Seattle Seahawks Salute to Service with The Mission Continues

Feb 8, 2019

By Doug Pfeffer, West Region Executive Director

In August of 2018, we applied to the Seattle Seahawks to be named their Salute to Service partner for 2018. Every year, the National Football League hosts their Salute to Service month (November), where several veteran-specific events are held, along with game presentations and Veterans Day mentions. Of all of the teams in the league, the Seahawks are well known as one of the most active participants in the program. So much so, that they even partner with a non-profit of their own, which becomes the beneficiary of an outpouring of Seahawks love.

This is what we applied for, and this is what we were selected for. What we received blew our mind:

  • 12% of all Salute to Service Gear sold was received by The Mission Continues
  • 100% of Auction Items sold were donated to The Mission Continues
  • Free advertisements/ social & digital opportunities/ PSA’s throughout their games, which put The Mission Continues front and center for over 60 thousand fans at every game leading up to the official Salute to Service game.
  • Weekly email blast to over 300K fans locally, highlighting The Mission Continues
  • Mentions in their press releases

But this was just the beginning, as The Mission Continues became their go-to non-profit for everything community-related. Other notable benefits included:

  • A special Veterans Day project, attended by Seahawks players and staff members
  • Special use of their mascot for all projects, to include our Veterans in Tech Event in August of 2018
  • Hero of the game tickets throughout the season
  • Participation in an online Fortnite Tournament, where our volunteer members got to play alongside Seahawks players
  • Over 55 of our volunteers participating in an on-field ceremony, where they got to hold the flag during the anthem.
  • A special presentation, where the Seahawks presented one of our veteran leaders with tickets to this year’s Super Bowl.

And although this was all amazing, it was the additional partnerships that grew out of it that made things even better:

  • An amazing partnership with Lyft, who donated 12% of all profits from rides to and from Seahawks games in the month of November.
  • Being named the charity of the month by Bonneville Seattle, which in addition to a donation, provided free on-air PSAs throughout the Seattle market.

All in all, the partnership yielded over $23,000 in donations, and although we are so thankful, it was the partnership itself that meant so much more. Being associated with such a committed organization like the Seahawks has provided our members with so many lasting memories.

We look forward to continuing this partnership in 2019, and cannot wait to see where we can take it next!

Go Hawks…..Go 12’s.