Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Following the success of the "Give 716" initiative last year that saw $1.1 million raised in just 28 hours for Western New York charities, the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres are bringing back the initiative for a second go in 2022.
"Year 1, we launched and we were hoping to be able to help a lot of charities, and were a little unsure of where we would end up. In 28 hours, we raised $1.1 million, all thanks to our fan base and the Western New York community. It was natural to want to do it again," said Sabres Vice President of Community Relations, Rich Jureller on Thursday. "This year, we look like we're gonna have upwards of 500 charities participating, and I'm very confident we'll exceed what we raised last year and, again, just try and provide as much help we can to the organizations that really do a lot for our community."
The first annual "Give 716" initiative was born as a collaborative effort between the Buffalo Bills Foundation and Buffalo Sabres Foundation by using their collective resources for good to help provide groups and organizations in Western New York a boost during the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative was also aimed to bring awareness and develop deeper, more meaningful connections between non-profits providing the vital supporting services to the community.
"Last year, we didn't know what to expect and the community came out to bigger-and-better than we ever could have imagined," said Executive Director of the Buffalo Bills Foundation, Michelle Roberts on Thursday. "We're really excited to one, see the charities today and hear their excitement for this year's campaign and two, see what this community can do this year. We think it's going to be bigger-and-better than last year, now that everyone knows what it is."
The 2022 "Give 716" initiative will take place from Thursday, July 14 at 7:16 p.m. ET to Saturday, July 16 at 7:16 a.m. ET, coinciding once again with 716 Day in Western New York. This year's initiative has been extended to 36 hours for people to be able to make charitable donations for a number of different organizations in the community.
"We're really hoping to create a lot of exposure and awareness for a lot of these organizations. Many of them who are volunteer groups, small non-profit organizations that really have to work hard every day to get through the year," Jureller said. "If we can sort of introduce them to people in the community that may not be familiar with them, people outside of Buffalo who are fans of the teams that follow us and consume what we put out there, if they can learn more about these groups and want to help them and we can make their lives a little easier when it comes to raising money throughout the year and take some of the burden away, then that's all we're hoping to do."
Not much has changed from the 2021 initiative to this year's campaign, but one returning benefit for anyone who donates $71.60 or more to a cause will receive a "Give 716" shirt courtesy of the Bills and Sabres.
Brayton J. Wilson - WBEN
In addition, there will be some additional Sabres and Bills incentives that will be announced for donors some time in the near future.
"We just hope everybody between 7:16 p.m. on the 14th and 7:16 a.m. on the 16th will step up. We don't care how big the donation is. We just want people to give what they can, and help out our community," Jureller said.
