National Balloon Rally Charities awards $82,205.00 to dozens of local non-profit organizations... congratulations to all recipients!

What a successful 2014 weekend! Pilots, families, friends and hot air balloon enthusiasts arrived in Statesville to once again celebrate the joy of hot air ballooning. Our 41st Carolina BalloonFest was filled with many magical moments, especially for those that took to the skies nestled inside gondolas. Despite the winds that grounded the Saturday evening launch, our great pilots set up a spectacular evening Balloon Glow to amaze our guests.

National Balloon Rally Charities thanks everyone who contributed their time and support to the success of our event, Carolina BalloonFest, which enables us to continue our charitable mission! We can only do this with hundreds of volunteers, dozens of sponsors, media partners, entertainers and vendors.

We sincerely thank our thousands of spectators who experience the magic we design for them... we look forward to your return (3rd weekend) in October 2015!

Primary beneficiary. American Cancer Society's Relay for Life of Statesville is awarded $21,000 from National Balloon Rally Charities. 

Designated non-profit beneficiaries. National Balloon Rally Charities awards a total of $55,205 of the designated proceeds from Carolina BalloonFest to the following area non-profit organizations:

~ Statesville Chamber of Commerce
~ Boy Scout Troop 335 - Wilkes County
~ Girl Scouts Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont
~ Statesville Kiwanis
~ Iredell SCAN
~ Boy Scout Troop 174 - Troutman
~ Boy Scout Troop 607 - Statesville
~ Boy Scout Troop 609 - Statesville
~ Mitchell Community College Endowment for Excellence
~ NIHS - Cheerleaders
~ Habitat For Humanity of Iredell
~ Civil Air Patrol Iredell Squadron
~ Miss Statesville Scholarship Organization
~ Appalachian State University - Wayne Williams Scholarship Fund
~ Balloon Federation of America - Youth Scholarship Program

Board Member Honor Gifts. National Balloon Rally Charities awards a total of $6,000 of the designated proceeds from Carolina BalloonFest to the non-profit organizations below in honor of their 2014 Board Members; Bud Welch, Carol Johnson, Sam Parks, Brian Weiss, Jill Gibson, Pressly Mattox, Marc Klinger, Bob Dooley, Mandy McLaughlin, Barbara Mason Van, Don Kelly and Andrew Scott.

~ Balloon Federation of America - Youth Scholarship Program
~ Mitchell Community College Endowment for Excellence
~ Barium Springs
~ Hope's Wing
~ Habitat For Humanity of Iredell
~ Rolling Thunder Chapter 2
~ ESC Park Troutman
~ March of Dimes - Team Will 2015
~ Iredell Christian Ministries
~ Help Ministries of Troutman
~ Children's Homes of Iredell
~ Dove House

Over the past five years, including 2014, National Balloon Rally Charities has contributed a total of $274,180 to area non-profit organizations!

2014 Primary Beneficiary - American Cancer Society's Relay For Life of Statesville

MAY 7. National Balloon Rally Charities Announces 2014 Carolina BalloonFest Beneficiary

---

Friday, May 16, 2014 at 3:00PM
Iredell County Fairgrounds
630 N Main St, Troutman NC

Anyone can participate in Relay For Life. Friends, families, neighbors, classmates, sports teams, etc., can form their own teams. No matter who you are, there’s a place for you at Relay. Everyone's reason to Relay is as unique as their own personal story. At Relay, you can find healing, comfort, and support from others who have faced cancer or who have lost a loved one to the disease. You have a chance to meet people in the community who are equally as passionate about finding an end to cancer in our lifetime. Thanks to Relay participants, the American Cancer Society continues to save lives. Get Involved at RelayForLife.org/Statesville.

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is a life-changing event that gives everyone in communities across the globe a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease. At Relay, teams of people camp out at a local high school, park, or fairground and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative oj the track at all times during the event. Because cancer never sleeps, Relays are overnight events up to 24 hours in length.  Relay began in 1985 when Dr. Gordy Klatt, a colorectal surgeon in Tacoma, Washington, ran and walked around a track for 24 hours to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Since then, Relay has grown from a single man’s passion to fight cancer into the world’s largest movement to end the disease. Each year, more than 3.5 million people in 5,000 communities in the United States, along with additional communities in 20 other countries, gather to take part in this global phenomenon and raise much-needed funds and awareness to save lives from cancer.

Thanks to Relay participants, the American Cancer Society continues to save lives. 

---

Survivor Stories from our Community...

---