Tickets-for-Children Charity Branches Out

Now that opening day is here, Geelan expects donations to pick up in New York and the new cities.
“Thanks so much for the Mets tickets,” read one typical letter Geelan received. “C. had such a great time, the weather was beautiful – what a great day! You can’t imagine how much it meant to us, and how therapeutic it was for her.”
In April,2011 New Arrival Sale, The Times wrote about the charity’s plight , and tickets came flooding in. By the All-Star break last summer, the charity had received 423 tickets, about triple its annual total.
Geelan, a retired salesman and cancer survivor, hasn’t stopped. Donate A has received more than 1,000 tickets as well as inquiries from people wanting to start similar programs in their cities. Donate A is now working with hospitals and donors in Atlanta and Chicago, and has received tickets to Atlanta Braves games.
At this time last year, the tiny charity Donate A, was in a bind. The group collects tickets to sporting events from companies and season-ticket holders and donates them to children in Hackensack University Medical Center Hospital, Memorial Sloan Kettering and other hospitals.
The tickets had an average face value of nearly $200, so the children and their families had great seats. Football, basketball and hockey tickets also arrived. So did dozens of letters from grateful parents.
“It is paying huge dividends already,” Geelan said.
As it turned out, about 20 percent of Donate A’s tickets came from Bernie Madoff, who had Mets tickets and was behind bars. The chance to get out of the hospital and visit a ballpark meant a lot to the children. Dan Geelan,Deluxe – Fall Winter 2011 – “Birth of the Cool,Cheap LV Sunglasses, who started the group, was at wit’s end.
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