Signature Programs/Fundraisers

For the ninth-straight year all three Monumental Sports & Entertainment sports teams collaborated on the Family-to-Family program, which the Wizards created more than 20 years ago. The program allows the Capitals, Mystics and Wizards to “adopt” families in need who are nominated by local schools and nonprofit organizations. During the 2019 holiday season 22 families were adopted by MSE Foundation.

The families selected for participation in the Family-to-Family program were nominated by local schools and nonprofit organizations, including Martha's Table, Hendley Elementary School, Bright Beginnings and The Salvation Army National Capital Area Command. 

MSE Foundation donated more than $140,000 to Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) through its Courage Caps program presented by Telos Corporation. Courage Caps and T-shirts were sold at Capitals home games, online at WashingtonCaps.com and at the team stores at Kettler Capitals Iceplex and Capital One Arena. There were also a limited number of autographed Courage Caps and T-shirts available.

During the program launch, American players Taylor Chorney, Matt Niskanen, Brooks Orpik, T.J. Oshie and Nate Schmidt hosted nearly 130 surviving military children and adult loved ones who have found healing through TAPS at a skating party at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. Attendees participated in an hour-long skating session with the Capitals players, mascot Slapshot and Red Rockers. 

During the past five seasons, Courage Caps allowed the Capitals to raise more than $575,000 for Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, a nonprofit organization that helps families of the fallen. Since its inception the Courage program has raised more than $775,000 for worthwhile charities, including Our Military Kids, USO-Metro and The Fisher House Foundation. Through the program nearly 22,500 Courage hats have been sold in nine years and nearly 11,250 Courage T-shirts have been sold in seven years.

MSE Foundation partnered with Playworks of Greater Washington DC, providing a $25,000 grant and programming for the 2018-19 school year. Playworks is currently in 13 public and public charter schools in Washington, D.C., bringing safe, meaningful play to thousands of students every day.

DC-CAP is a nonprofit organization working in partnership with the District of Columbia Public and Public Charter School Systems that provides counseling and financial assistance to students who might otherwise never have the opportunity to attend or graduate from college. DC-CAP also works in partnership with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), the corporate community, colleges, universities and other college access programs. The overwhelming majority of students served by DC-CAP are from low-income, minority, single-parent households and are the first in their families to attend college.

On Sept. 27, 2019, more than 200 volunteers from Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Eagle Academy Public Charter School and members of the Ward 8 community gathered on the grounds of Eagle Academy Public Charter School at Fairlawn to transform the once empty site into a kid-designed, state-of-the-art playground with the help of  KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit focused on providing under-resourced communities with safe places to play. MSE participants included Founder, Chairman, Principal Partner and Chief Executive Officer Ted Leonsis; Wizards players Admiral Schofield and Ish Smith; and Vice President of Player Engagement for Monumental Basketball John Thompson III.

In 2011, the Capitals and So Kids Can partnered with KaBOOM! to create a Capitals-themed playground at Associates for Renewal in Education in Washington, D.C., and, in 2012, the groups combined their charitable might once again to build a playground with the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority at Hopkins-Tancil Court in Alexandria, Va. The first KaBOOM! playground was built 24 years ago in Washington, D.C., Since then, KaBOOM! has engaged more than one million volunteers and thousands of community and funding partners, all of whom have played a vital role in helping develop health-oriented environments for children. 

The new playground at  Eagle Academy Public Charter School at Fairlawn, which features the Capitals, Mystics, Wizards and Go-Go in its design, is part of a broader effort led by Monumental Sports and KaBOOM! to ensure communities have great interactive play spaces for kids and families.

Flashes of Hope is a nonprofit organization that changes the way children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses see themselves through the gift of photography and raises money for pediatric cancer research. Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation currently helps fund the Flashes of Hope chapters in Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia. 

For the tenth year in a row, the Washington Capitals and MSE Foundation partnered with the Potomac Valley Amateur Hockey Association (PVAHA), providing a $25,000 grant. This money helps fund the John Crerar Hockey Development and Chris Dernetz Disabled Hockey grant programs and was distributed to 21 area hockey programs during the 2018-19 season. The Crerar grant program increases participation and promotes hockey within Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. The Dernetz grant program assists USA Disabled Hockey Programs within PVAHA. Since 2009 the Capitals have granted more than $250,000 to PVAHA.