The Big 12 Conference announced a unique philanthropic component to the 2021 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships to be held this March in Kansas City.
Compass Minerals, the Overland Park, Kansas-based company returning for its second year as presenting sponsor of the Big 12 Food Drive, again earmarks Harvesters—The Community Food Network as the 2021 beneficiary. With the current environment, this year’s Food Drive will be facilitated virtually, March 1-15, 2021. All Big 12 fans are encouraged to contribute to the fundraiser, while at the same time, show allegiance to their respective school. The team’s fan base that raises the most money for Harvesters will be recognized following the Conference Basketball Championships. Additionally, Compass Minerals will match each donation up to $10,000 total as part of its Big 12 partnership.
“It’s a privilege for us to give back and to engage with community organizations like Harvesters that positively impact so many people in need within our region,” said Kevin S. Crutchfield, Compass Minerals president and CEO. “We’re proud to continue our partnership with the Big 12, and with the challenges of COVID-19 still very real across our country, we are even more proud to align with the Big 12 Food Drive, Harvesters, and fans of every Big 12 member school to fight against hunger.”
Harvesters – The Community Food Network is a regional food bank serving a 26-county area of northwestern Missouri and northeastern Kansas. For every dollar donated through the 2021 Big 12 Food Drive, Harvesters will be able to provide three meals. The organization provides food and related household products to more than 760 nonprofit agencies and offers education programs to increase community awareness of hunger and teach about good nutrition.
“We have exceptional fans and believe they’ll take tremendous pride in not only showing their dedicated school spirit but in helping others,” said Big 12 Conference Commissioner Bob Bowlsby. “We’re pleased that we can still find creative ways to assist the needs of many people in the Kansas City region through Harvesters. We thank them for their work, and we appreciate Compass Minerals’ partnership as well as their commitment to serving in this area.”
The 2021 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship will be held at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, March 10-13. The Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship will be held at Municipal Auditorium, March 11-14.
“This is a wonderful event and we’re proud to be a part of it,” said Valerie Nicholson-Watson, president and CEO of Harvesters. “We’re working to feed an astounding 85,000 more people at risk of hunger due to the pandemic in addition to the 300,000 families and seniors already in need before COVID-19, and greatly appreciate the Big 12 Conference and Compass Minerals allowing us to benefit from the Big 12 Food Drive in order to help meet this need in our community.”
The relationship with Compass Minerals is managed by Big 12 Sports Properties on behalf of the Conference. Big 12 Sports Properties is the Learfield IMG College team dedicated to the Conference as its sponsorship rights holder.
About Compass Minerals
Compass Minerals (NYSE: CMP) is a leading provider of essential minerals focused on safely delivering where and when it matters to help solve nature’s challenges for customers and communities. Its salt products help keep roadways safe during winter weather and are used in numerous other consumer, industrial and agricultural applications. And its plant nutrition business manufactures an innovative and diverse portfolio of products that improve the quality and yield of crops, while supporting sustainable agriculture. Additionally, its specialty chemical business serves the water treatment industry and other industrial processes. The company operates 21 production and packaging facilities with more than 3,000 personnel throughout the U.S., Canada, Brazil and the U.K. Visit compassminerals.com for more information about the company and its products.
About Harvesters—The Community Food Network
Harvesters’ main facility is located in Kansas City, Mo. at 3801 Topping Ave. Harvesters also operates a second facility in Topeka, Kan. at 215 E. Quincy St. Harvesters is a certified member of Feeding America, a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks. In 2011, Harvesters was Feeding America’s Food Bank of the Year. Harvesters is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Harvesters also is a regional disaster-relief staging site for Feeding America and is prepared to distribute food, water and cleaning supplies to disaster sites on short notice.
About Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is comprised of 10 Universities – Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech and West Virginia. The Big 12 is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics conference that encompasses five states with over 40 million people within its geographic footprint. In its 24th year, the Conference has produced over 680 Academic All-America selections and claimed national championship team titles in 17 of its 23 sponsored sports. Its student-athletes and teams have combined for over 660 individual NCAA titles and 63 team national championships. Nearly 5,000 student-athletes from across the United States and around the World compete annually under the Big 12 banner. For more information, visit Big12Sports.com and follow the Conference on Facebook (Facebook.com/Big12), Twitter (@Big12Conference) and You Tube (YouTube.com/Big12Conference).
