Mayor Allen Joines & City Council Members raise awareness of homelessness & hunger at BB&T Ballpark

Oct. 19, 2011 - PRLog -- WINSTON-SALEM, NC, October 19, 2011 – On Saturday, October 15th, Nature’s Select Premium Turf Services, Inc, hosted a free family movie night at the BB&T Ballpark with The Wharton Gladden Foundation to benefit the Bethesda Center for the Homeless, Family Services, Winston-Salem Rescue Mission, and Second Harvest Food Bank.  The goal of the night was to bring families together while raising awareness of homelessness and hunger within our community.  Under the crisp fall air and the lights of downtown Winston Salem alit as backdrop, Mayor Allen Joines, and City Council members James Taylor and Derwin Montgomery addressed the 1,700 people laying out on the field on their blankets at the Ballpark that night, urging them to be generous to the charities of the night.

Ballpark gates had to be opened early to accommodate the growing crowd waiting to enter the stadium that Saturday evening.  Families and church groups alike entered in masses with children’s faces beaming with excitement; blankets, Pillow Pets, and sleeping bags in tow.   Nature’s Select handed out glow in the dark bracelets to the kids, the Wharton Gladden Foundation provided face painting, while Bolt, the Winston Salem Dash mascot, masqueraded through the ballpark in his jolly demeanor high-fiving fans.  

This private screening of RIO, part of the ongoing community outreach initiative of Nature’s Select made possible though Nature’s Select’s sponsorship with the WS Dash, was open to all, but one non-perishable food item was requested as donation to the Second Harvest Food Bank as entry to the Ballpark.  A total of thirteen and a half boxes were gathered that night for the Second Harvest Food Bank totaling 1,700 pounds!  “Every night in Winston Salem, there are about 500 individuals who are homeless, 200 of them are chronically homeless which means they’ve been homeless for a year or more…your being here tonight will help move that ball forward as we work to reach that goal. (referring to the city’s Homeless Initiative),” said Mayor Allen Joines in his opening ceremony speech. Monetary donations collected were distributed to the Bethesda Center for the Homeless, Family Services, and Winston Salem Rescue Mission.  Many attendees wrapped themselves from the crisp air in Nature’s Select specialty one-of-a-kind blankets, designed in collaboration with the Winston-Salem Dash, that were sold.  Just fewer than five hundred dollars were collected from blanket sales alone, of which all proceeds were given to the charities on behalf of Nature’s Select and the Wharton Gladden Foundation.  

For more information, contact Katrina Capistrano: email kcapistrano@NaturesSelect.com or (336) 768-7999.

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Nature’s Select Premium Turf Services
The official lawn and landscape caretaker of the BB&T Ballpark. As the premiere lawn care company in the area, Nature’s Select Premium Turf Services has been servicing Piedmont Triad lawns from homes to corporate landscapes, athletic fields to arboretums since 1994. Nature’s Select has been setting the industry standards in sustainable lawn care since its inception…paving the way with the use of our biologically enhanced materials and Renewable lawn care™ practices. Our team of dedicated lawn care professionals use custom blended organics and humate materials to naturally enhance the quality of your lawns, gardens, trees and shrubs. Nature’s Select – the only choice for GREEN landscapes.