News
Through Care, Cards doing world of good
Redbird Rookies at center of club's charitable work
By Matthew Leach / MLB.com
11/25/09 4:00 PM EST
ST. LOUIS -- Despite the economy, in many ways, it was a good year to be doing charitable work within the realm of Major League Baseball. That was doubly true in St. Louis.
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The league set a year-long theme of "Beyond Baseball," with a goal of honoring accomplishments off the field as well as great play on the diamond. Community work was highlighted, and baseball went out of its way to make service a priority. Those efforts reached a high point at the 2009 All-Star Game in St. Louis, providing a great opportunity for Cardinals Care, the charitable arm of the Cardinals.
"They're really focusing on community," said Michael Hall, the Cardinals' vice president in charge of community outreach and Cardinals Care. "Most teams, if not all, have a foundation. And [MLB is concentrating on] how the foundations interact with the community and how the teams give back, as well as the players and some of the top-line folks in the organizations."
At the center of Cardinals Care activities is Redbird Rookies, a program that teaches life skills to young people by way of baseball. The program starts with getting kids into baseball leagues -- 21 in all at this point -- and goes from there, trying to help kids with all sorts of life skills.
"Enrollment this year was up," Hall said. "More importantly, there's a larger percentage of the kids participating in the off-field activities that we provide. We support kids in the areas of mentoring, education, cultural arts and health. Our clinics, our fairs, our reading programs, the jazz concert that we put on. More of the kids that are part of Redbird Rookies are participating not only in the on-field baseball but the off-field programs that surround it. That makes it an all-encompassing program."
Redbird Rookies is more fleshed out and efficient than before, according to Hall, and in a lot of ways, it's become what Cardinals Care always hoped it would be since its inception in 2004. It's no longer about developing what the program is. It's about streamlining the services and expanding the reach.
Approximately 4,000 kids participated in Redbird Rookies in 2009, and the goal is to get that number to 6,000 within three years. Considering that the initial number was 1,200 in '04, it seems like a reachable goal.
Cardinals Care dedicated three new fields in 2009: Bob Gibson Field, Ozzie Smith Field and All-Star Field. The group hopes to continue adding fields and leagues in order to expand Redbird Rookies' reach. But it also is starting to look into new ways to bring in funds to make that happen. Hall took some inspiration from the charity 5K run that MLB put on during All-Star week as he and his group think about ways to raise funds.
Hall emphasizes that Redbird Rookies isn't the only thing that Cardinals Care does. It still supports a long list of St. Louis-area organizations that provide services for children, just like it has done since it was formed. Approximately 400 groups received more than $900,000 from Cardinals Care in 2009, with a boost from the All-Star festivities. Cardinals Care's primary annual fundraiser is the Winter Warm-Up fan festival, which takes place every January in downtown St. Louis.
"The All-Star Game being here was a big help for a lot of the organizations in the community," Hall said.
Matthew Leach is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
