The Official Site of the St. Louis Cardinals
Major League Baseball, in partnership with the St. Louis Cardinals, will dedicate the 2009 All-Star Summer to raising money/awareness for Baseball's charitable initiatives while celebrating the importance of community service. The charity and community service initiatives will be the most extensive in Major League Baseball All-Star history and will celebrate the history and traditions of Major League Baseball and the St. Louis Cardinals. Major League Baseball will focus its efforts on benefiting healthcare organizations, supporting education programs, increasing opportunities for young people to play baseball, acting in an environmentally-conscious manner and celebrating the community service accomplishments of everyday American citizens.
MLB will recognize people who embody the generosity of the American spirit through the extraordinary work they do to enrich the lives of others within their communities. Other community All-Star efforts include a full slate of activities with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Major League Baseball's official charity, the Legacy Funds program and collaboration with Make-A-Wish.
"Going Beyond" is a platform that integrates community service and social responsibility into everything Major League Baseball does as an organization. It also will serve as a call to action for all Americans to make a personal commitment to the communities in which they live. As part of this initiative, MLB employees, along with the many representatives of baseball's extended family of corporate partners in attendance in St. Louis, will volunteer their time and energy to support community-based events which will take place during All-Star week. Additionally, over 2,500 local St. Louis volunteers will assist with the efforts.
The All-Star FanFest® interactive baseball spectacular, the largest baseball event in the world, provides baseball fans of all ages with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the fun and excitement of the Major League Baseball Midsummer Classic. In celebration of the partnership between Major League Baseball and Boys & Girls Clubs of America, 25 local Boys & Girls Clubs members will assist MLB mascots in opening All-Star FanFest on Friday, July 10, with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
Major League Baseball and the St. Louis Cardinals will donate almost $5 million of the net proceeds from the Gatorade All-Star Workout Day on Monday, July 13 to local and national charitable causes. National beneficiaries include Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, National Recreation and Park Association, the Jackie Robinson Foundation, Roberto Clemente Sports City, and the Prostate Cancer Foundation; among others. Locally, funds will support many worthy projects for underserved youth including new youth baseball fields at the Herbert Hoover and Mathews-Dickey Boys & Girls Clubs, two scholarship programs and a college preparatory program, as well as a mobile health van that provides free health services.
Additional not-for-profit organizations will benefit from All-Star Week as a result of contributions related to player and celebrity participation in the Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game.
