Red Bull Arena will be hosting the second annual Covenant House Sleep Out on Friday, October 16. The event will raise awareness and funds for New Jersey's homeless youth.
The Sleep Out, presented by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon BCBSNJ), will unite fans of the Red Bulls and local soccer enthusiasts along with employees of both Horizon BCBSNJ and Red Bulls, who will sleep at the world-class soccer venue overnight in support of homeless youth.
"Last year the first Sleep Out with the Red Bulls and Horizon touched the lives of so many homeless kids in New Jersey in such a powerful, tangible way," said Covenant House New Jersey Executive Director Jim White. "Now in our second year, this is more than an event ... it is a movement to rescue more New Jersey kids from the streets. I want to thank the Red Bulls for again agreeing to let us use their beautiful arena and rallying around our kids in this unique way. And I want to thank Horizon for their leadership and commend Horizon employees for participating in this charitable effort."
"Horizon and our employees for a second consecutive year are excited to sleep out in support of the Covenant House and its mission to create a safe and healthy living environment for homeless teenagers," said Jonathan R. Pearson, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility for Horizon BCBSNJ. "We commend our marketing partner the New York Red Bulls for hosting the sleep out event and helping us raise public awareness for at-risk teenagers in New Jersey."
Throughout the course of the evening, participants will have the opportunity to meet with Red Bulls team members, as they rally around the important issue of youth homelessness.
"The entire Red Bulls organization is proud to partner with Covenant House and Horizon to raise awareness for children that are homeless in New Jersey," said Marc de Grandpre, General Manager, New York Red Bulls. "As a parent, it is unfathomable knowing there are youth in our community that do not have a place to call home. The Sleep Out will be a tremendous opportunity for us to make a significant impact, and we plan on doing so."
For more information about how to support the Covenant House Sleep Out, presented by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey happening at Red Bull Arena, please contact Janette Scrozzo (jscrozzo@covenanthouse.com) or Wayne Paglieri (wpaglieri@covenanthouse.com).
About Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the state's oldest and largest health insurer is a tax-paying, not-for-profit health services corporation, providing a wide array of medical, dental, vision and prescription insurance products and services. Horizon BCBSNJ is leading the transformation of health care in New Jersey by working with doctors and hospitals to deliver innovative, patient-centered programs that reward the quality, no quantity, of care patients receive. Learn more at www.HorizonBlue.com. Horizon BCBSNJ is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association serving more than 3.8 million members.
About New York Red Bulls
The New York Red Bulls are one of 20 teams in Major League Soccer (MLS). They are one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since it's founding in 1996. They currently play their home matches at Red Bull Arena (RBA) in Harrison, New Jersey. RBA, a state-of-the-art 25,000-seat stadium, is widely regarded as the top soccer-specific stadium in North America. The club is owned by the Austrian beverage company Red Bull for which the team is named.
