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MATTESON SQUARE GARDEN TO HOST 2ND ANNUAL LEUKEMIA FUNDRAISER ON JUNE 18
BY JPonder94 | Posted: Thursday, May 05, 2016 02:23 PM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thurs. 5/5/2016
ST. PETERS, MO – Matteson Square Garden, a multi-sport facility located in St. Peters, Mo., will host a charity event to raise funds for multiple causes related to Leukemia. The event will be held on Saturday, June 18 from 2:00 pm – 1:00 am.
The event, titled the “Stanley Ponder Cup Memorial Tournament,” is named after the late Stan Ponder, who lost his battle with myelofibrosis and myelodysplasia, two rare forms of Leukemia, last November. The original tournament, held on Nov. 21, 2015, raised over $3,400 and went toward Stan’s tremendous medical bills. Stan passed away the following Sunday, leaving behind colossal debt for his wife, Mary.
The tournament’s fundraising goal this year is twofold. Half of the donations received will benefit Mary’s attempts to pay off the bills accrued from Stan’s numerous procedures, while the other half will be sent to the Be The Match organization, which matches healthy people with those in need of bone marrow transplants. This procedure almost saved Stan’s life.
“The Stanley Ponder Cup Tournament in 2015 was a tremendous success in helping the Ponder family, and we look forward to helping a much larger cause this time around,” said Debbie Humphreys, general manager of Matteson Square Garden. “We are happy to host the event in Stan’s memory and plan to continue to do so in future years. This is just the beginning.”
The Stanley Ponder Cup Memorial Tournament centers around an inline hockey tournament, where individuals sign up and are drafted into five teams. Those teams will then play a round-robin style tournament, determining four playoff teams. Each game will be single elimination until a champion is crowned.
“We encourage players of all skill to join the tournament,” said Jeff Ponder, son of Stan, event organizer and championship team captain from last year’s tournament. “It’s slightly competitive, but everyone shows a great deal of respect to each other throughout the night. After all, we’re there for one, united reason.”
While the tournament takes place on the rink, the concourse around it features a raffle of assorted items. Marquee items have been added for this year’s tournament, including authentic jerseys of St. Louis Blues players Vladimir Tarasenko and Brian Elliott, as well as 1980 Team USA goalie Jim Craig.
“Last year, the big ticket was the 50/50 raffle,” Jeff said. “While that will be returning, I think the star-caliber jerseys we received this year may take the cake.”
Other raffle items include a gift certificate for four free hours of a local live DJ, as well as a barbecue pit bundle and assorted hockey collectibles.
“Just as we were last year, we are humbled by how the community has pulled through for our cause,” said Mary. “Cancer and Leukemia affect so many people around the globe; it has united so many people who normally wouldn’t come together.”
To sign up for the tournament, or to find out how you can help, check out the event page here:
http://dropinstl.com/2016-stanley-ponde ... ournament/ 
