Site5 and FanSided Holiday Season Charity Drive

Even though I live only in this little section of the Internet called Dumars, I know there is a great, big world out there both on and offline. And while Pistons fans might feel like they have little to celebrate as their team stumbles through another year, realize this: We are afforded the kind of life where one of our pastimes is to care WAY TOO MUCH about a professional sports franchise. If that’s not some kind of charmed life then I don’t know what is.

I am proud to announce that FanSided and Site5 have teamed up for a holiday season charity drive to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of America. I know times are tough right now for many people. I’ve struggled and hustled and skrimped and saved myself, but the fact is, I will be buying presents for everyone in my family this year. And I’m sure most of you are, too. But not everyone is that lucky. Many families, just as hardworking and loving as anyone else’s, simply don’t have enough and must rely on charities and nonprofits so they can provide a better life for their children. And as state resources face the sharp axe of budget cuts in Michigan and elsewhere, nonprofit organizations are more and more important to providing communities all over the United States with both the big and little things in life.

And the Boys and Girls Clubs of America is a big part of that. Our goal is to raise $5,000 dollars in this inaugural charity effort between FanSided and Site5. Visit and the donation page and give whatever you can this holiday season. You don’t have to be making $3 million like Chris Wilcox or in the first year of an insane mega-contract like former Pistons Darko Milicic and Amir Johnson. I just hope you give what you can because every little bit helps and many of us are blessed far more than we realize.

I fondly remember growing up with not much money in Toledo, Ohio and being anxious to go to the Club after school every day. Both my parents worked and couldn’t afford to send me to daycare. But they knew if I spent a few hours at the Boys and Girls Club, I would be in a safe environment, meet new people and have a chance to play all kinds of sports.

I don’t mean to brag, but I was a key member of the championship soccer team as a precocious 7-year-old. Of course, it might have had less to do with my dribbling and passing abilities and more to do with the fact that the center couldn’t afford nets for the games and so the rule was that any goal kicked over the goalie’s head did not count. Let’s just say I was the best 3-foot, 2-inch goalie ever!

And while we didn’t need nets to have a successful soccer season we did need some equipment. Things like balls and cones and vests and whistles. A small donation can go a long way to buying some cheap but necessary supplies. Or it could go for big things such as making sure the lights stay on, the kids inside stay warm and they have access to the Internet to do some school work.

The Boys and Girls Club of America has a powerful, valuable mission in the U.S.:

"To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.Core BeliefsA Boys & Girls Club Provides:A safe place to learn and grow…Ongoing relationships with caring, adult professionals…Life-enhancing programs and character development experiences…Hope and opportunity."

Simple yet powerful. And who knows, in the best case scenario the small donations collected through this and other sites at FanSided provides the funds to fix up a basketball court that a young Kevin Durant is inspired by and starts a journey to the top of the NBA. Or maybe it provides the funding for that extra staff member that serves as a volunteer who instills responsibility and a strong work ethic into a young member, who then goes on to be a teacher or mentor themselves and helps others who grew up just like them. It all helps. It all makes a difference. Now I ask you to make a difference today and donate in our charity drive.