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20th
Annual Christian Family Day
with the
St. Louis
Cardinals May Not Happen in
2010
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The 19 year relationship
between the St. Louis
Cardinals and the St.
Louis-based Christian Family
Day Committee led by Judy
Boen appears to have
possibly come to an end.
The CFD committee was
informed by the Cardinals in
mid-December that the
Cardinals were going to take
over primary planning,
responsibility and control
of the annual event from the
CFD committee.
Here is a link to the St.
Louis Post Dispatch Story of
January 16, 2010
There has been some
ongoing contact and
conversations between CFD
and the Cardinals but so far
the Cardinals are sticking
by their decision. CFD
has respectfully requested
that the Cardinals not call
the day "Christian Family
Day" absent CFD's
involvement in the event.
As we have expressed to the
Cardinals all along the way,
we do greatly appreciate the
19 year partnership we have
enjoyed and deeply regret
that they have come to this
decision.
CFD will
now shift our focus to the
2nd Annual Christian Family
Day with the Rams in 2010.
If you have an interest in
this situation you may want
to write a letter. Here are
some principals:
William O. DeWitt, Jr., Chairman
Bill
DeWitt III, President
John Mozeliak, General
Manager
St. Louis
Cardinals
Busch Stadium
700 Clark St.
St. Louis
MO
63102
"The Day" - Way More
Than A Baseball Game
Each year, the CFD
committee spends more than 6
months planning, organizing
and preparing for this one
day event which has been
host to over 40,000 "at
risk" children over the last
19 years. Most of these
children would likely never
get to participate in such
an event.
"The Day"
as it has come to be known,
involves substantially more
than just the baseball game
itself. Starting early
in the morning on game day,
the committee sets up in
Kaufmann Park with various
kinds of fun games,
Christian Contemporary music
and tables where former
Cardinals and Rams players
sign player testimony cards
that CFD creates for each
player. Upwards of
3,200 "at risk" children
from various orphanages,
ministries and Christian
camps around the area
descend on the park about
3-4 hours prior to game
time. CFD provides all
of the children and their
adult leaders a lunch of a
Chick-Fil-A sandwich, chips,
a cookie and a drink.
During this time,
almost a hundred volunteers
from area churches spread
around Busch Stadium and
pass out over 100,000 player
testimony cards and more
than 40,000 flyers inviting
everyone entering the
stadium to stay for the
after-game CFD event.
These player testimony cards
look like traditional
baseball cards but rather
than player stats they
contain the player's
Christian testimony.
Over the years, these
testimony cards have been
spread around the world by
missionaries and the players
themselves.
Just
prior to the game, nine of
the children representing
the various groups touched
by CFD get to stand on the
field beside the Cardinal's
starting line-up and receive
a signed baseball as they
are introduced. The
Cardinals provide each of
the 3,000+ CFD-sponsored
kids a voucher good for a
hotdog and a drink during
the game.
At the end
of the game, the announcer
invites everyone in the
stadium to stay for the
"after-game" portion of CFD.
In recent years it has been
estimated that as many as
15,000 people have stayed to
hear players such as Albert
Pujols, Adam Wainwright,
Braden Looper, So
Taguchi and several others
share their Christian
testimonies, enjoy a
mini-concert by prominent
Christian music artists such
as Casting Crowns and Mercy
Me and hear evangelists such
as Tony Nolan encourage the
crowd in their Christian
walk. Over the last
two years alone, more than
2,400 people have come to
know Jesus Christ as their
Lord and Savior at Christian
Family Day with the
Cardinals. Several
additional children from the
various groups are given the
opportunity to go down on
the field and meet the
players during the
after-game event.
About CFD
Finances
Over 100 groups,
typically churches, from
Missouri, Illinois and 13
surrounding states purchase
tickets through Christian
Family Day and bring
anywhere from 10 to 250
people each to "The Day".
In recent years, CFD has
been responsible for selling
over 9,000 tickets each
year. This includes
the 3,000+ tickets that CFD
purchases for the children
we sponsor. The sale
of the other 6,000 tickets
to the various church groups
and the general public
provide the funds necessary
to pay for the 3,000+
children's tickets and some
of the other CFD activities.
CFD has numerous sponsors
and private donors that
provide additional funds
that help cover the expenses
of the before-game
activities at Kaufmann Park
and the after-game event at
Busch Stadium.
CFD
ticket sales have been a
sell-out most years but
primarily due to the
gasoline prices in 2008 and
the economy in general in
both 2008 and 2009, ticket
sales to the large church
groups declined
dramatically. In
2009, CFD was unable to
sell-out and had to return
approximately 4,500 unsold
tickets to the Cardinals in
the final weeks before the
game. As a result, we
had to reduce the number of
children we sponsored in
2009 from 3,200 down to
1,500.
As a
501(c)(3) Non-Profit
charitable organization, CFD
simply hopes to break-even
each year. The CFD
committee is all volunteer
and there are no salaries
paid to anyone. We did
have a paid, contracted
Development Director for a
period of about 8 months
from November 2008 to June
2009 to help us develop fund
raising and community
service opportunities beyond
just Christian Family Day
with the Cardinals.
However, due to the economy
and CFD's inability to
continue funding the
position, CFD terminated
this contract position in
June immediately after CFD
2009. Many of
our vendors are also CFD
sponsors and generally
provide their products and
services at cost or at a
greatly reduced price to CFD.
Our budget for the event and
our ability to sponsor a
certain number of children
is based on ticket sales,
sponsorships and donations
and reflects our goal of
breaking even each year.
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Get
Connected with CFD
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Keep
up to date on Christian
Family Day and the many
exciting changes to our
organization via our new
regular e-mail blasts. It's
easy and it keeps you in
the loop!
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1st Annual Christian
Family Day with the St.
Louis Rams!
CFD
expanded into
professional football
with our first annual Christian Family
Day with the St. Louis
Rams held on
November 22, 2009! |
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"One
Child at a Time" Donation Drive
Christian
Family Day announces their first ever
"One Child at A Time" Donation
Drive where churches join us in our
efforts to reach out to at-risk underprivileged
children and children with life threatening
illnesses.
MORE
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First
Annual McGraw Milhaven Charity Golf Classic
a Success for CFD
Chilly
day fails to diminish the warmth of good
feelings as the First Annual McGraw Milhaven
Charity Golf Classic proves to be a success
for Christian Family Day.
MORE
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Christian Family Day to Expand Charity
Christian
Family Day's expanded charitable program
will enable the organization to reach
out to children with life-threatening
illnesses, abused children and at-risk
underprivileged children.
MORE
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VIDEO:
"Refuge in Times of Trouble"
Perhaps the
most important facet of the CFD game day
activities is impact the experience has
on the lives of the many disadvantaged children
who participate each year. Watch the story
of one boy, for whom CFD '08 was an unforgettable
escape from difficult times. PLAY
VIDEO |
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The
Christian Family Day Experience
Whether or not
you've attended Christian Family Day at
Busch Stadium, join Tim Gregg of Turn-Key
VideoWorks as he follows the people, the
action, the music and the Glory given to
the Lord at the 2007 event. PLAY
VIDEO |
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Partnership
with the Cardinals
Christian Family
Day is the first of its kind. In fact when
Judy Boen, the founder and chairman of Christian
Family Day, approached the St. Louis Cardinals,
they turned her down. MORE |
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About
the Testimony Cards
One of the best
things to come out of Christian Family Day
is the testimony cards. The cards were developed
when a Cardinal player wanted to give more
than just his autograph to fans that wanted
a signature. An idea was hatched to make
a trading card that would share the player’s
testimony of how he became a Christian and
have the opportunity of sharing the gospel
with his fans. MORE |
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Have
You Discovered Christ?
Have you ever
wondered WHO Albert is honoring when he
raises his hand to the sky after he reaches
base, scores, or hits a home run? In 1998
Albert's most thrilling accomplishment came
when he accepted Christ as his personal
Lord and Savior. Albert says the most exciting
moment in his life is when he realized Christ
died on the cross for his sins. MORE |
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