Royals Charities to host 50/50 Raffles for each home game in 2013

KANSAS CITY, MO (March 25, 2013) - Royals Charities has announced that it will host a 50/50 Raffle, one of the foundation's most popular fundraisers, during each home game in 2013.  The fundraiser will be sponsored by Edelman & Thompson.

The in-stadium fundraiser allows for one lucky fan to win big at each Royals home game.  Royals Charities staff will sell raffle tickets from the time the gates open until the end of the sixth inning.  One winning ticket will be selected with the winner taking home half of the evening's net proceeds.  The other half will go to Royals Charities to support children, education, youth baseball/softball and military efforts in and around the Kansas City area.

"In addition to the money raised through the sale of raffle tickets, Edelman and Thompson will contribute an additional $250 to Royals Charities for each Royals home run," said Ron Edelman of Edelman & Thompson.  "While we have had an ongoing relationship with the Royals for a number of years, this opportunity to be involved with this outstanding charity program is by far the most meaningful for us."

The 50/50 Raffle debuted in 2010 as a monthly fundraiser during which volunteers manually sold raffle tickets by hand.  Royals Charities then held a 50/50 Friday raffle at each Friday home game in 2012 before expanding the program to all 81 home games in 2013.  In conjunction with the program expansion, Royals Charities will be partnering with Pointstreak 5050 to offer a new, automated 50/50 Raffle. 

The new Pointstreak 5050 system will enable staff to sell tickets to fans through automated devices.  Jackpot totals will be displayed periodically on the Kauffman Stadium LED ribbon boards throughout the game.

"It's a huge win for our fans to get to experience the Pointstreak 5050 system at every game," said Toby Cook, Royals Vice President-Community Affairs & Publicity.  "We've seen what the system has done around the league for other teams.  Our fans should expect huge jackpots and enjoy the added convenience."

Created in 2001, Royals Charities supports non-profit and charitable organizations in the Kansas City area through financial donations, as well as in-kind support, including memorabilia, tickets and publicity. Royals Charities raised more than $750,000 in 2012 to help provide support to children-based charities including Operation Breakthrough, Boys and Girls Club of the Greater Kansas City, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Under the leadership of the Glass family, Royals Charities has donated more than $7 million dollars in grants since its inception.

For more information, members of the media may contact the Royals Publicity Department at (816) 921-8000.