Thanks to the efforts of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa's PINKTOBER® fundraising campaign, more Tampa Bay area families will be "making strides" in the fight against breast cancer. Every October, the casino hosts a series of events to raise money for breast cancer awareness and research. The month-long fundraising efforts were celebrated Thursday, October 29th when the casino hosted a Play For A Cause Fundraising Event at the Hard Rock Cafe Tampa.
The evening featured a Pink Carpet Ceremony, Charity Slot Tournament, a Benefit Concert featuring Tampa Bay Acoustic Music Festival Headliner and Hard Rock Energy Brand Ambassador Natalie Claro and a check presentation to the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Foundation for a staggering $47,243!!
The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Foundation, an arm of the American Cancer Society, is determined to make a real difference in the battle to end breast cancer. According to the website, Making Strides hosts walks in nearly 300 communities which allow participants to "raise critical funds that enable the American Cancer Society to fund groundbreaking breast cancer research; provide free, comprehensive information and support to those touched by breast cancer; and help people take steps to reduce their breast cancer risk or find it early when it is most treatable",
Although the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa raises money on a monthly basis to help non-profits in the Tampa Bay area, the casino is able to raise additional money in October through their participation in Hard Rock International's yearly PINKTOBER® fundraising campaign. During PINKTOBER®, the casino "makes strides" by donating 100 percent of the proceeds from sales of the limited edition PINK Making Strides sunglasses as well as proceeds from sales of the 2015 Seminole Hard Rock Girls Calendar. Additional PINKTOBER® fundraising activities include the "Get into Bed for the Cause" program and the opportunity for casino team members to donate one percent of their weekly paycheck to the PINKTOBER® campaign.
To further support PINKTOBER®, the casino hosted a Play For A Cause Fundraising event. The evening kicked off with a Charity Slot Tournament where the casino raised additional money for Making Strides by donating fifty percenty of the $10 tournament entry fee to the Foundation and 50 percent to the prize pool. Open to the public, everyone had fun playing the slots for the chance to "win big" while also making strides against breast cancer.
Hard Rock Calendar Girl Miss October greeted players and guests on the Pink Carpet:
Natalie Claro, a regular performer at the Hard Rock Cafe Tampa since her debut at the Tampa Bay Acoustic Music Festival (TBAMF) in June,
kept the crowd rocking with a PINKTOBER® inspired set of original and cover songs. She opened the show with an especially passionate version of "Carry On My Wayward Son" by Kansas and also performed "No Diggity" by Blackstreet as well as original songs including "Worth It' and "Here I Stand". She closed the show with "I Will Survive", a song she also performed for nearly 20,000 walkers at the Making Strides Tampa Walk at Amalie Arena.
The culmination of PINKTOBER® came when the casino presented a check to the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Foundation for $47,000! The Foundation also received a PINK Dean Guitar signed by the 970 team members who donated one percent of their weekly paychecks for the month of October. Jenna Digiannantonio, Community Manager for the Foundation "thought it was going to be a pretty large amount but I didn't expect it to be this much" She is forever grateful to have such an amazing partner in the fight against breast cancer.
A huge Pink-tastic thank you to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa for their support of the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Foundation and thanks for a wonderful Play For A Cause evening!
The giving continues this November as the casino supports Metropolitan Ministries! Metropolitan Ministries provides comprehensive care for the homeless and those at risk of being homeless.
Show your support by rocking the limited edition Metropolitan Ministries blue shades and attending the Charity Slot Tournament on Friday, November 20th! For more information, click here.
