of Thunderbirds Charities, in June 2024, FBC successfully enrolled 19 students in the Teen to Work program. This program empowers teens who are blind or visually impaired by offering lessons and activities designed to prepare them for employment, independent living, and college. The Teen to Work Program has been immensely valuable as it provided each participant not only with their first work experience but also with the opportunity to live independently from their families. The training and experiences gained will benefit them throughout their lives. For more information, please visit seeitourway.org
Stardust Non-profit Building Supplies
Stardust Non-Profit Building Supplies provides quality reclaimed materials for reuse, envisioning a future without waste—a sustainable community where resources are reused or redistributed. Since 1997, Stardust has diverted usable building materials from local landfills while providing a resource for the community. Stardust operates two Reuse Centers selling building materials donated by manufacturers, distributors, contractors, and individuals. This process diverts over 6 million tons of usable building materials from local land fills, making new and nearly-new items available to the community. Proceeds support Stardust programs, including Deconstruction and Gifts In Kind.
Stardust’s Gifts In Kind program helps underserved populations in the community get the material resources they need. Annually, Gifts In Kind distributes over $50 million in materials donated by local retailers such as Wal-Mart and Amazon to nonprofit organizations for use by their clients or to support their operations. This program supports over 400 non-pro fit agencies in Maricopa County and touches the lives of over 200,000 individuals and their families every year. In 2024, with a generous grant from Thunderbirds Charities, Stardust distributed an additional $7.8 million worth of usable materials such as linens, pillows, diapers, and paper towels back into the community to help those in need. That amounted to an additional $158 in support for families and children for every $1 received through this generous grant. Together, Stardust and Thunderbirds Charities are helping ensure people in the community have the materials they need to stay safe and healthy.
Nurishphx
NourishPHX was born out of a collaboration of local communities of faith to address the needs of low-income families in the Phoenix Metro area since 1983. Over the years, it maintained its operations of providing food and clothing daily for those experiencing food insecurity. However, seven years ago, the vision expanded. Guided by the latest research, services broadened to include assistance with SNAP/AHCCCS enrollment, a Job and Resource Center, and now over 40 community partner agencies and organizations provide programs in support of the mind, body, and soul of disenfranchised families and individuals on-site. These resources, and the sense of community they provide, empower clients to look beyond their current circumstances and envision a future of self-sufficiency. A generous grant from Thunderbirds Charities allowed the installation of an elevator that provides ADA accessibility to the second floor of the 20,000 sf building located just southwest of downtown Phoenix, doubling the space available to provide services. This has been a game-changer for the mission to continue providing holistic solutions to ending poverty
VOS YMCA
VOS YMCA Founded in 1892, Valley of the Sun YMCA is Arizona’s cornerstone of community wellness and youth development, serving multiple locations across the Phoenix metropolitan area and the Flagstaff communities. As the state’s largest provider of youth programs and wellness services, the YMCA focuses on strengthening communities through programs centered on youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility.
Thanks to a generous grant from Thunderbird Charities, the Watts Family Maryvale YMCA recently renovated its Miracle League Field. The project included installing modern artificial turf, adding shade structures, and upgrading amenities throughout the facility. Now fully completed, the field serves as a hub for youth sports, adaptive programs, and family activities, offering a safe and welcoming environment for the entire community. This renovation aligns with the YMCA’s mission to build inclusive, healthy communities where young people can learn, grow, and thrive. For more information about Valley of the Sun YMCA programs and its impact on the communities it serves, please visit valleyymca.org.
