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It's October, which means only one thing for baseball fans across the country: playoff season! Then we head into the off-season, or at least the players and fans do. But for Major League Baseball (MLB), corporate citizenship is a year-round activity.
 "(Baseball) Commissioner Selig has often stated 'Baseball is a social institution with social responsibilities,'" says Tom Brasuell, MLB's vice president of community affairs. "The community affairs departments at the League and Club level strive to carry out the Commissioner’s vision." Tom is responsible for Major League Baseball's numerous central office community affairs initiatives. As the governing body of the individual baseball Clubs, MLB develops national initiatives for the leagues, and provides leadership, information and resources to the individual Clubs for their local involvement. All of the Clubs have their own community affairs staff to manage additional local community initiatives as well.
MLB dedicates a great deal of time and energy throughout the year building and strengthening ties to the teams' respective communities. "It's important to us, to our Clubs, and to our players," says Tom. MLB, along with its clubs, corporate sponsors and a number of charitable organizations, focuses its activities on youth, families, healthy lifestyles and health initiatives.
 From its relationship with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the official charity of Major League Baseball, to its support of youth baseball programs, such as Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI), MLB has fostered close associations with several youth organizations. Other outreaches include health related initiatives including awareness of breast cancer, prostate cancer, responsible drinking and heart disease, as well as the creation of the Commissioner's Initiative for Kids, which provides a platform for fans, particularly young fans, to support important youth related charities while giving many children the opportunity to attend games.
With all this activity, says Tom, one of MLB's greatest challenges is dealing with the number of requests its gets for assistance. "We want to be impactful, so we have to be selective with our resources and know when to say no."
Another challenge, one that might be a surprise for those who see baseball as "America's national pastime," is the need to be global. In total, just over 29 percent of the 829 players on rosters as of April 4, 2005 were born outside the United States. "With so many of our players born outside the U.S., we look to respond to community needs beyond North America," explains Tom. For example, MLB provides wheelchairs in Latin America through the Wheelchair Foundation, works with the International Kids Fund that provides medical services for children from Latin American countries, and supports the growth of youth baseball and softball abroad through grants to youth organizations from the Baseball Tomorrow Fund.
Tom is particularly proud of MLB's involvement with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the official charity of MLB. Boys & Girls Clubs annually serves 3.6 million young people primarily from disadvantaged circumstances, in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands plus domestic and international military bases. Known as the "Positive Place for Kids," the Clubs provide character development programs on a daily basis, conducted by full and part-time trained professional staff and volunteers.
"We hear many stories from kids who have overcome incredible barriers, and knowing that we help these kids is heartwarming," beams Tom. "I'm privileged to do what I do. There's a quote that says, 'Work's a pleasure, life's a joy.' That's how I feel about what I do every day, and it's very rewarding."
Some of MLB's signature community programs are listed below. (Learn more at the MLB site.)
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The Baseball Tomorrow Fund is a joint initiative of Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association designed to promote and enhance the growth of baseball throughout the world by funding programs, field improvements and equipment purchases to encourage and maintain youth participation in baseball and softball. |
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Breaking Barriers: In Sports, In Life is a multi-curricular character education program developed by Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players Trust and Scholastic, Inc. Using baseball as a metaphor for life, the Breaking Barriers curriculum is based on the values demonstrated by the late Jackie Robinson and the program's motivating, baseball-themed activities reinforce literacy skills, mathematics, science and social history in addition to addressing critical issues of character development, such as conflict resolution and self-esteem. |
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Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) is designed to promote the game of baseball to teenage boys and girls in disadvantaged areas. Since its inception in 1989, RBI has grown from a local program for kids in South Central Los Angeles to an international campaign with RBI programs started in more than 200 cities worldwide, annually providing as many as 120,000 boys and girls the opportunity to play baseball and softball. |
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Each year, the Roberto Clemente Award recognizes those individuals who truly understand the value of helping others. This year, as part of the national Clemente Day recognition on September 7, clubs also collected donations from fans in support of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. In addition, Major League Baseball, which has raised more than $10 for hurricane relief efforts through combined support from its Clubs, players and fans, plans to incorporate many of its postseason hurricane relief initiatives with the announcement of the Roberto Clemente Award recipient during the 2005 World Series. |
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Boys & Girls Clubs of America has been the official charity of Major League Baseball since 1997. Since then Major League Baseball and Boys & Girls Clubs of America have established more than 100 new RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) leagues, nearly 100 Rookie Leagues (machine-pitch instructional programs) and increased exposure for B&GCA through Major League Baseball produced print, radio and television public service advertising campaigns. The partnership has resulted in more than $16 million in direct and indirect support for Boys & Girls Clubs of America. |
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