The majority of the charities that will compete at the 2015 Great Charity Challenge presented by Fidelity Investments were selected at a special ceremony held during the Wellington Winterfest event Saturday, Dec. 6 at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center.
The Great Charity Challenge will take place on Saturday, Feb. 7. The winning charity will take home $150,000, while each chosen charity will get at least $15,000.
At Winterfest, a number of special guests helped Great Charity Challenge founders Mark, Katherine and Paige Bellissimo with the selection process. Among them were: celebrity guest Vanilla Ice, David and Eli Sacks of sponsor Fidelity Investments, Wellington Mayor Bob and Linda Margolis, Councilwoman Anne Gerwig, Michela Perillo-Green of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Randy Laurich of the Wellness Experience, and team sponsors Rick and Sarah Mershad.
The chosen Palm Beach County charities are: Adopt a Family of the Palm Beaches, Alzheimer’s Community Care, the American Association of Caregiving Youth, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Palm Beach County, Children’s Case Management/Families First, Communities in Schools, the Elizabeth Faulk Foundation/Faulk Center for Counseling, Family Promise of South Palm Beach County, First Care Family Resources, Helping Hands Assistance Programs, Jeff Industries, the National Wheelchair Sports Fund, the Oasis Compassion Agency, Paws for Liberty, Propel, Restoration Bridge, the Arc of the Glades, Urban Youth Impact, Village of Hope and the Wycliffe Charities Foundation.
The chosen Wellington-based charities are: the Blue Sky Foundation, Breaking the Chains, the Christopher Aguirre Memorial Foundation, the Equestrian Aid Foundation, Horses Healing Hearts, the Kids Cancer Foundation and the Wellington PTA/PTO/PTSA.
Six additional charities will be added to the list at a later date. For more information about the event, visit www.greatcharitychallenge.com.
ABOVE: Paige Bellissimo, Vanilla Ice and Councilwoman Anne Gerwig watch as Mayor Bob Margolis announces one of the charities.
