ORLANDO, FLA – The NBA lockout may be just about over but its affects are still being felt in cities like Orlando. With buildings like the Amway Center sitting silent, the people who depend on events for their income have felt the loss deeply, many coming within a week’s paycheck of financial ruin as Christmas approaches.
On Tuesday, November 29th, the Orlando Solar Bears – the Amway Center’s newest tenant – took their first steps in becoming a part of the Central Florida community when they announced a pledge of $20,000 to the Community Food and Outreach Center and its NBA Lockout Relief initiative. The gift, given by Solar Bears partner Joseph Haleski and his Haleski Foundation, is just the beginning of what he hopes will be years of involvement in Orlando.
“We said that we wanted to get involved in the Orlando area, in the community and it just happened to be the same day as our press conference that the Mayor (Buddy Dyer) announced this new initiative,” Haleski said via phone. “My wife and I took a look at it and we thought it was a worthwhile cause that we should donate to.”
Ever since the start of the basketball labor impasse, Mayor Dyer had been looking for a way to help those people who faithfully work the events at the Amway. Because of the needs of the NBA, many of the available dates had been protected for hoops, leaving the city to schedule around them. With less than ten dates booked, Amway employees were left wondering how to pay bills and feed their families.
The answer for Dyer was just a couple of miles away at the downtown campus of the Community Food and Outreach Center. Co-founded by Scott George and Austin Hunt, the nonprofit center helps families and children in need get food, crisis services and other assistance. In October, the Center launched its local effort to help the hundreds of arena workers and employees of local businesses.
“We saw and we are continuing to see lots of families who were one paycheck away from being in a bad financial situation. Because of the NBA Lockout, it put them into really hard times,” Center Executive Director Andrae Bailey said. “We’re here helping those families get food, get crisis care and keep their heads above water until the season begins.”
Bailey said that in the relatively short period of time that the lockout has been going on, the Center has seen upwards of one hundred families affected by the cancellation of games come through its doors inquiring about assistance. They represented arena workers, waiters and waitresses at restaurants across the street from the Amway and other businesses in the downtown area that depend on events that draw people into the city.
Bailey added that these families are in addition to the 300 families that the Center normally helps. He said that with resources being pushed to their limits, the donation by the Solar Bears was a very welcome sight.
“A hundred more families doesn’t sound like a lot but it is a lot when you think about the fact that a lot of these families have never needed help before. They’re not used to needing assistance so it’s a challenging situation for them and we want to do everything we can to help them,” Bailey said. “The gift by the Solar Bears will go a long way towards helping not only these NBA Lockout families but other families here in Central Florida that are in need right now in this tough economic time.”
With the help of Mayor Dyer’s office, the Center built a strong coalition of community businesses and non-profit agencies to combat the problems facing the affected families. It worked so well in Orlando that George and Bailey decided to take it nationally, believing that other NBA cities had the same problems. They set up a website, www.NBALockoutRelief.org , to illustrate how the program could work.
Haleski and the rest of the Solar Bears ownership recognized right away that the Community Food and Outreach Center’s mission was an important one and deserving of the new ECHL franchise’s generosity.
“Their job is to try to break the cycle of poverty with people in Central Florida. At this time with the way the economy has gone, I know there are a lot of people out of work and people and kids and families that are hungry,” Haleski said. “This organization provides the food and crisis centers that help people get back on their feet and I think that’s very important.”
Helping out worthy organizations is the purpose of the Haleski Foundation. Established by the Haleski family, the foundation is dedicated to philanthropic projects. The Haleskis also use it as a teaching tool for their children.
“My wife and I set it (foundation) up to basically give money to charity. We set it up as a way for our kids to be involved as well – to have ingrained in them the need to give back,” Haleski said. “We sit down as a family and we take a look at certain charities that we want to give money to or if somebody comes to us with an idea we’ll look at their financials. What we want to look at is expense and overhead charges – the overhead that each charity has. We want the money to go where it’s supposed to go, not to pay some executive. If it’s going to be a good thing for the community, then we make the donation.”
Completely satisfied with the Community Food and Outreach Center’s setup and mission, Haleski pledged the money. When reached for comment, Mayor Dyer expressed his gratitude for the donation, noting that the new Solar Bears were picking up where the original franchise had left off.
“The Orlando Solar Bears were once a strong part of our community and now that they are back they are showing that commitment once again,” Mayor Dyer said. “I am grateful for their support and generosity that will provide assistance to our local families who are struggling as a direct result of the NBA Lockout.”
For more information on the Community Food and Outreach Center, please go to their website at www.communityfoodoutreach.org . Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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