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Community Award Winners Ryan Fitzgerald and Red Sox Hall of Famer Rich Gedman to join Smiley Ball, Woofster the WonderDog, Roberto the Rocket, and Santa in visits to charities, schools, and community organizations
WORCESTER, MA – Led by Infielder Ryan Fitzgerald and Hitting Coach Rich Gedman, two award-winning members of the Worcester Red Sox, the 2022 “WooSox Foundation Holiday Caravan” will be spreading cheer across the Heart of the Commonwealth this Monday, December 19 through Wednesday, December 21.
Fitzgerald, the club’s super utility infielder and second-ever recipient of the WooSox Foundation’s “Heart of the Heart” Community Spirit Award, will team up with Gedman, his Hitting Coach, who was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in May of this year. Joining them are Mascots Smiley Ball, Woofster the WonderDog, and Roberto the Rocket, along with Santa and Mrs. Claus.
The WooSox Foundation “Care-A-Van,” presented by Bank of America, is the team’s mobile RV that was unveiled in March of 2022 and will assist the WooSox in executing all of the good deeds scheduled for next week.
The impactful holiday gestures begin on Monday at Why Me & Sherry’s House when the team will bring gifts and essentials to toddlers and teens who are battling cancer. The group will also visit TLK Sports, a Worcester-based community organization that emphasizes the importance of teamwork and relationship building through a number of sports including baseball. The WooSox, in partnership with the Junior WooSox, will wrap up Monday evening at Nazareth home in Leicester to show their support for foster children by bringing winter hats and an assortment of surprise gifts.
On Tuesday, December 20, the Caravan continues in Polar Park’s backyard at the Canal District’s St. John’s Food for the Poor, where the WooSox will assist in providing breakfast to some of the neighborhood’s neediest population. The team will head from St. John’s to Abby’s House in Worcester, where toys and treats will be provided to women and children.
The caravan will continue its busy day on Tuesday at 11 am at UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center, where care packages filled with toys, books, and everyday essentials will go to kids who are in treatment. For the second straight year, the club has partnered with Kits for Kids, a Marlborough based organization that has provided care packages around the holidays to children in need for over 13 years.
The WooSox will wrap up their Tuesday afternoon with the Worcester Education Collaborative, where together they will donate tablets and keyboards to children at the Guild of St. Agnes in Worcester. The caravan will head to the YMCA Central Community Branch, then back to Polar Park, where fans will have the opportunity to meet Ryan Fitzgerald in the WooSox Team Store from 5:30-7:00 pm on Tuesday evening.
“I’m looking forward to being back in Worcester around Christmas time and help give back to this community that has had my back all season long,” said Ryan Fitzgerald, who in 2022 became the first Minor League player to have his own merchandise line. “The WooSox are always doing great things in the community and it’s a pleasure to help out in any way I can.”
The WooSox will conclude their 2022 Holiday Caravan on Wednesday with visits to Abby Kelley Foster Elementary School, and Gates Lane Elementary School, where the club established a mentoring program this past March 4 in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Massachusetts.
“What an honor it is to visit these children and organizations who deserve the smiles that our mascots so often inspire,” said WooSox President Dr. Charles A. Steinberg. “And how fortunate we are to have such caring souls who wear the WooSox uniform: Ryan Fitzgerald and Red Sox Hall of Famer Rich Gedman embody the dreams of all of the children of this region. Meeting Fitzy and Geddy, shaking their hands, and learning their stories can turn a moment into a memory and perhaps even a turning point in life. We thank the schools and wonderful charities who perform these good deeds every single day for the opportunity to stop by, say hello, and wish everyone a happy holiday season with best wishes for a happy, healthy new year.”
Media interested in covering any portion of the team’s 2022 Holiday Caravan can reach out to Vice President of Community & Player Relations Joe Bradlee at [email protected] for further guidance.