CES Orlando West Helps Orlando Magic Donate Basketballs to Local Schools
An NBA team gifting a free basketball to a kid is a heartwarming story. So what about an NBA team gifting 2,500 basketballs to schools in their hometown? That’s what happened recently in Orlando, Florida, and City Electric Supply Orlando West played an important part in it.
“Orange County Public Schools are doing a four-week fitness challenge,” explained CES Sales Representative Bill Hunt. “So Orlando Magic wanted to support them.”
Orlando Magic Donates Basketballs
Because of COVID-19, Orlando Magic wasn’t able to give away basketballs to fans like they ordinarily would. When they heard that schools in their own backyard were doing the MAGIC Fit 4-Week Challenge, a fitness and nutrition program run by Orlando Magic, they knew exactly what to do.
“Orlando Magic is thrilled to donate 2,500 basketballs to students in Orange County Public Schools,” said Shelly Wilkes, Orlando Magic Senior Vice President of Marketing and Social Responsibility. “It is through the help of organizations like City Electric Supply that we are able to make sure these basketballs get to the youth in the area to continue providing them with much-needed equipment for their P.E. classes during this unprecedented time.”
CES Orlando West Lends a Hand
It’s true that City Electric Supply Orlando West had the fun of delivering these basketballs with one of their box trucks — but before the fun came a little concern.
How exactly do you package, load, transfer, and unload 2,500 basketballs?
“When they said 2,500 basketballs would fit in a box truck, I tried to figure out how that would work,” laughed Hunt.
But when the CES Orlando West team arrived to pick them up, they were instantly relieved.
“When we got there, all of the basketballs were deflated — thank God,” laughed Branch Manager Tito Martinez.
“Turns out, deflated basketballs are much easier to transport,” added Hunt.
Delivering the basketballs was not only easy, but rewarding. CES has been working with Orange County Public Schools since 2013, so the branch was especially excited to play a crucial part in giving them this gift.
Just the Beginning
“I was so happy to do it,” said Martinez. “It was great to be a part of what Orlando Magic was doing, and even greater to help out our long-time customer.”
And they’re hoping to do it again.
“We’re always looking for things to do to help,” said Hunt. “We want to be a part of the community and get our name out there for people.”
They’re already tossing around ideas about what they can do next. To the community of Orlando, we have one more thing to say — stay tuned.
