The Brook tops $50 million raised for New Hampshire charities since 2019

(PRESS RELEASE) -- The Brook has raised more than $50 million for New Hampshire charities since the property changed hands in 2019, funding school-based mental health counseling, crisis response, food security, early childhood education, and other organizations in need across the Seacoast.

To celebrate the milestone, The Brook will stage a free drone show over the property after dark on Friday, 25 September.

Located just over the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border, The Brook operates under New Hampshire's charity casino model, which directs a portion of all gaming revenue to local nonprofits through rotating five- to 10-day cycles. Hundreds of organizations have benefited since 2019, from Angel Flight NE's free medical transportation for critically ill patients to Make-A-Wish New Hampshire.

"Fifty million is the headline. It isn't what we think about," said CEO Andre Carrier, who leads the only 100% employee-owned hospitality resort casino company in the U.S. "What we think about is a counselor in a school office on a Tuesday morning, or a child facing a serious illness getting the wish they asked for. Every guest who walks through our doors is part of that."

One of those organizations exists because The Brook went looking for it. In 2023, Carrier asked Patte-Anne Ardizzoni, who was then doing municipal funding work for a Seacoast community action agency, whether she could build a nonprofit that could put a mental health counselor into local schools. The result is Rising Tides a Mindset Initiative, a Hampton Falls nonprofit serving students and families in the Seabrook, Hampton Falls, North Hampton, and South Hampton school districts. Charity dollars from The Brook cover the counselor position, and what is left goes toward gaps nobody else covers, including food for the district's Title I students.

"People who are struggling don't come with just one problem," said Ardizzoni, the organization's founder and president. "A counselor is there from 8 to 3, and then the child goes home. If there's no food in the house, or no way for a parent to get to work, the school part doesn't hold."

Seacoast Mental Health Center, one of New Hampshire's 10 community mental health centers (CMHCs), uses funding from The Brook to provide essential mental health care services throughout eastern Rockingham County. These services include outpatient behavioral health care for individuals of all ages, targeted case management and functional supports, substance use disorder care, and 24/7 mobile crisis response. True to its mission, the Center serves everyone in need of care, regardless of ability to pay.

“The funds received directly support critical care for thousands of individuals annually,” said Michael Wilson, Director of Development at Seacoast Mental Health Center. “This transformational investment helps ensure that everyone in our community who needs support can access life-saving services when they need them most.”

Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation, which is marking its 25th anniversary this year, runs more than 300 beach cleanups annually and reaches roughly 35,000 people through its education programs, including the Blue Ocean Discovery Center at Hampton Beach.

"Unrestricted funding like this has an immeasurable impact on our ability to meet the needs of the community," said Jen Kennedy, Executive Director and co-founder of Blue Ocean Society. "It helps us design and run our education programs, our beach cleanups and our whale research, and it lets us fill gaps as they come up."

Just 40 miles north of Boston, the 75-acre property offers more than 800 gaming machines, live table games, a 10-table poker room, New England's largest sportsbook and New Hampshire's largest Stadium Gaming experience. Dining and entertainment include 9 Dragons, created with the legendary Kowloon restaurant, Lucky's, and the 300-seat Seasons Showroom.

Earlier this year, the property unveiled The Secret Garden, a five-acre venue anchored by a glass conservatory, which hosts events, including a Big Head Todd and The Monsters concert on Saturday, 26 September.