I've been a licensed ticket broker for 39 years now. My company,
Applause Theatre & Entertainment Service Inc. has been providing personal service and expertise, helping New York City bound travelers in obtaining Broadway Shows, Concerts and Sporting Events.
Although for most of my career, I've gotten to know many of the local New York tri-state area ticket brokers here and there, I've had the pleasure of getting to know dozens of additional ticket broker industry professionals over the past seven years by participating in the NATB Gives Back Charity Program and its 32 for 32 NFL Preseason Football Program. Simply put, ticket brokers from all over the country (and some in Canada) come together every summer to donate preseason NFL football tickets to every one of the 32 NFL markets around the United States. 32 tickets are donated for each of 2 preseason home games in all of the NFL markets.
The idea of the 32 for 32 Program is a simple one really. Ticket brokers are giving back to the local community by donating thousands of tickets every summer, sending the children and families staying at local Ronald McDonald houses around the country to NFL football games in their area. The kids are undergoing treatment for life threatening illnesses and attending the games helps to take their minds off of their daily challenges. In addition, ticket brokers often volunteer their time to help out at their local Ronald McDonald House throughout the year.
Since my company is located in and primarily handles tickets to events in New York City, we have been assisting the NATB Charity Committee with coordinating ticket broker, ticket donations for the New York Jets and New York Giants football teams. We work with 6 Ronald McDonald houses including New York City, Long Island, Valhalla, Albany as well as 2 houses in Central New Jersey. For 7 years, the youngsters and families staying at Ronald McDonald houses have been enjoying the football games. Many families have sent us pictures of them having a great time at the games along with letters of appreciation.
My post today is simply to give a big "thank you" to the dozens of
NATB Gives Back Charity ticket donors for their incredibly generous participation in the 32 for 32 Program throughout the entire United States. Many of the ticket companies, some not yet members of the NATB, contribute to this program as well by donating money and/or tickets to the games. To date ticket brokers have given over $1.6 million dollars in the 7 years as well as volunteer hours and I thought it made sense to acknowledge their tremendous generosity and dedication to this great cause.
Ticket brokers are a very special group. They stop what they are doing and get involved.in this program. The NATB Gives Back Program has regional coordinators in all 32 NFL markets that help make phone calls, send email requests, network, collect and deliver the tickets to their local Ronald McDonald House contacts and do everything they can to ensure everyone attending the games has a great time. In the 7 years since I've been involved with the charity committee, I've had the great pleasure to get to know many of the ticket brokers. Especially this year as my company has had the privilege of assisting with collecting donations on a national level.
Personally, I'm very proud to know the woman and men that contribute to the NATB Gives Back Charity Program. They're very special people. They really are.
We regularly receive ticket donations from season ticket holders around the country for this charity program as well. Many season ticket holders donate their personal tickets to this cause. So whether you are a ticket broker or not If you want to consider getting involved in the NATB Gives Back Program, we'd love to hear from you.
You can contact me personally at 212-307-7050 or by writing me at rich@applause-tickets.com or contact Terry Stevenson at the NATB office by calling 630-510-4521 or writing her at tstevenson@integrated-solutions.com.
I hope you enjoyed this post on NATB Gives Back Charity and Ronald McDonald House Charities.
Regards
Rich Gladstone
President
Applause Theatre & Entertainment Service Inc.
723 7th Avenue, Suite 902
NY NY 10019
About National Association of Ticket Brokers
The NATB was formed
in 1994 by a group of concerned ticket brokers who desired to establish an
industry-wide standard of conduct and to create ethical rules and procedures to
protect the public and foster a positive perception of the industry. While the
goals of the NATB are many, our primary goal is to represent the interests of
legitimate ticket brokers by promoting consumer protection and educating the
public about our industry. This is done by assuring the public that when
dealing with an NATB member, they are working with an honest, reliable broker
that will deliver what is promised. In addition, the NATB has created a
platform that allows the public to report unethical conduct by ticket brokers.
About NATB Gives Back
NATB Gives Back was
formed by the NATB Board of Directors with the mission of making a positive
impact in the communities which support its member businesses. NATB Gives Back
endeavors to do this by providing leadership, programs, and education to the
NATB members and by forging partnerships with charitable and community
organizations. Additional information is
available at http://www.natb.org/
Yesterday I posted a blog about the new London production of Art. Having seen the show during it's initial Broadway run, I was thrilled that the show was returning to the place where it got it's start over twenty years ago. Now hot on the heels of that announcement, is the news that An Inspector Calls is also returning to London in a brand new production. 
