Minor League Baseball is donating $27,500 to the American Red Cross of Oklahoma City to assist individuals affected by the tornadoes that hit the area in late May/early June.
Minor League Baseball’s Chief Marketing Officer, Michael Hand, will make a check presentation on behalf of MiLB Charities on July 12 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark before that night’s game between the New Orleans Zephyrs and Oklahoma City RedHawks.
“As the mission of Minor League Baseball Charities states, we are dedicated to giving back to and enhancing the communities our teams call home,” said Pat O’Conner, President & CEO of Minor League Baseball. “It became apparent very quickly that the citizens of Oklahoma and our baseball family needed our help, so we identified our resources and determined how we could collectively offer assistance. We hope that this monetary donation will aid individuals in beginning to rebuild their lives.”
The donation is a result of various fundraising efforts conducted by Minor League Baseball, participating MiLB clubs and the Professional Baseball Umpire Corp. (PBUC), in partnership with Minor League Baseball Charities. Fifteen percent of all orders placed through participating clubs’ online stores between June 3 and June 17 were donated to MiLB Charities through the ‘15 for 15’ program.
A total of 53 clubs, the Minor League Baseball store and The Umpire School store, whose online stores are housed on MiLB.com participated. Clubs that participated were the Bakersfield Blaze; Batavia Muckdogs; Birmingham Barons, Bluefield Blue Jays; Boise Hawks; Bradenton Marauders; Buffalo Bisons; Cedar Rapids Kernels; Charleston RiverDogs; Charlotte Knights; Charlotte Stone Crabs; Chattanooga Lookouts; Clinton LumberKings; Connecticut Tigers; Corpus Christi Hooks; Dayton Dragons; Delmarva Shorebirds; Durham Bulls; Fort Wayne TinCaps; Frisco RoughRiders; Great Lakes Loons; Greeneville Astros; Greensboro Grasshoppers; Hickory Crawdads; Idaho Falls Chukars; Indianapolis Indians; Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino; Jacksonville Suns; Lakewood BlueClaws; Las Vegas 51s; Lexington Legends; Lynchburg Hillcats; Mahoning Valley Scrappers ; Memphis Redbirds; Modesto Nuts; Myrtle Beach Pelicans; Nashville Sounds; Oklahoma City RedHawks; Orem Owlz; Rochester Red Wings; San Antonio Missions; Savannah Sand Gnats; Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders; St. Lucie Mets; State College Spikes; Stockton Ports; Syracuse Chiefs; Toledo Mud Hens; Trenton Thunder; Tri-City ValleyCats; Tulsa Drillers; West Michigan Whitecaps; and Wilmington Blue Rocks.
Additionally, the Brooklyn Cyclones, Erie SeaWolves, New Orleans Zephyrs and Potomac Nationals participated in the program through their own team stores and provided MiLB Charities with their donations to add to the ‘15 for 15’ funds. A number of direct donations were also received, including one from the Atlanta Braves Foundation (on behalf of the Gwinnett Braves, Mississippi Braves, Rome Braves and Danville Braves), and from the Jackson Generals, Bradenton Marauders and Omaha Storm Chasers from fundraising efforts at their ballparks.
“The Oklahoma City RedHawks and our community have been overwhelmed by the support of Minor League Baseball Charities and our member clubs,” said Michael Byrnes, president and general manager of the Oklahoma City RedHawks. “To have so many teams reach out and offer assistance through fundraising at their ballparks or by participating in the ‘15 for 15’ Program truly shows the spirit of the Minor League Baseball community.”
For more information about MiLB Charities or to make a donation, visit http://www.milb.com/milb/info/charity.jsp.
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