Fans Encouraged to Help Feed Hungry People

Local food bank will hold food drive during TinCaps’ Games

Parkview Field will play host to a food drive during games this weekend. (Tony DesPlaines)
Parkview Field will play host to a food drive during games this weekend. (Tony DesPlaines)

Fort Wayne, IN – This Saturday, Sunday, and Monday fans are asked to bring non-perishable food items to Parkview Field with them to help feed their hungry neighbors. On Saturday, August 27th at 7:05pm Comfort Keepers is sponsoring “Slugging for Seniors” a senior hunger food drive to collect non-perishable food items specifically for Community Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Indiana to use for their SeniorPak program. SeniorPak is a program that delivers groceries every two weeks for over 1,200 needy, homebound Seniors. Post-Game Fireworks and an appearance by Birdzerk! will also be featured that evening at the park along with a silent auction for two autographed TinCaps jerseys! All proceeds benefit Community Harvest Food Bank.

Then, on Sunday, August 28th at 3:05pm and Monday, August 29th at 7:05pm, a food drive will be held by the Society of Saint Andrew, a non-profit ecumenical Christian ministry dedicated to fighting hunger in our nation and the world. The Society works primarily to salvage fresh produce that would otherwise go to waste and deliver it to people in need. On August 5th the Society of St. Andrew delivered a semi-load of sweet potatoes to Community Harvest and they will start the Saturday and Sunday TinCaps food drive off with 120 cans of vegetables.

Fans are asked to bring cans of food and place them in barrels located around the ballpark. Suggested items are: canned meats, canned fruits and vegetables, peanut butter, pasta or noodles, canned soups and stews, toilet and facial tissue, and personal hygiene products.

About Community Harvest Food Bank
Community Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Indiana, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the alleviation of hunger through the full use of donated food and other resources. As the largest food bank in northeast Indiana, it collects and distributes over 10 million pounds of donated, surplus food annually through a network of human service member agencies. Community Harvest Food Bank serves Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wells and Whitley counties. Visit www.chfb.org, find them on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter.

Undernourishment and malnutrition are serious problems for America’s growing 65+ population. In fact, as many as one out of every three seniors are at risk for under- or mal-nutrition. To raise awareness for this growing problem, Comfort Keepers in Fort Wayne is participating in a nationwide STOP Senior Hunger Food Drive from August 15th through November 1st; all proceeds from the local food drive will benefit the Community Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Indiana.

About Comfort Keepers®
Comfort Keepers in Fort Wayne opened for business in September 2001 and will be celebrating their 10th year in business this year. They have established an excellent reputation for the quality of care their caregivers provide. Our caregivers provide non-medical in home care for seniors and others requiring assistance in their homes. Comfort Keepers expanded their reach in 2007 with the purchase of their second franchise in the Fort Wayne area and currently cover the counties of Allen, Adams, DeKalb, Huntington, Noble, Wells and Whitley. For more information visit their website at www.comfortkeepers.com/fortwayne-in.

About Society of Saint Andrew
The Society of St. Andrew, formed in 1979 with Headquarters in Big Island, VA., is a non-profit ecumenical Christian ministry dedicated to fighting hunger in our nation and the world. The Society works primarily to salvage fresh produce that would otherwise go to waste and deliver it to people in need.

Visit www.endhunger.org for more information or e-mail hranin@endhunger.org for Indiana info.
This article originally appeared on the official website of the Fort Wayne TinCaps. Click here to view the original story.

Indianapolis Indians Lend a Helping Glove

The Indianapolis Indians are giving away $10,000 in celebration of 125 consecutive years of professional baseball in Indianapolis. The program entitled “Lend a Helping Glove” has five local charities competing for a $10,000 grand prize.

Given a blank slate on a 5 foot fiberglass baseball glove, charities were asked to decorate their glove and put it on display in Indianapolis. Through a text vote, online vote and a celebrity panel vote, a winner will be decided. Voting began on June 3rd and ends at 11:59 PM EDT on August 19th. The winner will be announced at the Indians game on Friday, September 2nd versus Louisville.

Participating charities include the Boys and Girls Clubs of Indianapolis, Boys Scouts of America, CICOA, Indy Reads and the Salvation Army Indiana.

For more information on the program, visit www.lendahelpingglove.com.

Glove for the Salvation Army of Indiana.
Glove for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Indianapolis.
Glove for CICOA.

TinCaps launch walking program

Ballpark concourse open to public

"Conquer the Concourse" invites walkers to keep track of their progress. (Brad Hand)
“Conquer the Concourse” invites walkers to keep track of their progress. (Brad Hand)

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Fort Wayne TinCaps have partnered with Majic 95.1 to encourage downtown workers and visitors to “Conquer the Concourse” at Parkview Field this summer. In conjunction with the opening of the ballpark’s Field of Greens cart for summer lunches, the TinCaps and Majic 95.1 are encouraging those visiting the ballpark to join in the challenge to see how many laps they walk between Memorial Day and Labor Day.Walkers and runners are encouraged to stop by the Field of Greens cart between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. to fill out a “Conquer the Concourse” registration form. Throughout the summer the number of laps walked during each visit to Parkview Field can be recorded on their registration form which will be available each weekday at the Field of Greens cart (11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.). Those walking at other times of the day are encouraged to keep track of their laps and periodically update their lap totals throughout the summer.

“We’re excited to partner with Majic to bring attention to the availability of Parkview Field as a walking and running option downtown,” TinCaps Vice President of Marketing Michael Limmer said. “The concourse measures exactly one third of a mile, so it’s easy to be able to figure out the distance you’ve covered. We will have upwards of two hundred people walking or running throughout the day. It’s great to have that kind of energy in the ballpark and that level of usage. It’s what we envisioned an ‘open to the public’ ballpark being able to bring to downtown Fort Wayne beyond just baseball.”

“Several of us at the radio station were already taking advantage of the ballpark during lunch time to run,” said Barb Richards of Majic 95.1. “We got together with the folks at Parkview Field and figured out a way to create a bit of an incentive to get people moving during the summer. It’s a great venue, why not encourage people downtown to enjoy it?”

Throughout the summer Majic 95.1 will acknowledge random participants with prizes. There is no cost to be a part of the program and there is no prize for whoever walks the most laps. “Exercise is it’s own reward,” Limmer said with a smile. “We’re trying to encourage people to be healthy and to be aware that Parkview Field can be a resource to exercise in a safe, controlled environment. The fact we’re able to throw in a few incentives from time to time is a bonus to those that conquer the concourse.”

The Field of Greens cart, open 11:00am to 1:00pm, Memorial Day through Labor Day, has health-conscious menu items including salads, wraps, and sandwiches as well as chips and drink options.
This article originally appeared on the official website of the Fort Wayne TinCaps. Click here to view the original story.

Indians Give Back

What could be better than playing basketball in an air-conditioned gym on a hot summer day?  How about playing basketball with a professional baseball player?  Jeff Clement, first baseman for the Indianapolis Indians, spent the morning playing and hanging out with the kids at The Salvation Army’s Eagle Creek Community Center.  “Today was a great opportunity to come down to The Salvation Army and spend time with these kids.  It’s more fun, than anything because I’m just a big kid myself,” said Clement.

The kids are all part of The Salvation Army’s Summer Food Program, which provides nutritional meals for at-risk youth in the Eagle Creek area.  “For some of the kids here, this is the only full meal they get during the day,” said Captain Leti Crowell, Corps Officer for The Salvation Army Eagle Creek.  The program was started to bridge the gap between school sessions.  Nearly all of the children qualifiy for the Federal School Lunch program and many would go without a quality meal this summer without the help of The Salvation Army.

A big part of the day is organized recreation and when Clement heard about the opportunity to go and play with the kids, he jumped at it.  “It means so much to these kids that a player like Jeff Clement of the Indians cares about them enough to take time out of his schedule to come and play with them for a few hours.  These kids aren’t just hungry for food, they’re hungry for attention.  They’re going to go home after this and talk about it for a long time,” said Captain Crowell.

This is the second year that players from the Indianapolis Indians have spent a day with the kids at the Eagle Creek Salvation Army.  Last summer, Indians pitchers Eric Hacker and Chris Bootcheck played whiffle ball with kids.

Jeff Clement, first baseman for the Indianapolis Indians, helps 10 year old Mikhal dunk.

Mascot Musical Teaches Students

The Indianapolis Indians are proud to announce that their mascot Rowdie, along with a team of actors from the Actors Theatre of Indiana, is currently participating in the second season of the educational program “Rowdie: Home Run for Health”.

The play is designed to entertain and educate elementary school students on the “bases” of scoring a healthy home run in the game of life. The play’s script pays special attention to three key areas of a healthy lifestyle: nutrition, exercise and personal hygiene.

Indianapolis Indians Community Relations Manager Ryan Bowman expressed that the play acts as an add-on for the information students are already learning.

“Rowdie: Home Run for Health was started to reinforce the healthy lifestyle lessons taught in our local elementary schools. We are extremely excited to work with the Actors Theatre of Indiana in the development of such a fantastic learning mechanism for young students.”

This program evolved due to the need for improved awareness of childhood obesity. After speaking with local elementary school officials and parents, the staff behind the play learned that many school districts rated child obesity as their biggest challenge to overcome in their schools.

The 25-minute play plans to journey to more than 30 Indianapolis-area schools, with the final performance to be held on Thursday, April 1. Aside from a free viewing of the show, each student also receives a multi-page Rowdie Fun & Fitness Activity Book filled with great activities and games promoting the play’s message of a healthy lifestyle.

The show itself includes a hand-created Victory Field backdrop accompanied with its very own flip down food pyramid. The play also features many baseball themed song and dance routines such as “Food for Thought” and “Let’s Get Some Exercise”.

Students get math lesson at ball park

Tuesday was a picture perfect day for a baseball game. The stands at Victory Field were nearly full for a rare 11 a.m. game. That’s because an estimated 13,000 students from across the state were invited to share in the fun.

St. Joan of Arc advanced math students scored a homerun getting to come to Victory Field but, they couldn’t just kick back, they had to compute.

“We have to write down their name and write what they do, like, if they get on base or if they get an out,” said seventh grader, Shani Ayers.

Brent Kahl is a St. Joan of Arc volunteer. He comes every other week to help students with advanced math activities. He’s been using an online curriculum designed by the Indianapolis Indians. The program is called, “Baseball in Education.”

“It’s a great way, I think, to put math in a real world setting and get a lot of fun out of it too,” said Kahl.

Indians Director of Marketing and Communications Chris Herndon said, “We make sure it meets the Indiana standards. There’s math activities and science activities — all that pertain to baseball.”

The Indians have partnered with the Indianapolis Public School District. The team donates thousands of tickets to the students each year. IUPUI is also a partner and underwrites tickets for students across the state.

But the most important numbers Tuesday: Indians 5, Syracuse 4.

Click on the play button to watch the report that aired on the local TV station:

This story by Leslie Olsen and the accompanying video first appeared on www.wishtv.com (Channel 8 CBS affiliate in Indianapolis, IN).  Click here for the original story