Golisano Children’s Hospital at Upstate named beneficiary of Syracuse University Charity Sports Auction

Golisano Children’s Hospital at Upstate named beneficiary of Syracuse University Charity Sports AuctionMarch 20, 2009Michele Barrettmibarret@syr.edu

The Golisano Children’s Hospital at Upstate is the principal beneficiary of the upcoming Fourth Annual Charity Sports Auction at Syracuse University. Proceeds will benefit both the hospital and the SU Sport Management Club, which is presenting the event Thursday, April 2, in the Carrier Dome. Almost 400 items will be available. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Olympic gold medalist and former major league pitcher Jim Abbott is set to speak at 6:30 p.m., and the actual bidding begins at 7:30 p.m.

Born without a right hand, Abbott made his major league debut in 1989 with the California Angels and spent 10 seasons pitching in the major leagues. A majority of his career was spent with the Angels; he also played for the New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers. He retired in 1999 with Milwaukee. The highlight of the Michigan native’s amateur career was his participation on the 1988 U.S. Olympic team, which won the United States’ first-ever gold medal for baseball. As a pro, he pitched a no-hitter for the Yankees against the Cleveland Indians in 1993.

The Golisano Children’s Hospital at Upstate, projected to open in fall 2009, is affiliated with University Hospital of SUNY Upstate Medical University. The hospital provides a wide range of services for children from birth until the age of 18. It is the primary pediatric facility for Syracuse and Onondaga County, as well as the referral center for a 17-county region of Central New York, meeting the needs of more than 500,000 area children.

University Hospital, with its upcoming Golisano Children’s Hospital at Upstate, offers 50 different pediatric services that range from cancer and blood disorders to cardiac surgery to child development. In addition to services performed within the walls of the hospital, the hospital also works extensively with 17 outreach programs, including the American Cancer Society, the Leukemia Society of America and the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

The Golisano Children’s Hospital at Upstate will include such amenities as a family resource room, specialty services work space, play rooms and a cafe. For more information, visit http://www.upstate.edu/gch/.

To find out more about the SU Sport Management Club’s Fourth Annual Charity Sports Auction, visit http://sucharitysportsauction.com. Tickets-$10 for adults and $5 for all students and children 18 years of age and younger-are available now through the website or the Carrier Dome Box Office at 1-800-DOMETIX. Free parking will be available in the lots west of the Carrier Dome. Gates A, B, C and E will open at 5:30 p.m.

The SU Sport Management Club is a student-run organization of the Department of Sport Management in the College of Human Ecology. Since its founding in 2005, the club has grown to nearly 100 members and has raised more than $50,000 for local charities such as the Syracuse Boys and Girls Club and the American Diabetes Association of Central New York.