SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -  The Springfield Thunderbirds Foundation today announced a donation of $10,500 in both cash and food donations to the Rock 102 Mayflower Marathon, which directly benefitted Open Pantry of Springfield.

The 29th annual event, hosted by Rock 102, raised a grand total of over $179,000 worth of food and cash donations over the three-day marathon on Nov. 21 through Nov. 23. In total, more than three 53-foot Mayflower tractor-trailer trucks were filled with non-perishable food donations during a time of year when the need for food donations is high.

On the morning of Nov. 23, Thunderbirds captain Tommy Cross - along with teammates Anthony Angello, Austin Osmanski, and Mitchell Hoelscher - joined Rock 102 at MGM Springfield to unload the Thunderbirds' TD Bank-Mobile, which was completely filled with non-perishable food donations from Thunderbirds players, staff, and fans over the course of the month of November.

"The Thunderbirds organization is beyond proud of the generosity shown by our players, fans, and the Greater Springfield community as a whole," said Thunderbirds Managing Partner Paul Picknelly. "We are grateful to our partners at Rock 102 and MGM Springfield for their support, and we look forward to many more years of impactful philanthropy through the Mayflower Marathon."
 

As an additional piece of their involvement, the Thunderbirds' first-ever Mayflower Marathon Night on the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 23 brought over $5,000 in donations via raffle items, including custom Bax & Nagle Thunderbirds jerseys and custom signed cornhole boards.

"Ordinarily, the marathon would be completed in the morning, but our vision behind Mayflower Marathon Night was to extend it into the evening to bring about even more awareness for this wonderful cause," said Thunderbirds President Nathan Costa. "We are happy to be part of a record-breaking year for Bax, Nagle, and the entire Rock 102 team. We look forward to expanding upon this event for the 30th Anniversary next year and beyond."