‘Goal Line Giving’ program will help patient families cover household/utility expenses; allowing them to focus on recovery

The Joe Andruzzi Foundation (JAF) and Empower Retirement today announced “Goal Line Giving,” a new charitable partnership aimed at providing financial assistance to cancer patients and their families.

Empower will donate $100 to JAF’s Financial Assistance Program for every point New England scores on the football field throughout the upcoming NFL regular season, kicking-off in time for the team’s week one, primetime matchup against Arizona on September 11, 2016.

JAF’s Financial Assistance Program provides one-time grants to cancer patients and their families in active treatment, allowing them to focus on what is most important: getting better. Specifically, the program is designed to assist patients with basic living expenses, such as mortgage, rent, and utility bills. JAF aims to serve as many patients as possible, by continually growing its ability to give to meet the needs of families.

“Empower Retirement shares our strong commitment to creating greater financial security for families, and coming together allows us to reach even more patients during their fight against cancer,” said Joe Andruzzi, Foundation President. “We’re proud to be launching this fundraising effort with Empower, and look forward to continuing our mission of providing patients with help, hope, and reasons to smile – even during the most challenging and testing times.”

“The Joe Andruzzi Foundation is committed to doing some outstanding work in support of families who need help during difficult times,” said Edmund F. Murphy III, President of Empower Retirement. “We are proud to support those efforts and to help raise awareness of the Foundation’s mission. Every time New England scores this season we’ll have even more reason to celebrate.”

Through the upcoming “Goal Line Giving” program, New England points scored on the football field will have even greater meaning this year – allowing the Joe Andruzzi Foundation to potentially support families in numerous ways, such as:

• Touchdown (6 points = $600) – equivalent to JAF assisting with a patient’s rent/mortgage payment
• Field Goal (3 points = $300) – average cost of JAF assisting with a patient’s car/automotive payment
• Safety/2 Pt. Conversion (2 points = $200) – cost of a patient’s monthly gas bill
• Extra Point (1 point = $100) – helping the Foundation assist with a patient’s phone or electric bill

Throughout the season, JAF and Empower will also work together to raise awareness for the Foundation’s mission in an effort to drive donations and greater visibility for the needs of families coping with cancer.

New England football fans will also be able to follow along with the Foundation’s social channels using the #GoalLineGiving hashtag – JAF’s Twitter and Instagram accounts will be live-updating fundraising totals as each point is scored during games this season.

Empower, the nation’s second-largest retirement services provider, is a sponsor of the New England Patriots.

About the Joe Andruzzi Foundation

The Joe Andruzzi Foundation, founded in 2008, is committed to providing help, hope, and a reason to smile for cancer patients and their families by contributing financial and emotional support when it is needed most, as well as funding pediatric brain cancer research. Joe Andruzzi, a former three-time Super Bowl winning offensive guard with the New England Patriots, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Burkitt’s lymphoma in 2007 and was treated at Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Disease-free less than a year later, Joe dedicated his life to supporting other cancer patients and funding life-saving research. The Joe Andruzzi Foundation is Joe and his wife Jen’s second philanthropic effort; in 2003, they started the C.J. Buckley Brain Cancer Research Fund at Boston Children’s Hospital in memory of C.J. Buckley, a young man with an inoperable brain tumor who touched their hearts before losing his battle in 2002. The fund supports much-needed, innovative research into the molecular nature of pediatric brain tumors, novel treatment therapies and alternatives to multiple surgeries. For more information, or to make a donation, please visit joeandruzzifoundation.org, or visit our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages.

About Empower Retirement

Headquartered in metro Denver, Empower Retirement administers $430 billion in assets for more than 8 million participants. It is the nation’s second-largest retirement plan record keeper by total participants (Pensions & Investments, April, 2016). Empower serves all segments of the employer-sponsored retirement plan market: government 457 plans, small, midsize, and large corporate 401(k) clients, non-profit 403(b) entities and private-label recordkeeping clients. For more information, please visit www.Empower-retirement.com.

Media Contact:

Stephen Gawlik – 303-737-0899 (office), 617-417-4408 (cell)

Joanna Roffo – 617-488-2852, jroffo@regancomm.com

Learn More

To learn more about how we’re empowering plan sponsors and their participants to be more engaged in their retirement plans than ever before, call us at 800-719-9914.