SPOTLIGHT Sarah Eldridge, Pagnozzi Charities : Leveling fields, glove by glove
Posted on Sunday, May 11, 2008
FAYETTEVILLE — As a high school senior, Sarah Eldridge’s competitive fire burned hot enough to carry her petite frame to a runnerup finish at the state high school golf tournament.
Today, the 24-year-old has thrown that drive behind Pagnozzi Charities, a nonprofit 501 (c ) 3 that is without competitor or peer, and she’s thriving.
The charity was founded nearly 10 years ago by Tom Pagnozzi, a Razorback baseball standout who caught for the St. Louis Cardinals. The group aims to help underprivileged children meet the requirements of fees or equipment costs of playing organized sports.
“Just a few weeks ago, we had a mom come in... she needed some help getting her kids cleats and [baseball ] gloves. It’s Friday, 4: 30, but you could tell she just needed help. This was a Hurricane Rita family, I believe. We’ve had several [hurricane refugee families ] we’ve helped. I met them at the Sixth Street Wal-Mart.
“ Those [two ] little kids were so excited to have cleats, they wanted to wear them out of the store. They never had cleats, never put on a glove before.
“ Instances like that make me realize, ‘Sarah, this is why you put in long hours to meet with potential sponsors. This is what you’re doing, ’” she says.
And while she may not feel the same thrill of competition she found on the golf course, her sports background has helped her appreciate the importance of lessons learned on the field.
“Playing golf has made me into the person I am today — independent. Yes, I can work in a team, but I like to do my own work and seek successes all my own,” she says. “I know that by us giving all these kids the opportunity to play sports, they’re going to grow up to be a better person.” Eldridge fields calls from as far south as Little Rock for assistance. “There’s not another nonprofit in the state... that does what we do,” she says. But the charity focuses on the children living in its sponsors’ backyards, and all but one of its major donors are based in Washington and Benton counties.
On Saturday, Pagnozzi Charities will host its fourth annual Grand Slam Celebration, its first of two major fundraisers each year. Last year, the event raised more than $ 50, 000.
This year, Eldridge said, she’s planning the event for more than 300 people. Tickets are $ 100.
Again this year, the party will be held at the Pagnozzis’ home, a space with “a massive sports bar with sports memorabilia floor to ceiling,” she says.
Fayetteville blues band Oreo Blue will play, and the menu includes shrimp kebabs, carved prime rib, Cajun crab-stuffed mushrooms and chicken and beef quesadillas, plus drinks and desserts.
The organization’s other major fundraising event, the Tom Pagnozzi Charity Golf Tournament and Sports Memorabilia Auction, will be held Oct. 16-18. It brought in more than $ 160, 000 last year.
In all, the charity generated more than $ 300, 000 in 2007, Eldridge says. It awarded nearly 1, 600 scholarships worth about $ 85, 000, up from 400 scholarships totaling about $ 20, 000 just three years earlier.
Scholarship recipients participate in a range of sports, from youth baseball and softball to karate and Razorbacks summer sports camps. Money is used to buy equipment and help families meet registration and membership fees.
Eldridge became executive director in January 2007. The appointment was bittersweet — she succeeded Missy Shanklin, a mentor and the wife of her former boss.
Matt Shanklin, associate athletic director for marketing and licensing at the UA, brought Eldridge in as a marketing assistant when she arrived as a college freshman in 2002. As a senior, Eldridge began an internship at the charity under Shanklin’s wife, and Eldridge “absolutely fell in love with the cause.” When Missy Shanklin stepped down after more than five years as executive director, Eldridge was prepared to step in.
She turned down a golf scholarship and a free ride at another college to pursue sports marketing at the university, a professional dream she had nurtured since her childhood. But this detour with Pagnozzi Charities may be the end she never envisioned.
“Just being able to say to people, ‘I raise money so kids can play sports’... I know if I wasn’t doing this, there are so many kids that would go without the opportunity, [and ] I don’t want to give that up for a long time.” More information on Pagnozzi Charities or the group’s Grand Slam Celebration is available at (479 ) 443-2550.
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