| WASHINGTON, March 31, 2009 – Ringling
Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus recently presented a
$12,636 check to American Recreational Military Services to
help the troop-support group ship care packages overseas to
deployed servicemembers. The
check included a $10,000 donation and a portion of the
circus's four opening-night proceeds from performances in
New Jersey and New York earlier this month.
“We had been scrambling for months to cover costs as donor
fatigue and the economic decline had cut into our
donations,” Ronnie Micciulla, executive director at American
Recreational Military Services, said. “The average cost for
shipping an individual box overseas is $10. We are very
thankful for this support.”
The
American Recreational Military Services goal this year
is to provide a care package for every tri-state area
servicemember, Micciulla added.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus learned about the
New York group's woes from an employee while riding in a New
York cab. After hearing about the group's struggles from a
media news story, the employee started thinking of ways she
could possibly help.
“I have a brother who fought in Iraqi Freedom, so I know
first-hand how important it is for the troops to receive
these packages,” Amy Alter, director of marketing for
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, said. “When I
heard about this group having all these packages stored in a
warehouse, but no funds to ship them, I knew we had to do
something. It just seemed like the right thing to do.”
Throughout the four circus performances, American
Recreational Military Services had 90-second spots at each
show to say something about the group and serve as the guest
ringmaster. The group also was allowed to set up a table at
each event to hand out pamphlets about the group and talk
about how Americans can support the nation's troops.
“All the money raised will be going to either shipping
packages to our troops or buying supplies that our troops
need and can't get,” Micciulla said. “We also will use the
money to take care of the families back home, ... helping to
pay bills they can't pay, helping when a disaster hits a
family and running a food pantry so our families don't have
to go without.” |
