That's the ticket! Charities benefit from sales

The New York Islanders business operation hasn't taken any timeouts this summer, spending these ice-melting days preparing a program that gives some charities discounted tickets, and guarantees some revenue for the team.

The Islanders' Charity of the Game program, now in its fourth year, helps out a bunch of nonprofits, including Autism Speaks, the Wounded Warrior Project, and the American Red Cross, among others.

Rose Barre, Islanders director of group sales, says the charities must put down a $350 deposit and then are allotted 200 tickets each. They sell the tickets at discounted rates. Seats in the lower VIP section of the Nassau Coliseum, in Uniondale, for example, normally sell for $95. The charity can keep $30 of that amount and give the difference to the Islanders. And the Islanders have filled a seat.

About 41 charities are committed to the program for the Islanders' 2010-11 season.

"The first year we had five or six charities," Barre said. "Now it's a sold-out program."

There are 41 home games, and each one has a charity connected to it. The Islanders expect to make about $280,000 from the program. The charities are promoted at each game, with their causes put up on the Islanders' video board.