Ben Marchione, MBA/CFRE, Regional Director, Western New York, Make-A-Wish Western New York
Jodie Antoniadis, Development Manager, Make-A-Wish Western New York)
Press release
Contribution a Result of Successful Chair Rental Booth at Summer Concert Series
BATAVIA –Western Region Off Track Betting (WROTB) and Batavia Downs President and CEO Henry Wojtaszek was joined by staff from Make-A-Wish Western New York as they were presented with a check for $7,500. These proceeds were from this past summer’s Chair Rentals, Glow Jewelry and Can Coolers at Batavia’s Summer Concert Series.
“Make-A-Wish Western New York does so much good in this community, we were pleased to continue our Chair Rental Program with them this past summer,” Wojtaszek said. “All of us here at Batavia Downs are proud that we could help ‘Make-A-Wish’ in their efforts to grant wishes for so many young Western New Yorkers.”
Throughout the 10 concerts of Batavia Downs’ Rockin’ The Downs Summer Concert Series, volunteers from Make-A-Wish worked a chair-rental booth. From there the volunteers collected money for chairs while also selling glow jewelry and branded can coolers. The chairs are adorned with the Make-A-Wish logo and the message: The person sitting in this chair is helping to transform lives.
“Make-A-Wish is incredibly appreciative of our partnership with Batavia Downs for the “Rockin’ the Downs” Summer Concert Series to raise both awareness and crucial funds to help support children and families fighting critical illnesses, not only in the Batavia community but throughout this 17-county region, said Ben Marchione, Regional Director, Make-A-Wish® Western New York. “Thank you to all the concert goers who supported this year’s efforts and to Batavia Downs for making it possible. It is only through vitally important partnerships such as this that we are able to continue to serve our essential mission and we are incredibly thankful for the opportunity.”
The 2023 Concert Series lineup is expected to announced in the coming weeks.
About Batavia Downs/WROTB
Western Region Off-Track Betting Corporation is a public benefit corporation with headquarters in Batavia, NY. WROTB owns and operates 10 branches, as well as Batavia Downs Gaming, a standard bred racetrack and gaming facility. Since its inception, Western Region OTB has generated over $232 million in operating and surcharge revenues to the taxpayers of participating municipalities.
About Make-A-Wish Western New York
Make-A-Wish grants the wishes of children with critical illnesses to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. Make-A-Wish® has to date fulfilled the wishes of more than 3,500 children in the Western New York area. Regional offices are located in Buffalo and Rochester serving 17 counties in New York State. Make-A-Wish is a proud participant of the Better Business Bureau Charity Seal Program, which indicates that the organization has met the 20 Standards for Charity Accountability, and Morning Consult recently named Male-A-Wish the #1 Most Trusted Nonprofit Operating Locally Across 50 States. For more information, visit wny.wish.org