The IRONMAN Foundation to Restore Home For Local Senior with Rebuilding Together Houston
Service project part of $100,000 in charitable giveback at
2017 Memorial Hermann IRONMAN North American Championship Texas
TAMPA, Fla. (April 13, 2017) – The IRONMAN Foundation® will award a $10,000 Community Grant to Rebuilding Together Houston to restore the home of a local disabled senior known as Ms. Angela and provide athletes the opportunity to volunteer for a service project on April 19. Together they will band together to complete the exterior work on Ms. Angela’s home. In addition, The IRONMAN Foundation will distribute $100,000 in charitable giveback to nonprofit initiatives and groups in the greater Harris County and Montgomery County regions in conjunction with the 2017 Memorial Hermann IRONMAN® North American Championship Texas triathlon taking place on Saturday, April 22.
“We are thankful to partner with The IRONMAN Foundation again this year,” said Jim Soller, Rebuilding Together Houston Executive Director. “These amazing athletes have put a tremendous amount of time into training and traveling to the race. We are humbled by their additional efforts to support the Houston community with our home repair project.”
The IRONMAN Foundation Community Fund provides community and volunteerism grant opportunities to non-profit organizations where IRONMAN events are held. This year’s grant funding brings the total giveback to more than $820,000 in the region since the first event in The Woodlands. In 2017, The IRONMAN Foundation will distribute more than $1.5 million in grant funding to support the needs of IRONMAN race communities across North America.
In addition to Rebuilding Together Houston, eight local non-profit organizations will receive Community Grant awards during IRONMAN Texas race week. They include Montgomery County Youth Services, Interfaith of the Woodlands, South County Football League, Education for Tomorrow Alliance, Boy Scouts of America Troop 491, Meals on Wheels Montgomery County, Montgomery County Amateur Radio Emergency Service and Let Them Drum.
Coinciding with the service project and grant funding, The IRONMAN Foundation will assemble backpacks filled with healthy snacks, a personal note from an IRONMAN athlete, and tools to inspire local students to eat well, exercise, and live a healthy lifestyle, giving athletes and their supporters the opportunity to connect to local youth and sending them the message that “We’ve got your back.” The backpacks will be presented to Montgomery County Youth Services, a 2017 Community Grant recipient that serves at-risk youth by providing crisis counseling, shelter programs and prevention services.
“It’s a privilege to support so many incredible local community organizations,” said Sarah Hartmann, Community Relations Manager for The IRONMAN Foundation. “Together we are creating a lasting and tangible impact here in Texas. It will be a highlight to meet Ms. Angela at the service project, introduce her to our IRONMAN athletes and TriClubs and welcome her home.”
For more information on IRONMAN and The IRONMAN Foundation, please visit www.ironman.com and www.ironmanfoundation.org. For media related inquiries, please contact press@ironman.com.
###
About IRONMAN
A Wanda Sports Holdings company, IRONMAN operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN® 70.3® Triathlon Series, 5150™ Triathlon Series, Iron Girl®, IRONKIDS®, six of nine International Triathlon Union World Triathlon Series races, road cycling events including the UCI Velothon Majors Series, mountain bike races, premier marathons and other multisport races. IRONMAN’s events, together with all other Wanda Sports Holdings events, provide more than 680,000 participants annually the benefits of endurance sports through the company’s vast offerings. The iconic IRONMAN® Series of events is the largest participation sports platform in the world. Since the inception of the IRONMAN® brand in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE® by crossing finish lines at the world’s most challenging endurance races. Beginning as a single race, IRONMAN has grown to become a global sensation with more than 260 events across 44 countries. For more information, visit www.ironman.com.
About Wanda Sports Holdings
Wanda Sports Holdings is the world’s leading sports business entity, founded to capture the opportunities in the global sports industry and to contribute to the prosperous international sports landscape – in three key areas: 1) Spectator Sports (media & marketing business), 2) Participation Sports (active lifestyle business), 3) Services (digital, production and service business). Wanda Sports Holding incorporates the international sports marketing company Infront Sports & Media, the iconic endurance brand IRONMAN, and Wanda Sports China. The headquarters are in Guangzhou, China.
About The IRONMAN Foundation
The IRONMAN Foundation® creates positive, tangible change in IRONMAN race communities by engaging athletes and volunteers to participate in programs that demonstrate service through sport and commitment to community. Since 2003, over $50,000,000 has been provided through IRONMAN Foundation programs to more than 6,300 local, regional, national and global nonprofit initiatives. Through these partnerships, IRONMAN athletes are powerfully linked to the community and together we leave the IRONMAN legacy behind in our race communities long after event day. For more information on IRONMAN Foundation programs, including Team IMF, Community Fund, Your Journey Your Cause, and Women For Tri, visit www.ironmanfoundation.org.
About Rebuilding Together Houston
Repairing homes and restoring hope, Rebuilding Together Houston impacts the lives of over a thousand Houstonians each year by providing free home repairs for low-income elderly, U.S. Military Veterans, and people with disabilities. We are a not-for-profit organization committed to the idea that all people deserve safe and healthy housing. Since 1982, we have reinvested more than $120 million in affordable housing throughout Houston and Harris County. In 2016 alone, our organization served 580 families, making it possible for family members to remain independent in their own homes. Through the work of volunteer groups and licensed contractors, and with the financial support of individual donors, local businesses and corporate partners, Rebuilding Together Houston improves the lives of our neighbors and revitalizes Houston communities, shaping a brighter future for our city and make it a better place to call home.