For the second straight year, Aaron Nola has partnered with Team RWB and Yuengling to host Bowling for the Troops.
The second annual event was held at Brooklyn Bowl in Philadelphia, a bowling alley and event space that would quickly fill up with members of various fans, players, and members of the Phillies’ organization. The effort was hosted to raise money and awareness for veterans and the organizations involved look to help improve their lives after service.
Aaron and his wife Hunter hold their relationships with both Team RWB and Yuengling, as well as other sponsorships, in high regard. Having these efforts culminate in an event such as this one, was a huge success.
Coming Together for America
Team RWB is an organization that looks to improve the lives of veterans once they retire from the military. This organization was founded by Mike Ervin in 2010. Mike is a graduate of West Point and served three tours of duty across his well-accomplished military career. He was in attendance Monday night for the event.
One of the biggest partners that Team RWB has is Yuengling, America’s oldest brewery, and a key sponsor of Aaron Nola and the Phillies. Yuengling has been a proud supporter of Team RWB and works hand in hand with them to support American veterans. One of the goals of the foundation is to use exercise and fitness to help combat PTSD and other post-military mental health issues.
Aaron’s relationship with Yuengling goes beyond just having a beverage and the team at Yuengling spoke very highly of him. They mentioned how he is family-oriented and has all of the same values as the company.
Recently, both Yuengling and Team RWB hosted the “Yuengling Light Lager Jogger 5k“, as a way to get active and productively fight mental health struggles.
Raising awareness is always great, but being able to raise funds for these projects is also very important. Aaron Nola pledged before the season started that he would donate 15,000 dollars for every Phillies win. He could not have picked a better season to do so, with the Phillies having the most wins in baseball as of Monday. The club is on pace to win over 100 games, meaning that Nola is expected to donate over a million dollars on wins alone. The Nola family also donated $200,000 to the Team RWB organization.
There were other items available for auction on Monday night to help raise funds. A live auction of a team-signed home plate, as well as, a chance to take in a game from the owner’s suite. The home plate item was in a heated bid between Fletcher Cox and Phillies’ owner Leigh Middleton. The item would sell for $8,500. The owner’s suite was another hot item, reaching up to $8,000.
A silent auction of sports and pop culture memorabilia also took place. Many autographed items from Philly sports and other teams were made available, with proceeds going to the veterans.
Aaron Nola’s Night Out
The Phillies might be the best team in baseball this season but everyone deserves a night off from work.
With a long season, players don’t often get many nights off at home. Spending time with family and doing daily life tasks certainly can eat up any free time they may have but that didn’t stop the Phillies from showing up on Monday.
To support their teammate and a great cause many Phillies players took to the red carpet to spend a night bowling for the troops. Current players, coaches, front office personnel, and even the Middletons were in attendance. Eagles legend Flecher Cox and his wife came to the event and would be later joined by Eagles’ left tackle Jordan Mailata.
Featured below are some images of the event.
Making A Difference
Aaron Nola has spoken about how much it means to him to give back to the community. He has been given a platform to help those in need and he is at the front and center of a lot of great charitable work. He is one of the team’s leading ambassadors and wears that with just as much honor as his team uniform.
As the Phillies continue to work hard on the field, they are also working hard off of it. The fans of Philadelphia have shown out at Citizens Bank Park this season and Monday night’s event is another example of the team trying to return that support.
For more information on the work of Team RWB, check out their website.
Photo Credit: Matt Watson / Philly Sports Network
