Sunday, February 7, 2010

Nick and Jimmie Super Bowl Weekend Fundraisers

SOURCE

nick_lachey.jpgFor years, Nick Lachey and his longtime buddy, NASCAR champ Jimmie Johnson, would look forward to their annual pilgrimage to the Super Bowl together. In their downtime on the big weekend, they would hit the links together whenever possible.

Three years ago, they decided to combine two of their favorite things — and their desire to help others —- when they held their first annual Super Skins Celebrity Golf Classic just before the Super Bowl. This year is no different: Starting Thursday night and continuing straight through today, Lachey and the four-time reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion will hold the 3rd annual Super Skins Weekend in Miami, where the New Orleans Saints will take on the Baltimore Colts at Super Bowl XLIV.

"Last year's Super Skins proved to be one of the highlights of my year," says Lachey. "Jimmie and I were blown away at the amount of support we received last year even in difficult economic times. We're looking forward to yet another successful year driving much-needed funds to causes that so desperately need them."

The two-day charity event began last night with the Super Skins Kick-Off Party at Hotel 944 @ Eden Roc from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., which featured a special performance by Snoop Dogg. (That party was open to the public!)

jimmie_johnson.jpgOn Friday, Lachey and Johnson kick off their Super Skins Celebrity Golf Classic. Expected to join them on the green are stars including N'SYNC's Joey Fatone, Drew Lachey, NFL greats Jason Sehorn, Michael Strahan, Jerry Rice, Dhani Jones, Jason Taylor and Matt Ryan; baseball legends Ken Griffey Jr., Jamie Moyer and Jeff Fassero; and WPGA pro golfer Cristie Kerr (watch out, Nick!).

The event, which has raised almost $600,000 to date, will benefit The Boys and Girls Clubs of America, The Alzheimer's Foundation of America, The Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Nick Lachey Foundation and the Jimmie Johnson Foundation. This year, they hope to break the $1 million mark.

The Super Skins Celebrity Golf Classic challenges celebrities to win individual holes in a "team-skins" format. Each hole will have a designated monetary value, and the celebrity team who wins the hole will designate their winnings for donation to the charity of their choice.

Johnson is pleased that the event helps so many different charities. "Super Skins has done exactly what Nick and I wanted it to do the past few years — raise money for worthy causes and have a little fun while we do it," says Johnson. "We've had great support the past two years and it's shaping up to be another great year. There are so many worthy causes and I like our format because it benefits a variety of charities. I think that's why we've had such great support from so many incredible athletes and celebrities."

Nick Lachey photo by sergio_leenen via Flickr

Jimmie Johnson photo by Joseph Hoetzl via Flickr

0 comments: