FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 12, 2013
Pittsburgh Steelers’ Super Bowl Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger Announces Cincinnati Area K-9 Grant
Pittsburgh, PA – Today, Pittsburgh Steelers’ Super Bowl Quarterback and Findlay, OH native, Ben Roethlisberger, announced the first grant of the 2013-14 season from the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation at The Giving Back Fund. The Foundation will be distributing a grant to the Bellbrook Fire Department northeast ofCincinnati, OH where the Steelers will play the Bengals on Monday, September 16.
The grant funds will benefit not only the Bellbrook Fire Department’s four K-9 teams, but will also assist with updating the aging Vectren Bellbrook Fire Department Search and Rescue Canine Agility Site, managed by the organization, Ohio Disaster Search Dogs. In the past 10 years, the site has hosted K-9 teams from across the nation to provide integral training and practice.
During the 2013-14 NFL season, The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation will be distributing grants to K-9 units of police and fire departments in the cities and surrounding communities of each regular season away game for the Steelers. The Foundation will also distribute several grants to the Pittsburgh area and will consider a grant to a non-NFL market city in the United States for each playoff game in which the Steelers compete. The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation invited police and fire departments across the country to submit proposals detailing their needs.
This marks the seventh season that the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation has distributed grants to K-9 units. The mission of the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation is to support K-9 units of police and fire departments throughout the United States with a particular emphasis on support for service dogs in Pittsburgh, PA. Roethlisberger and the Foundation also strive to support Make-A-Wish.
The Foundation distributed more than $135,000 in grants to K-9 units around the country during the 2012 NFL season and has distributed in excess of $950,000 since 2007.
Bellbrook Fire Captain Athena Haus said, “Many canine handlers must pay out of pocket to train and maintain these amazing creatures with little or no monetary support. Ohio Disaster Search Dogs was created to assist in outreach and education for member canine teams as well as those who serve across the United States. The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation grant funding will ensure our agility training site continues to be available to enhance the training programs of these important local and national assets.”
In commenting on why the mission of the foundation is so important to him, Roethlisberger said, “We’re very fortunate to be in the position that we are able to help these K-9 units. The work that is performed by the dogs and their handlers as well as the bond that is formed is incredible. We’re just thrilled to do our small part.”
For more information about the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation or The Giving Back Fund, please contact Stephanie Sandler or visit www.bigben7.com or www.givingback.org.
About Ben Roethlisberger
Ben Roethlisberger is in his ninth season as quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and already has secured his place in the record books. At 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds, he is aptly referred to as Big Ben, and has become known for big performances and a humble approach. Roethlisberger is one of only 10 starting quarterbacks to win two or more Super Bowls. In 2009, he led the Steelers to a 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Tampa with a thrilling touchdown pass in the final seconds. In 2006, Roethlisberger became the youngest starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl, defeating the Seattle Seahawks 21-10 in Detroit. Roethlisberger was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2007 and 2012, and already holds most of the passing records for the Steelers. He is the only quarterback to lead his team to the conference championship game in each of his first two seasons. He was the unanimous Rookie of the Year in 2004, breaking Dan Marino’s rookie records for completion percentage and passer rating, and was the first quarterback in NFL history to compile a 13-0 regular season record as a rookie.
Roethlisberger was raised in Findlay, OH and was a three-sport star at Findlay High School. He went on to set nearly every quarterback record at Miami University (Ohio) prior to foregoing his senior season and becoming the 11th overall pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2004 NFL Draft. Roethlisberger resides near Pittsburgh with his wife Ashley, son Benjamin and his two dogs, Zeus and Hercules.
About The Giving Back Fund
The Giving Back Fund (GBF) is a national public charity that creates and professionally manages charitable foundations and other philanthropic programs for athletes, entertainers, business entrepreneurs, and corporations. Since our founding in 1997, GBF has created an important niche in expanding and diversifying philanthropy, particularly among young people, women and people of color. Our unique structure allows donors to direct more of their charitable dollars to causes they care about and less to administrative overhead. To date, The Giving Back Fund has provided philanthropic consulting, management and programming to more than 200 athletes, entertainers, entrepreneurs, and other high net worth individuals. GBF has overseen the distribution of more than $30,000,000 in charitable grants within the United States and other countries, and has developed dozens of unique scholarship, mentoring, medical, arts, and other philanthropic programs. For additional information, please visit www.givingback.org
Contacts:
Jessica Duffaut Ryan Tollner
The Giving Back Fund REP 1 Sports Group
310.649.5222 949.748.6000
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www.givingback.org www.rep1sports.com
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