Riley Children’s Foundation, Basket of Hope and former Indianapolis Colts Coach Tony Dungy have kicked off the first-ever Super Bowl host city service project that reaches across the nation. The Super Baskets of Hope project is made possible thanks to the generosity of Indiana companies, including LIDS Sports Group.
Super Baskets of Hope will deliver 7,000 gift-filled baskets to critically ill children in each of America’s 32 NFL cities including Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health and cities throughout Indiana. Over 500 volunteers will gather January 30 in Bankers Life Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis to fill baskets with items that will provide entertainment and inspiration to hospitalized children. NFL players, coaches and alumni and other regional volunteers will deliver the baskets to children in hospitals.
LIDS Sports Group, located in Indianapolis, has provided team specific hats for the baskets that represent NFL teams across the league. The local company operates specialty LIDS headwear and LIDS Locker Room sports apparel stores across the United States and Canada. As Indianapolis’ hometown retailer, LIDS and LIDS Locker Room stores throughout the metro area will feature a wide assortment of Super Bowl merchandise.
The baskets also contain: caps from LIDS for every child’s home team; Notre Dame footballs; Colts water bottles; Indiana Pacers/Indiana Fever basketballs; Vera Bradley journals; software from Musical DNA; Pillow Pets provided by KLOVE radio in honor of the late Riley patient Jacob McConahay; Tony and Lauren Dungy’s latest children’s book; and five games from Fundex. Tote bags will also be given to families with spiritually uplifting and comforting books and CDs. A major donation from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans funded these items and U Design Jewelry donated unique “hope” necklaces for every tote.
For Dungy, this is a natural extension of the Basket of Hope program, for which he is the national spokesman. The program’s goal is to nurture hospitalized children mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. But, as Dungy notes, “I think this program does as much for the volunteers as it does for the kids. To see the fight and resolve these children have is truly special. After these visits, we feel they’ve helped us see life more clearly.”
Riley Children’s Foundation Board of Governors Chair Jim Morris says Super Baskets of Hope extends Riley’s mission to advance the health and well-being of children everywhere. “Children facing a medical crisis need nurturing and comfort,” said Morris. “Riley’s red wagon has come to symbolize that hope for children in Indiana and throughout the country.”
For further details and to make a donation visit www.SuperBasketsofHope.org.
About LIDS SPORTS GROUP
LIDS Sports Group, operating within Hat World, Inc., is comprised of the LIDS retail headwear stores, the LIDS Locker Room specialty fan retail chain, the LIDS Clubhouse retail stores, the LIDS Team Sports wholesale team sports business, and the Internet businesses www.lids.com, www.lidslockerroom.com, wwwlidsclubhouse.com, www.lidsteamsports.com and www.lids.ca. Operating out of Indianapolis, Indiana, the retail businesses make up more than 1,000 mall-based, airport, street level and factory outlet locations nationwide, and in Canada and Puerto Rico. LIDS retail stores offer officially licensed and branded collegiate teams, major professional sports teams, as well as other specialty fashion categories in the latest styles and colors. LIDS Locker Room is a mall-based retailer of sports headwear, apparel, accessories, and novelties which also operates under the Sports Fan-Attic and Sports Avenue retail concepts. Most LIDS and LIDS Locker Room stores also offer custom embroidery capability. LIDS Clubhouse operates team-specific professional sports and university athletics retail stores and e-commerce websites. LIDS Team Sports is a full-service team uniform and apparel dealer, custom screen printer, embroidery and sporting goods distributor. Hat World, Inc. is a subsidiary of Genesco Inc.
