The Harrington Family Foundation

Following the very successful Third Annual Benefit Concert held on Thursday, June 23, 2005 in the Rose Quarter Commons, Joey Harrington and his Harrington Family Foundation presented a check and in-kind donations valued at $45,000 to the Shriners Hospitals for Children, Portland. The concert featured Harrington as Master of Ceremonies on the piano along side special guest star performers Toby Lightman, Chan Kinchla, and John Popper of Blues Traveler and headliner Donavon Frankenreiter. A good time was had by all on a beautiful summer evening filled with great music. The Shriners Hospitals for Children provides world-class orthopedic medical care to children from around the Pacific Northwest at no charge.

Dear Detroit Lions Fans,

I'm inviting you to join me in supporting Special Olympics Michigan (SOMI). SOMI provides sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. By pledging pennies for my passing yards this season, you will be a part of my "other" team, which is for these very special athletes. The program is called Pennies-A-Yard, where donors pledge one, five, or ten pennies for every yard I gain this season. For example, in 2004 my total passing yardage was 3,258, which would make a one-penny pledge worth a $32.58 donation to SOMI. Pledges are tax deductible and all proceeds benefit SOMI. I hope you will join the team and show your support by completing the pledge form below (SEE LINK) and mailing it to Detroit Lions Charities, 222 Republic Drive, Allen Park, Michigan 48101. Let's all have a great season! Thanks!

Click here to view SOMI pledge form

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Mark your calendars! Joey Harrington and the Harrington Family Foundation will host the third annual summer benefit concert on Thursday, June 23, 2005 in Portland, Oregon featuring contemporary recording artist Donovan Frankenreiter. Produced by Portland-based TAOW Productions, this rain or shine event will benefit Shriners Hospital for Children, Portland and the Harrington Family Foundation.

This much anticipated show is set for the outdoor locale of Portland's Rose Quarter Commons which is conveniently located near the MAX light rail line. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 the day of the show. Doors open at 6:00pm.

Headliner Donavon Frankenreiter has garnered an international reputation for his easy going, fun loving musical style. His newest release, on Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records, is receiving national radio airplay and heavy MTV rotation. As a special treat, accomplished pianist and Detroit Lions QB Joey Harrington will join Blues Traveler's John Popper and Chan Kinchla in a jam with the band. Opening the concert will be Lava recording artist Antigone Rising, whose debut album "From the Ground Up" is in Starbucks stores now.

"We are very excited about this year's concert featuring some great new talent. As always, I really look forward to this opportunity to play with some terrific artists and to say thanks to the community that has been so supportive of me and our family foundation", says Harrington, former Oregon Duck quarterback. "The past success of this event has enabled us to donate over $60,000 to Shriners in Portland for the wonderful work that they do for children with physical disabilities. It is our goal to increase our fundraising in 2005 so we really need your support to help make this year's event an even greater success!"

Sponsored by Fred Meyer, Starbucks Coffee Company, Widmer Brothers, KINK FM 102, blackfish creative, the Detroit Lions, McCormick and Schmick"s, Nike, Directors Mortgage, U of O Alumni Association, Nautilus and more local sponsors, 100% of all of the proceeds will go to benefit children's charities.

Due to limited seating and last year's sell-out crowd, advance tickets are highly recommended. Tickets will be available at all Ticketmaster locations, select Fred Meyer stores, or on the web at www.ticketmaster.com. For more info on the show, go to www.hffbenefitconcert.com .

2004 marked the beginning of a new challenge for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland! The Joey Harrington Challenge for Kids kicked-off in July, and provided a fun and exciting opportunity for Oregonians to give back to their community. Joey, along with his Challenge Team made up of local Boys & Girls Club supporters, pledged to donate to the Clubs for every touchdown that he passed or ran during the 2004 NFL season! The Challenge was a huge success and raised over $75,000! All of the proceeds from Joey's Challenge go directly to the Boys & Girls Club's Operating Endowment, for the future of Portland's youth. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland Metropolitan Area thank Joey and the Challengers for their tremendous display of leadership and support!

In early 2005, construction was completed on two classrooms for students in a camp for people displaced by conflict in northern Uganda. Working with AVSI, an international humanitarian organization, and scores of local mothers, fathers, teachers and students,the Harrington Family Foundation provided funding for a desperately needed learning space in a region that has suffered nearly two decades of civil war.

Since the mid-1980s, a rebel insurgency in the northern districts of Uganda (a country about the size of Oregon) has forced thousands of civilians to leave their homes and to relocate into large, congested camps. This massive population movement (approximately 1.4 million displaced by early 2005) has greatly restricted the delivery of basic services such as health and education. Currently most camps in the region, named for the Acholi tribe that lives there, host multiple primary schools in structures meant for one.

Orom Learning Center is located in one of the camps that has been hardest for humanitarian agencies to access with basic relief, including water, food and health assistance. Children are hit hardest by these gaps; they also have lost out on months or sometimes years of education due to the war. Even where teachers are willing to volunteer and continue working with the children, learning centers like Orom have only two classrooms for more than 5,000 students. While most classes can take place under mango trees, Uganda's approaching rain season (March to July) prevents students from attending classes on a regular basis.

In order to boost the capacity of the learning center in Orom, the Harrington Foundation offered funding for a block of two new classrooms and four blackboards in 2004. The camp community helped gather local materials and participated in the construction--an activity that also offered jobs to young men who are often unable to access their farmland or carry out normal income generating activities for their families. The completed classrooms will host at least 200 students in Orom, helping open safe spaces for children to learn and grow in northern Uganda. (see photo page on this website.)