Michael Bay, blockbuster feature film producer/director, will co-host the Arizona edition of The Giving Back Fund’s Big Game Big Give, an event that ESPN The Magazine previously has called the “No. 1 Super Bowl Party of the Year,” Sat., Jan. 31, 6:30 to 10:30 p.m.
The event will be at the home of Matt Williams, former Arizona Diamondback and now the MLB Washington Nationals’ Manager of the Year, and his wife, Erika Monroe Williams, and co-chaired by Arizona super-philanthropists Bill and Linda Pope.
The glittering red-carpet affair benefits The Giving Back Fund and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Phoenix.
In its sixth year, the Big Game Big Give traditionally occurs the night before the Super Bowl in the game’s host city, with a guest list that’s a who’s who of athletes, celebrities and business and entertainment luminaries.
The Giving Back Fund is the nation’s premier nonprofit consulting and management organization serving professional athletes, entertainers and other high-profile individuals on their charitable giving initiatives.
Bay, the Williamses and the Popes host the star-studded fundraiser under the theme Arizona Shines, and are joined by a plethora of global and Arizona business leaders and philanthropists. The evening’s décor will feature vignettes that showcase original elements of Arizona for the hundreds of guests attending from throughout the country. The benefit is designed as an intimate affair for 500 guests in the setting of a private home, in contrast to other Super Bowl events in crowded venues of 1,500 people or more.
Marc Pollick, president & founder of The Giving Back Fund, said: “We are so grateful by the level of leadership and support Arizona is delivering for this 2015 Big Game Big Give. This major fundraiser is vital to our growth as a charitable organization looking to expand and diversify philanthropic giving. We are also thrilled to be able to support important local charities like the Boys & Girls Clubs of Phoenix.”
Founded in 1997, The Giving Back Fund has overseen the distribution of tens of millions of dollars in charitable grants within the United States and other countries.
Meanwhile, Big Game Big Give celebrity host Michael Bay is known most recently for four Transformers blockbusters, a feature film franchise that has grossed more than $2.4 billion; the latest installment is Transformers: Age Of Extinction. Other film blockbusters include The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, among others.
Big Game Big Give co-chair Williams is a World Series superstar, and one of only four in MLB history to earn Manager of the Year in his first year as a manager for the Washington Nationals. His wife, Erika, is founder of The Hopeless Housewife and has been featured on The Taste, E! News, People Magazine, among others, and is also a former TV broadcaster.
Bill and Linda Pope are longtime Arizona community leaders and philanthropists. Bill Pope is owner and CEO of SunChase Holdings, Inc.; Linda Pope is a philanthropist and television producer of the show Ballroom Blitz, which recently aired on TLC.
Erika Williams said: “Matt and I are honored to hold the Big Game Big Give at our home. While we are spending a good deal of time in Washington, D.C. these days, Arizona is still home and we are happy to have the opportunity to host this stellar Super Bowl XLIX event for such wonderful causes.”
“This edition of the Big Game Big Give will be an unforgettable Arizona evening of generosity and giving, paying it forward, entertainment, fabulous food, and a sparkling mix of our state’s warm hospitality, generosity and natural beauty,” said Linda Pope. “We are grateful to participate with the Arizona hosts who have joined to lead this special night as well.”
