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.

Mississippi Braves and Bass Pro Shops Flood Relief Efforts

The Mississippi Braves along with Bass Pro Shops, Tracker Marine, and Uncle Bucks Grills have joined forces to aid the victims of the Mississippi River Floods.

On Monday, May 30, 2011, The Braves and Bass Pro Shops presented a $5,000 check to The Salvation Army to help jump start the relief effort. Furthermore, prominent members of the community such as Minor League Baseball President Pat O’Conner, Vice President of Business Development for MiLB Tina Gust, and Pearl Mayor Brad Rogers came to show their support and encouragement during this tragic time. The Salvation Army’s Jackson, MS Area Coordinator/Corps Officer Captain Ken Chapman, U.S. Congressman Gregg Harper, Lt. Governor Phil Bryant, MS State Representative Ray Rogers, and MS State Senator Dean Kirby also attended the pre-game ceremony.

The Braves further aided the cause by donating 100% of the revenue generated by a special silent auction during the game. The silent auction featured various items for fans to bid on, such as autographed baseballs, bats, photos, and jerseys of various Braves players.

As a further way of providing assistance, the M-Braves encouraged fans to donate items such as clothing, shoes, water, non-perishable food items, and personal hygiene items to The Salvation Army. The Braves did so by providing fans who donated items to the cause a 50 percent discount on field seat tickets. Plus, the first 500 fans that donated items to the relief effort received their choice of a free Jason Heyward, Freddie Freeman, Brian McCann or Jeff Francoeur 8 x 10 color photo.

The Braves are still encouraging fans to continue to donate items for the relief effort, and drop them off at Trustmark Park throughout the year.

Check presentation to The Salvation Army. (From left to Right: General Manager of Bass Pro Shops Patrick Renegar, Jackson, MS Area Coordinator/Corps Officer Captain Ken Chapman, and General Manager of the Mississippi Braves Steve DeSalvo
General Manager Steve DeSalvo helping load the donated items onto the Salvation Army Truck.

Mississippi Braves Partner with the Salvation Army for Southeastern Tornado Relief Efforts

The Mississippi Braves in conjunction with the Atlanta Braves, Gwinnett and Rome Braves, 680 the Fan and Rock 100.5, corporate partners, and The Salvation Army have joined forces to raise money, awareness, and support for the Southeastern tornado relief efforts. The Mississippi Braves parent club began the effort Monday, May 2, by donating $100,000 to The Salvation Army.

As Atlanta’s AA team in the heart of Mississippi, the M-Braves will be a central location in the Jackson Metro Area for a drive to collect the most needed items for the victims of the devastating tornados.

“The tragic impact these tornados have had on the entire Southeast Region have greatly impacted all of our lives and the community in which we live,” said M-Braves General Manager, Steve DeSalvo. “As a member of this great community, it is important that we work together to rebuild what was lost which is why the M-Braves wish to help in any way we can.”

In response to this announcement, Ken Chapman, Jackson, MS Area Coordinator/ Corps Officer, remarked, “The Salvation Army has always regarded the Braves as wonderful corporate citizens and we are grateful for their caring hearts to serve those in need during this time of devastation.”

Currently, The Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Teams have been deployed and are in the process of helping the thousands of people in need. In addition, The Salvation Army is asking for various donations which will be distributed across the six states devastated by these brutal storms including Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

Below is a list of the various items most needed:

· Household items (Laundry detergent, bleach, towels, bed sheets, blankets)
· Toiletries (Toothpaste, mouthwash, body soap, deodorant, lotion, feminine hygiene products, hand sanitizer, razors, toilet paper)
· Paper kitchen products (Disposable dishes, utensils, cups, paper towels
· Baby Products (Diapers, formula, baby powder)
· Cleaning supplies (Mops, brooms, Lysol, trash bags)
· Flashlights
· First-aid kits
· Non-perishable food items (Canned/packaged food, bottled water, sports drinks)
· School supplies (paper, notebooks, pens, pencils, lunch boxes, book bags, folders, etc.)

Fisher Cats Partake in Annual Day of Caring

Members of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats front office spent Wednesday morning volunteering their services at the New Hampshire Food Bank in Manchester and the Londonderry Toys for Tots as a part of the club’s annual Day of Caring.  The Fisher Cats front office also participated in the Salvation Army’s Adopt-a-Family program and contributed gifts to local family in need during the holidays.

“It’s the very least that we can do as an organization and as individuals,” said Fisher Cats President Rick Brenner.  “These special organizations and their volunteers work tirelessly to make a positive difference in so many lives, especially during the holidays. We’re just honored to lend a hand.”

Half of the Fisher Cats staff headed to the New Hampshire Food Bank warehouse in Manchester where they assisted the Food Bank staff in sorting donated food items in preparation for delivery.  The other half of the Fisher Cats staff visited the Londonderry Toys for Tots headquarters and helped with organizing donated toys and readying them for distribution.

Earlier in the week, a local family participating in the Salvation Army’s Adopt-a-Family program visited Merchantsauto.com Stadium and received gifts including toys, clothes and Fisher Cats merchandise donated by each member of the Fisher Cats front office staff.

“There is no better feeling than knowing you can help to make someone’s holiday season a little bit brighter,” said Danielle Matteau, Fisher Cats Executive Director of Marketing and Public Affairs.  “As a staff, we just feel fortunate that we are able to make a difference.”

Timber Rattlers Garden for the Community

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers have taken on a community project this season that requires a green thumb. Rattlers Vice President of Marketing, Angie Ceranski witnessed a growing number of companies in the area planting vegetable gardens for a variety of reasons with the common initiative being the promotion of sustainability and locally grown food. She felt an undertaking like this would further demonstrate the Timber Rattlers’ support for the community while bringing food to the tables of families less fortunate.

In late May, the Timber Rattlers planted a vegetable garden just beyond the fence off the left field corner of Time Warner Cable Field. Led by Angie’s efforts, a handful of staff members and a couple generous contributors have helped make this project possible.

Lakeshore Cleaners, a local landscape company, prepared the garden plot and provided their special mix of compost. Shroeder’s Fox Valley Greenhouse, De Pere, provided the starter plants. And Home Depot (Appleton West) donated the garden fence.

Produce from the garden continues to be donated, throughout the growing season, to St. Joseph’s Food Program (‘Grow a Row’ program) and the Salvation Army. Both organizations provide food to area families need.

A photo journal to log the progress of the garden is available at: http://www.tratsgarden.blogspot.com/.

Signage at the garden site creates awareness of the garden’s purpose.
Work in progress just beyond the left field fence.

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.

Miracle Roll Sleeves Up to Help Community

Miracle Cares is a community outreach program that was founded in the Fall of 2008. The Fort Myers Miracle front office staff recognized the need for volunteers in the community and took it upon themselves to be those people. Each month the Miracle volunteer some of their work time to helping local organizations in need. This year organizations such as the CCMI soup kitchen, Ronald McDonald House and Salvation Army were assisted in there drive for helping others.

Thursday, April 15th the Miracle pushed up their sleeves and went to work in the kitchen of the Ronald McDonald house cooking some ballpark favorites for dinner. “It’s something simple for us to do and yet the families have been very appreciative” says General Manager, Steve Gliner.  The Miracle lent a hand at the local soup kitchen earlier this year, serving over a hundred people within just a couple hours.

The team turned full circle when they visited the Children’s Hospital on April 26th. The visit consisted of stopping at the Oncology/Hematology, Intensive Care and Surgical units. Children’s faces lit up with joy seeing professional ball players walk into their room to visit. Some kids jumped right into their arms, while others took a little time to warm up to. The kids took to the players right away and began cracking jokes and giving high fives. At the end of the day the kids were just kids, all illnesses momentarily aside.

Miracle Players from left: Tony Davis, Chris Herrmann, Dan Rohlfing, Brad Tippett