PEORIA, Ill. –Local organizers are re-booting a fundraiser aimed at celebrating one of Peoria’s favorite sons and Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Thome.
The re-boot announcement came during a reception on Thursday evening.
Unfortunately, Thome was not in attendance, but fundraisers hope to collect enough donations to erect a statue in Thome’s honor at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex.
“How neat would it be to have a statue of Jim Thome, celebrating central Illinois and not just baseball, but everything he stands for outside of baseball including sportsmanship for the kids and including giving back to the community”, said Matt George to WMBD News this week.
Thome is widely regarded as a community philanthropist in Peoria and a public figure who always comes back home to help a good cause.
He’s also roundly acknowledged by leaders of the statue effort as being a genuine, kind and caring person.
Fellow organizer Rocky Vonachen tells WMBD’s “The Greg and Dan Show” on Friday following the announcement that collections will likely come primarily from individual “community and baseball minded” individuals in town, but that corporations are also being encouraged to contribute.
Individual donors can give anywhere between $1,000 and $25,000 with varying perks associated with each level of increased contribution.
For additional information, you can visit www.thomestatuepeoria.org.
