If you ever wanted your very own authentic World Series championship ring, you can thank the San Francisco Giants for giving you a chance to win one.
The baseball team is raffling off a World Series ring to benefit the Giants Community Fund and the Celebrities for Charity Foundation. Fans have until 11:59 p.m. EDT on July 26 to purchase raffle tickets.
According to the raffle site, the Giants Community Fund “works to enrich the lives of underserved youth through the Junior Giants program and other community initiatives. Junior Giants is a free, non-competitive, co-ed baseball program for more than 17,000 youth ages 5-18.” The Junior Giants site says the program provides at-risk kids with an alternative to drugs, gangs, and crime, and gives them a meaningful partnership with community-based organizations. Junior Giants also emphasizes development of players’ character (confidence, integrity, leadership, and teamwork) more so than baseball fundamentals.
The winner of the raffle will have his or her last name engraved on the side of the ring and will receive the prize at a ceremony before the Aug. 27 Giants game against the Houston Astros. The team will pay for the airfare, hotel room, and game tickets for the winner and one guest, not to mention a cash prize of nearly $5,000 to cover the winner’s tax liability. (The team will withhold the cash prize and pay it directly to the IRS and to the state of Massachusetts, although it’s not clear why the taxes would go to Massachusetts.)
If this “auction-a-championship-ring-for-a-good-cause” movement sounds familiar, it’s probably because Ron Artest auctioned off his 2010 NBA championship ring to benefit mental-health charities in December.