1st Annual Santonio Holmes III & Long Foundation
Celebrity Bowl-A-Thon Benefitting Sickle Cell Disease
Santonio Holmes, Super Bowl XLIII MVP and Wide Receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers, will host the 1st Annual Celebrity Bowl-A-Thon benefitting the III & Long Foundation, A Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation, which he established in March to support charities doing work in the area of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) along with assisting families that have been affected by the SCD. Holmes established the fund in honor of his son, Santonio III, who has been diagnosed with the disease
Holmes did not realize until May, at the age of 25, that he had the sickle-cell trait. “My seven-year-old is doing a lot better. It is almost to the point of being controllable. He has to take medication every day and probably will for the rest of his life.” says Holmes. “I know how expensive the medications and the hospital visits can be so one of our goals in establishing the foundation is to assist families that have been affected by the disease along with helping in the research to find a cure for SCD.”
After catching the game winning touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, Holmes teamed up with Reebok to auction off the gloves he wore in the game. The gloves went for $70,200 with all proceeds going to The Sickle Cell Disease Association of America.
Holmes, along with some of his teammates and friends will come together to interact with the public, bowl in the tournament, and have a fun night to support a great cause.
With September being Sickle Cell Disease Awareness Month, III & Long has teamed up with the Children’s Sickle Cell Foundation to support their 2nd Annual Motor “Sickle” Ride and provide FREE SCD screenings that will take place on September 5th from 12-3pm at the Schenley Park Vietnam Veterans Pavilion. The III & Long Celebrity Bowl-A-Thon will take place immediately after at FunFest Entertainment Center, 2525 Freeport Road, Pittsburgh, PA. Registration begins at 3:30pm and bowling begins at 4pm. For more information or to register, go to www.santonioholmes10.com
ABOUT THE III & LONG FOUNDATION, A FUND OF THE PITTSBURGH FOUNDATION:
The Pittsburgh Foundation is one of more than 750 community foundations in the United States and is the 14th largest with more than 1,250 individual endowment funds. The Foundation awarded grants of approximately $57 million in 2008. For more information on The Pittsburgh Foundation log on to www.pittsburghfoundation.org.
The III & Long fund was established to raise money towards the research and finding of a cure for Sickle Cell Disease and to assist families that have been affected by SCD.
For more information about the III & Long Foundation, A Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation, or supporting current and future programs please email info@santonioholmes10.com or log on to www.santonioholmes10.com. 
