Putting safety first in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fiesta Bowl Organization and Desert Financial Credit Union will share kindness statewide with a traveling tour called Kindness Arizona. The new project is a re-imagination of this past season’s Desert Financial Fiesta Bowl Parade to bring community impact across the state.
Kindness Arizona takes the community focus of the two organizations and brings funds, equipment, supplies and cheer directly to communities around the state. The 25-stop, five-day tour from March 22-26, will roll through the Phoenix Metro, Flagstaff, Prescott and Tucson.
Given the current restrictions, the annual Desert Financial Fiesta Bowl Parade will return in late December 2021. Arizona’s most attended single-day event will march down its customary two-mile route through Central Phoenix and pay homage to the Fiesta Bowl’s 50th Anniversary.
“As we looked at how to support those who need additional resources in communities throughout Arizona, the concept of a Kindness Arizona caravan with multiple activities in each city quickly became a reality,” said Fiesta Bowl Executive Director Mike Nealy. “Desert Financial shares a giving mindset and servant leadership, which will make Kindness Arizona a difference-maker for thousands of Arizona residents. Unfortunately, we missed the Desert Financial Fiesta Bowl Parade this season, but we are looking forward to spread kindness across the state.”
Kindness Arizona efforts will include funds to schools and community groups, revitalizing facilities, donating hygiene kits and performing random acts of kindness in every location to surprise people in need. Desert Financial and the Fiesta Bowl chose local organizations that aid the lives of Arizonans in the areas of youth, education and supporting front-line workers.
“Like so many in the Valley, we look forward to the Desert Financial Fiesta Bowl Parade every year. While we prioritize health and safety, we’re taking the next step in the Kindness Revolution, as Kindness Arizona brings people together in a spirit of goodwill,” said Jeff Meshey, President and CEO of Desert Financial Credit Union. “We want to make a difference for some of the people affected most by COVID-19 and we’re excited to add this innovative component to our enduring partnership with Fiesta Bowl Charities.”
The Desert Financial Fiesta Bowl Parade has always served as a mechanism for giving back, including the distribution of $25,000 in gift cards during the 2018 Parade, and $80,000 in 2019 through Desert Financial’s Random Acts of Kindness Program, to commemorate the financial institution’s 80th anniversary. Delivering “shock and awe” moments with surprise gifts, donations, celebrity appearances and acts of service, Random Acts have been made around the state to the tune of nearly $1 million in the last three years.
In lieu of staging events in front of large gatherings of fans, Kindness Arizona celebrates the goodness within our communities, meets the most pressing and supports organizations and people who are improving lives within their communities. The surprise nature of the event will bring smiling faces and memorable reactions, inspiring others to take part in the #KindnessRevolution.
