Announcing this year’s charitable initiative
Maybe you’ve heard of the Raleigh International Dodgeball Charity Challenge – it’s kind of a big deal. OR, maybe you haven’t – after all, the event is less than a year old. Either way, I’m here to tell you this fall we will hold The Second Annual Raleigh International Dodgeball Charity Challenge, and it is in fact a very big deal.
Last year we held the tournament, and spent over 1,000 hours volunteering, all in support of the Wake County Boys and Girls Clubs. All proceeds from fundraising througout the year, and at the tournament went toward the Clubs’ biggest need – transportation. With the more than $27,000 we raised, they were able to overhaul their entire fleet of buses, giving the club kids reliable transportation to events vital to their development.
Initially we planned as a company to select one local charitable organization each year to support. But, we have some ambitious folks within these orange brick walls, and as such, the goal for this year has grown. A lot. And our mission this year is even closer to home.
We work with school nurses every day, right? (Say “yes.”) Well, upon review of our own state’s school nursing situation, some startling figures arose. The NC state-wide goal for school nurse to student ratio is 1 to 750. In actuality, NC public schools average 1 school nurse to every 1,200 students. That figure becomes more glaring when you look at Wake County – where Magnus HQ is located. According to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Annual School Health Services Report, the Wake County ratio is 1 school nurse to every 2,476 students. Yikes.
We know how valuable and vital the presence of a school nurse is to students, teachers, staff, and administration. Therefore we know these numbers are disturbing, and directly contradict our company-wide belief in better care. As a result, our new charitable initiative is to fund school nursing positions in Wake County Public Schools. Moving forward, proceeds from our dodgeball tournament and year-long fundraising efforts will go toward reaching the 1 school nurse to every 750 students goal. When the idea was announced, there was a bit of stunned silence in the office, and then a buzzing excitement. We’re thrilled to work toward such a meaningful, long-lasting goal, and we hope you join us along the way.
Stay tuned for updates this year on our Raleigh International Dodgeball Charity Challenge website, and here on Insights. If you’re in to helping others and fashionable sweat bands and kneesocks, I promise you won’t regret it!
{{cta(‘4c89713b-c6e2-4a63-873a-93b026fbe21e’,’justifycenter’)}}