“Take Me out to the Ball Game” theme announced for the 9th Annual Sean’s Fund Dinner and Auction. Tickets are now on sale for the 9th Annual Sean’s Fund Dinner and Auction to be held Saturday, September 26, at Robinson Ranch Country Club. Families will enjoy an evening filled with food, fun, and fabulous prizes including the opportunity to take home two round-trip tickets courtesy of Southwest Airlines and a poster signed by the cast of The Big Bang Theory.
The SCV based California Youth Chess League (CYCL) and Sean’s Fund work together to bring the challenging and stimulating game of chess to over 800 school aged children in the Los Angeles area as well as provide support to those battling life threatening diseases such as leukemia.
Sean Reader, for whom the charity was named, was an exceptional chess player who competed in and won tournaments at local, state and national levels. He was only 12 years old when he lost his battle to leukemia. Since that time, his family and friends have worked tirelessly to keep his legacy alive by sharing Sean’s love of chess with other children.
Sean’s other passion, baseball, inspired the theme of this year’s event. “Baseball just seems to have a magical effect on kids,” said Sean’s father, Chan Reader. “The evening before he passed, Sean suddenly sat up excitedly and shouted, ‘Home run!’ He was watching the Dodger game and Russell Martin had just hit a walk-off homerun in the bottom of the 10th inning for a 1-0 victory over the Giants. I’m pretty sure that was the last time we saw Sean smile.”
This year’s raffle and auction has centered on gathering donations from popular baseball teams. “When Sean was battling his disease, he needed something to distract him and lift his spirits. At the time, I decided to send letters to the minor league baseball teams around the United States. Fifty-eight teams responded to the requests,” recalled CYCL Coach Jay Stallings. “Unfortunately, Sean only saw the first dozen or so responses because his health declined so quickly, but we will always be grateful to all of those teams for having the compassion and generosity to take the time to send him some really heartfelt letters and mementos. Again this year, a decade after Sean’s passing, we have sent out letters to those same teams asking them to help us honor Sean’s memory.”
The event is held in September which is National Cancer Awareness Month. It is designed for families, and tickets that include a buffet style dinner are available for $45 for adults and $20 for children 12 and under.
For additional information or to purchase tickets Contact: Jay Stallings, Founder, CYCL at 661-288-1705 or visit the website at www.seansfund.org.
If you would like more information or to schedule an interview with Coach Jay or Chan Reader, please call Michelle Stallings at 661-288-1705 or email seansfundcycl@gmail.com.