July 7 - The magazine this week is launching a line of patriotic-themed T-shirts that will benefit a local initiative launched earlier this month by Operation Hawkeye.
McLean resident Will Thomas, a rising senior pitcher at Washington, D.C.’s Gonzaga College High School, founded Operation Hawkeye four years ago with an eye on raising funds to benefit the children of military special operations personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty.
Earlier this month, Thomas and five other local pitchers launched the StrikeForce initiative, which will raise funds to benefit Gold Star Teen Adventures (GSTA) via each strikeout they throw with their Stars Showcase Baseball 17U Red team through October. Joining Thomas in the StrikeForce campaign are Oakton’s Toma Shigaki-Than and Owen Lamon, Rock Ridge’s Nick Stewart, Good Counsel’s Ronnie Orie, and Millbrook’s Anthony Simonelli.
GSTA provides summer adventure opportunities for children of fallen United States military special operations service members, consisting of Army Special Forces (Green Berets), Army Rangers (75th Ranger Regiment), the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, 95th Civil Affairs Brigade, 4th MISOC, Navy Small Boat Teams, Navy SEALs, Air Force Combat Controllers, Air Force rotary and fixed wing squadrons, and Marine Corps special operations personnel.
“We hope to throw at least 130 strikeouts during the campaign - one for each of the 130 Gold Star teens seeking to participate in a GSTA program in 2016,” Thomas said in a release by Operation Hawkeye earlier this week. “We don’t need much motivation on the mound, but “knowing our Ks help the Gold Star teens gives every pitch special meaning.”
The Magellan Cares Foundation in addition to national businesses such as Marucci Sports, SmartKage and Jugs Sports and local businesses such as R&D Baseball and The Complete Game Sports & Fitness have made initial contributions to the cause. Individuals are able to contribute to a tally nearing $60 per strikeout by visiting StrikeForce’s fundraising page. The players began their campaign while playing in the Perfect Game WWBA 17U National Championships in Georgia this week.
The magazine’s T-shirt will serve as a complimentary fundraiser for the cause, with all proceeds - roughly $10 per shirt - being donated to StrikeForce. The shirts, which will feature the magazine’s logo in red, white and blue across the chest, with the StrikeForce logo on the back, will go on sale through an online cart this week, with the cart remaining open through the end of the month. Shirts will then be shipped from our printing partner, StudioOne Printing in Sterling, the first week in August.
An initial sales goal of 100 shirts and fundraising goal of $1,000 has been set.
