Hope Foundation to auction tickets to Elton John concert at fundraiser

By Denise Dick

Staff report

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If you missed out on tickets to the Elton John concert at the Covelli Centre, there’s still hope.

Tickets to the Saturday concert sold out in record time, but the Hope Foundation of the Mahoning Valley has two pairs and plans to auction and raffle them off.

“We were lucky to get tickets,” said Tony Spano, the foundation’s founder/executive director.

The winning raffle ticket will be chosen Thursday inside Cassese’s MVR, 410 N. Walnut St. Local celebrities and community leaders, including state Sen. Joe Schiavoni of Canfield, D-33rd; Mahoning County Auditor Michael Sciortino; Phil Kidd of Defend Youngstown; P.J. Fecko, coach of the Cardinal Mooney High School football team; Mike Latessa of Forum Health; and Cynthia Anderson, Youngstown State University president-elect, will take part in the evening, serving as bartenders.

Their tips will go to the Hope Foundation which serves chronically/terminally ill children.

The party starts at 5:30 with the winning ticket to be drawn at 7:30. The live auction ends Thursday.

People can buy raffle tickets or place bids by going to the organization’s Web site, HopeMV.org, and clicking Elton John Ticket Giveaway.

Raffle tickets also will be sold at the event.

The foundation formed in 2007.

“In the last three years, we gave money to Hole-in-the-Wall Gang Association, Paul Newman’s organization; Akron Children’s Hospital of the Mahoning Valley and Make a Wish,” Spano said.

Agencies may apply for grant funding through the Web site.

“The Hope Foundation and its volunteers feel that every child’s life is valuable, and we aim to support any local organization that shares our common goal of helping each of these children exceed his or her potential,” the site says.

The foundation was formed to continue the tradition established with the Game of Hope Charity Basketball Classic that began in 2005.

HFMV’s softball game fundraiser is set for Aug. 7 at Eastwood Field before a Mahoning Valley Scrappers game.