Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation

The Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation is busy planning their two biggest fundraisers. Co-directors Mark and Laurie Napoleone created the foundation in memory of their son, Michael, who passed away from Burkitt’s Lymphoma in 2006.

The Foundation was started in 2007, and its mission is to Lend a Hand for Hope to assist families with the challenges of a pediatric cancer diagnosis throughout the Western New York area, support research efforts in the area of childhood cancers, and provide assistance to youth activities and programs.

To date the Foundation has: Assisted 290 families and given over $220,000 in support, contributed $56,000 to Pediatric Cancer Research, donated $38,000 to youth sports/organizations, and  pledged $50,000 to the new Golisano Children’s Hospital in Rochester.

First -- it’s "Off to the Races" as the foundation prepares for its Derby Day Gala 2016, a fundraising event held in conjunction with the running of the 142^nd Kentucky Derby. It is held from 3 to 9 p.m. on May 7 at Terry Hills Golf Course and Banquet Facility in Batavia. Admission is $75 per person and there are  $1500, $2500, or $5,000 Sponsorships available.

Ticket includes hors d’oeuvres, grazing stations, an amazing dessert table, beer, wine and soda, a professional photo, live music by Dave Stoll, and a randomly selected gaming ticket for the Kentucky Derby. Live and silent auctions will be held and awards given for best Derby Hat and Best Derby Attire. For more information, go to www.michaelshope.org or call 585-861-0550. 

Next -- we are moving to the baseball diamond as the Foundation hosts an annual Memorial Day Baseball Tournament, May 27, 28 and 29^th. The tournament hosts teams from the Western New York region with the following age brackets: 8 & under ( $100 fee), 10 & under ($350 fee), and 12 & under ($350 fee). For more information, contact lhale04@hotmail.com or call 585-861-0550.

If interested in learning more about the Foundation’s events or if you would like to Lend a Hand for Hope, please go to our Web site www.michaelshope.org, or call 585-861-0551.

From Laurie Napoleone:

On Saturday, Sept. 19^th, the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation is hosting “Run for the Gold” to raise awareness and funds for pediatric cancer.

The 5K Run/Walk will be held in Le Roy starting at the Summit Street Tennis Courts beginning at 9 a.m. Registration begins at 8 a.m. The cost is $25 pre-race and $35 on the day of the race. T-shirts will be given to the first 100 runners.

New this year – a balloon launch. Buy a balloon in memory and honor of a loved one or just send a special note on one.

Gather friends and family and take a walk on a beautiful fall morning while making a difference in the lives of those affected by a pediatric cancer diagnosis. If you can’t walk, just join the foundation for a fun day in the lovely Village of Le Roy.

Register today at http://www.active.com/leroy-ny/running/distance-running-races/run-for-the-gold-2015?int or for more information go to michaelshope.org.

Hope to see you there!

Press release:

The City of Batavia Summer Recreation Program is well under way and is entering the third week of the six-week program. Each year the program sponsors a Community Service Day for all of the children to volunteer and give something back to their community.

This year’s Community Service Day project is scheduled for Tuesday, July 21, with all of the parks participating. There will be a community-wide can/bottle drive to raise money for the Michael Napoleone Foundation.

If anyone would like to contribute to this worthy cause, please feel free to deliver your cans or bottles to any of the parks (Farrall, John Kennedy, Lambert, Williams, Lions) on or before July 21 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, or at the Batavia Youth Bureau located at 12 MacArthur Drive. Program sponsors will make sure the donations are delivered to the parks.

The kids and the Rec Leaders from each park will also visit homes in their park’s neighborhoods on July 21 to solicit donations of cans and bottles.

If you have any questions or would like to help in any way, please call the Youth Bureau at 345-6420. Thank you for your anticipated assistance and support!

Laurie Napoleone speaks during the Awareness Ceremony on the second day of the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation Baseball Tournment.  The tournament has grown to a three-day event spread out over every available baseball field in Batavia.

The foundation has provided more than $170,000 in assistance to families with children dealing with medical issues. The foundation has also purchased a new scoreboard for the ball field at Williams Park, has donated more than $48,000 to pediatric cancer research and has pledged $50,000 to the Golisano Children's Hospital.

Michael Napoleone succumbed to Burkitts Lymphoma/Leukemia, an aggressive form of blood cancer, in 2006. Mark and Laurie Napoleone formed the foundation in response to the outpouring of support their family received from the community after Michael was diagnosed.

Genesee Pride AAU boys and girls basketball donated $350 players raised for the foundation.

The family of Kenny Hazlett. Hazlett was a longtime umpire and dedicated volunteer for the tournment who passed away. A sign on the backstop of the Little League field honoring his memory was unveiled during the ceremony.

David Pero speaking about Hazlett.

Unveiling the sign.

Chase Bordonaro received a Spirit of Michael Napoleone Award, along with Tony Piazza and Griffin Dellapenna (pictured below).

Veterans in attendance were invited to stand along the first base line during the playing of the National Anthem

At 2:30 this afternoon the three-day Michael Napoleone Memorial Baseball Tournament begins at the ball park on State Street in Batavia. It promises to be a fine time for families to enjoy the Great American Pastime and help a worthy cause. There will be lots of baseball games, food, kids' activities and on Saturday, the Lions Club will offer free cancer eye screenings at the Main Tent on State Street.

Also, don't miss The Awareness Ceremony which will be at 1 o'clock at the Little League Field on Saturday.

Game starts today are at 2:30, 4:30 and 6:30 for Little League and Minor League.

On Saturday, games are at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 2:30 p.m., and 4:30 p.m. for Minor League and Little League.

Sunday Little League and Minor League:

10:15 a.m. -- Playoff
12:15 p.m. -- Playoff
3:15 p.m. -- Championship

Williams Park
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Friday -- 5 p.m., 7:30 p.m. (under lights)

Saturday -- 10, 2:30

Sunday -- 10, 12:30, 3:30 playoffs and Championship

 

The Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation, Inc., was founded in 2007 in memory of Michael C. Napoleone, the eight year old son of Mark and Laurie Napoleone from Batavia, who passed away from Burkitts Lymphoma/Leukemia, an aggressive form of blood cancer. During Michael's illness, the community rallied around the family to assist with food, gas, medical bills, and other necessities. The not-for-profit Foundation, a 501(c)3, organization, was created to give back to those who cared, to give forward to those in need, and to support research efforts to find a cure for childhood cancer.

Press release: 

September is Pediatric cancer Awareness Month and the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation is hosting  2 events to raise funds and awareness for this devastating disease. Pediatric Cancer is the number one cause of  disease-related death in children.  Forty-six children a day are diagnosed with cancer and 40,000 children undergo cancer treatment each year. There is so much to be done and so many families in need of assistance.

The Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation is hosting a 5k Run /Walk for the Gold on September 27th @ 9am in Leroy, NY , registration begins at 8am.  The race begins at the Tennis Courts on Wolcott St.  $25/per participant. Go to active.com to register or to www.michaelshope.org for  mail-in registration. First 100 runners get a free T-shirt.

The Foundation is also raffling a  “DINNER FOR TEN”, which is a 5 course gourmet dinner for 10 people served in a private setting with limo service (50 mile travel radius). This is a one-of-a-kind raffle  and  is an amazing prize to win!! Winner can select a mutually agreed upon date for the dinner.  Tickets are $20/each or 3/$50. Call 585-409-3276 or 585-409-3275 for more information or if you need tickets dropped off. Go to www.michaelshope.org to see previous   winners.

Support Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month by supporting the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation.  Your assistance helps us “Lend a Hand of Hope” to families, to research efforts, and to youth in our community.

Michael Napoleone Memorial Baseball Tournament has returned to Batavia this weekend. The annual event started Friday and runs through the day. Most of the games are being played on the three fields at MacArthur Park, but there were games today at Dwyer Stadium (including a night game) and one this morning at Williams Park. Teams from throughout the region participate in the tournament.

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Today at Terry Hills the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation hosted its annual Derby Day Gala fundraiser.

As expected, there were lots of fancy hats.

Above, Dave Pero.

Emily Branche.

Barb Pierce.

Kevin Carlson created formal portraits of guests.

Anthony Nemi.

Donna Kabel.

The hat of Linda Klips.

Ann Marie Suttell and Nancy Chapman.

Press release:

The Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation donated its first installment of $10,000 to the new Golisano Children's Hospital which is currently under construction in Rochester, NY, with opening date slotted for 2015.

This is the first installment as the foundation has pledged a total of $50,000 to the project. The monies will be earmarked for the Child Life Office in the new facility. Child Life provides the hospitalized children with therapeutic programs, play and other activities to help children and families cope with the challenges of illness or hospitalization.

This is another way the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation continues to fulfill its mission and Lend a Hand for Hope. For more information on fundraising events, or to see how you can help, go to www.michaelshope.org.

Enter to win the grand prize of a five course gourmet dinner for 10 people with wine pairings. DESIGN YOUR OWN DINNER PARTY -- hosted by: Michael Napoleone Foundation Board of Directors. Prepared by “Chef” Mark Napoleone and Sous Chefs. Limo Service Provided (some distance restrictions).

• WHO:  You and Nine of Your Friends!
• WHEN:  September 21, 2013, beginning at 5:00 p.m.
• WHERE:  An Intimate Home Setting in Batavia.
• TICKET COST:  One Chance for $30 or three for $50.

Drawing will be held at T.F. Brown’s on August 30, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. Winners need not be present at time of drawing. All proceeds support the mission of The Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation, to assist families facing the challenges of a pediatric cancer diagnosis, support research efforts, and assist youth activities in our community. All contributions are tax deductible.

For ticket information, call 585-861-0550 or 585-409-3276. Credit card or Paypal orders accepted on the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation. Visit us online at: www.michaelshope.org

This weekend, once again, baseball teams from throughout the region are in Batavia for the 2013 Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation Tournament.

To purchase prints of photos, click here.

Once again, hundreds of Genesee County residents came out to Terry Hills today for Derby Day, one of the annual major fundraisers for the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation.

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This weekend, young ball players from throughout the region are in Batavia for the annual Michael Napoleone baseball tournament.

The tournament acts as a fundraiser for the Michael Napoleone Foundation, which provides donations to cancer research, and as a memorial to Michael, who loved baseball.

Michael died in 2006 from Burkitt's lymphoma/leukemia, an aggressive form of blood cancer.

These pictures are from Saturday. The tournament runs through tomorrow.

If you're unable to view the slide show below, click here.

To purchase prints of these photos, click here.

The Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation held its annual Kentucky Derby Party at Terry Hills on Saturday afternoon.

The party is a major fundraiser and supports research for curing childhood cancer and provides assistance to victms' families.

A big tradition with the Kentucky Derby is women wearing fancy hats, and that's also part of the tradition of the foundation's party.

Above, Christen Napoleone, Andrea Suttell and Ashley Napoleone.

Jennifer Houseknecht and Lori Reinhardt

Jody McCulley

Peggy Sacheli

Trish Pero and Peg Pietzykowski-Gorecki (Peg created both hats)

What the Dickens are the Batavia Players up to now?

According to Patrick Burk, the popular local theater group's president, they "wanted to do a wonderful Christmas gift to the community for the support of our new Harvester 56 Theater" this holiday season.

So they're putting on their own rendition of Charles Dickens' classic, "A Christmas Carol," the story of Ebenezer Scrooge -- a greedy, bitter, lonely old miser whose whole way of looking at the world gets turned upside down by a series of ghostly visitations on Christmas Eve.

Burk described the show as "bright and colorful as well as technically magical."

"It has a classic storyline and has always been one of my favorites," he said. "I could never find where an original version had been done (in Batavia, at least). A couple of contemporary versions with modern day spins were done in the '70s and early '80s."

The Players, on the other hand, will be giving folks pure Dickens, without any modern spin. All costumes and sets are going to be traditional. The music will be "contemporary for the time (the early 1840s, to be precise)," but with a few newer carols, according to Burk.

Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, in addition to a matinée performance at 2 o'clock on Sunday. All performances will be at the Harvester 56 Theatre, at 56 Harvester Ave. in Batavia.

Sunday's performance will be held for the benefit of the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation.

"Many of (the foundation's) members have been very supportive of us," Burk said, "I am so happy to be able to do this for them."

For those who are not familiar with Dickens' story, one of its most well-known and endearing characters is a sick child named Tiny Tim. Burk felt the Napoleone Foundation would be a "good fit" for this story.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for children and seniors. They can be purchased through www.showtix4u.com.