The Charlotte Sports Foundation and the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance are asking local companies to donate money so that students can attend the Duke’s Mayo Classic.
Tickets would be given to students enrolled in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, N.C. A&T State University and N.C. Central University.
A share of the money also would go to the schools, as well as to the group 100 Black Men of Charlotte.
“We want as many people as possible to know about this game,” Miller Yoho, director of communications and marketing for the sports foundation, told QCity Metro.
Scheduled for Sept. 3 at Bank of America Stadium, the game will celebrate the 100th meeting between N.C. A&T and N.C. Central.
Yoho said the fundraising initiative will accept donations equivalent to 10 or more tickets. Donors may designate which school(s) they wish to support, he said. Once a donation is made, the schools will take care of distributing the tickets to students.
Donors giving amounts equivalent to 3,000 tickets for CMS students or 2,000 tickets for the HBCUs will receive stadium recognition. Donors exceeding those thresholds will have their names announced during the game and will get a pennant displaying their company logo.
Yoho said organizers have not set a specific goal for ticket giveaways, adding that more than 1000 tickets had been donated for CMS students.
Two early donors, he said, are Ally Bank and Equitable.
In addition to the football game, students will be invited to attend a college and career fair sponsored by Equitable.
Jarian Kerekes, head of social impact and community engagement for Equitable, said the fair is an opportunity to continue its work connecting local students with college and career opportunities.
“The game is just icing on the cake for us,” he said.
Interested donors should contact Will Lawson of the Charlotte Sports Foundation at wlawson@charlottesports.org. Yoho said donations can be made up until the day of the game.
A previous version of this article misstated Equitable as the “Equitable insurance company,” and stated that Jarian Kerekes works at the “Equitable Foundation.” The previous article also left out that the college and career fair is sponsored by Equitable. It has since been updated: August 24th, 2022.
