Program Raises $7,500 for Nashville and Middle Tennessee Organizations
A pillar of the Nashville Predators is finding opportunities to serve Smashville and give back to the community, and the Preds Foundation’s support fromTito’s Handmade Vodka amplifies the excitement of a hockey game by combining on-ice play with real-world change.
For every assist made at home during the 2024-25 regular season, Tito’s pledged to donate $20 to the Preds Foundation. The Preds’ 352 assists at Bridgestone Arena resulted in a $7,040 worth of donations, but the final number written on the check was more. Tito’s graciously rounded up their donation to $7,500 to celebrate the inaugural season of the charitable program.
“I think the initiative went incredibly,” Field Sales Director for Tito’s Vodka Trip Cobb said. “This program is designed to create positive change in our community by taking the excitement of every assist made on the ice and turning it into a real-world assist for those in need.”
The unique effort is based on players helping each other in their scoring efforts. The assists and score changes are visible on the scoreboard inside Bridgestone Arena, while the program benefits the Preds Foundation out in the community.
“It was truly building a wonderful charitable program that benefits the greater community in and around Nashville, and the Preds were fully aligned,” Cobb said. “It’s just really humbling to meet and work with individuals from another great organization that want to give back to the community.”
The program’s inception came from Cobb’s enthusiasm for hockey and his experience in Smashville. He started to learn more about the Preds Foundation, which sparked the desire to make an impact, and the program was soon born.
“I got to know more about the Preds Foundation, the incredible individuals that work there have dedicated their lives to helping so many people, and then they also support other local nonprofits in and around the Nashville area,” Cobb said. “I was just grateful that Tito’s empowers me to make the decision to support them and their endeavors.”
Just as the Predators Foundation looks to build philanthropic partnerships, Tito’s is dedicated to celebrating community impact and goodness. To Cobb, Tito’s represents more than just a vodka brand.
“We have a philanthropic arm of our company called Love, Tito’s, where employees are empowered to give back to the causes, efforts, and nonprofit organizations that we care about and that inspire us daily,” Cobb said.
In the last five years, Tito’s has donated over $150 million to 50,000 nonprofit events and 20,000 nonprofit organizations.
The Tito’s Assist for a Cause program is one of the many ways the Predators Foundation supports Nashville and Middle Tennessee communities. Just this week, the Foundation announced its largest one-time donation, with Helper Grant distributions totaling $850,791 to 190 nonprofits. Since its inception, the Predators Foundation has awarded more than $11.2 million in financial grants to community service and charitable organizations.
That charitable program is set to continue, and the success of the first year has Cobb and Tito’s excited for the future.
“We were just really grateful that the Preds already had [the ability to make an impact] with the Preds Foundation, and now we’re just looking forward to helping them expand upon their efforts,” Cobb said.
