'A wonderful experience' | How the Sabres Foundation and Northtown Automotive's 50/50 raffle benefited the Miracle League of WNY

The Buffalo Sabres Foundation and Northtown Automotive partnered once again this season to host the team’s 50/50 raffle, which exists to benefit local charitable organizations in Western New York.

This season, the 50/50 raffle helped more than 100 local organizations whose missions align with the Buffalo Sabres Foundation's core objectives: serving children and military personnel, caring for the sick, assisting physically and mentally challenged athletes, and supporting youth hockey initiatives.

The average jackpot for games during the 2024-25 season was $44,089 – including a record-setting jackpot of $133,976 during Fan Appreciation Night on April 17.

“At Northtown Automotive, we understand the importance of giving back to the Western New York community at so many levels which is a philosophy we share with the Buffalo Sabres Foundation and our partnership with them dating back over 25 years,” said Harold Erbacher, Chief Operating Officer and co-owner of Northtown Automotive. “The Buffalo Sabres Foundation has injected a much-needed boost of support to over 100 local charities that make Western New York such a great place to call home.”

Sabres.com is providing a spotlight on the Miracle League of Western New York, one of the many organizations that benefited from fans who participated in the 50/50 raffle and the team’s partnership with Northtown Automotive.

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Sarah Gruszka still remembers the moment in 2011 when she learned about the Miracle League of Western New York, at that time still a project in its infancy with a mission to make sports more accessible for people with adaptive needs.

Gruszka’s daughter, Dawn, is blind and uses a wheelchair. When Sarah read that the Miracle League was being founded in her hometown of Grand Island, she immediately saw an opportunity to create a recreational outlet for her daughter.

Dawn began playing Miracle League baseball in that inaugural summer of 2011 and has been involved ever since.

“She absolutely loves it,” Sarah said. “There are some days where she won’t want to get out of bed, and we’ll say, ‘Well, you have baseball today. Do you want to go play baseball?’ And suddenly, she’s giving us all of her stuffed animals that she sleeps with, because she wants to get out of bed and go play.”

Today, Sarah serves on the Miracle League’s board of directors while her husband, Sean, spent a decade coaching their daughter’s team. Their family has watched the program change lives for the 750 players and 100 volunteers who use the field every summer.

The roots of the Miracle League are intertwined with the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association and Buffalo Sabres Foundation – and, specifically, their 50/50 raffle.

Sabres Hall of Famer Larry Playfair, who now serves as the team’s director of alumni relations, was instrumental in organizing the initial donation – including funds from the 50/50 raffle – that seeded the construction of the barrier-free baseball field.

The Sabres Foundation and Northtown Automotive continue to support the Miracle League of Western New York through the 50/50 raffle, including a donation of funds from their record-setting $133,976 jackpot at Fan Appreciation Night this past April.

Those funds will be put toward maintenance of the field, equipment, and other expenses that allow the Miracle League to keep registration fees as low as possible for participating families.

The Miracle League is a nationwide initiative that began with an initial complex in Conyers, Georgia in 2002 and has since grown to include over 350 organizations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

The Western New York league was inspired by Grand Island native Elizabeth “Ellie” Podsiadlo, who was born with spina bifida, a spinal condition that paralyzed her from the chest down. Podsiadlo’s passion for sports – including her beloved Sabres – motivated her family to spearhead the construction of a Miracle League field in their hometown.

Podsiadlo played in the league until she passed away at the age of 13 in 2014. Her name hangs on a plaque on the outfield fence and her mother, Gale, remains a Miracle League coach to this day.

“Her mother saw the value in this, not only for her daughter but for the adaptive community that she stays involved every single day,” said Scott McManigle, Executive Director for the Miracle League of Western New York.

Ellie’s impact is felt by everyone who enjoys the state-of-the-art field, which is located within Veterans Park on Grand Island. The field utilizes a rubber surface to create ease of mobility for players who use wheelchairs or walkers. Players are accompanied around the basepaths by volunteer “buddies.”

Buddies include parents, family members, and children from area schools.

“A big part of my mission is to get young children from the schools to come and interact with our players,” McManigle said. “To just stand and talk with them. To create friendships. To push wheelchairs. And as younger people are more aware and educated on who our players are, then what I’ve heard from principals, superintendents, is that the schools are a much better place.”

In addition to baseball, Miracle League programming includes a winter bowling league, kickball, dance parties, and beeper ball, a special game for visually impaired individuals that uses beeping baseballs and bases to help guide players.

The Miracle League community includes Sabres alumni and current players, who visit annually to accompany players as buddies for a game.

“By bringing players in those Sabres sweaters, it makes our players feel that they’re important, that they’re VIPs,” McManigle said. “There’s a self-worth to that. So, it’s not even a monetary donation. The greatest thing that the Sabres do is give us the opportunity to have our players recognized for who they are. And the experience makes an equally profound impact on the Sabres players who visit.”

It all makes for a bond that goes beyond the diamond for the players and families involved.

“It’s a family atmosphere,” Gruszka said. “It’s been a wonderful experience. It really has.”