Students from Pasadena Unified’s Washington Middle School to Celebrate Jackie Robinson’s Birthday with Dodger Players
The Los Angeles Dodgers conclude their 11th annual Community Service Caravan, Pitching in the Community presented by State Farm, Friday, January 31 with current Dodgers taking part in a variety of community service activities throughout greater Los Angeles. Dodgers Mike Baxter, Nick Buss, Drew Butera, Carl Crawford, Tim Federowicz, Stephen Fife with wife Alyssa, Dee Gordon, Javy Guerra, Alex Guerrero, Matt Magill with wife Melissa, Jarret Martin, Paco Rodriguez, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Justin Sellers, Scott Van Slyke, Brian Wilson, Yasiel Puig, Seth Rosin, assistant hitting coach John Valentin and broadcaster Charley Steiner are scheduled to participate.
The Dodgers’ Pitching in the Community presented by State Farm is a week-long civic engagement initiative where Dodger players, alumni and employees join together in partnership with community based organizations to help promote and support work that is positively changing the lives of children, teens and adults. Through this initiative, the Dodgers continue to build on their tradition of community service with the goal of inspiring youth and adults to play, learn, live and serve.
Additionally, the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) will supplement this initiative with a $2,000 grant to qualifying organizations participating in this year’s Community Service Caravan and dedicate their 32nd and 33rd Dodger Dreamfields at Jesse Owens Park in South Los Angeles.
The schedule below outlines Pitching in the Community presented by State Farm this Friday led by the Dodgers.
Friday, January 31:
On the final day of Pitching in the Community, Buss, Butera, Crawford, Federowicz, the Fifes, Gordon, the Magills, Baxter, Rodriguez, Ryu, Sellers, Van Slyke, Wilson, Guerra, Martin, Puig, Rosin, Guerrero, Valentin and Steiner will start the day at Kidspace Children’s Museum, followed by visits to Homeboy Industries, Weingart East LA YMCA and a Dodgers Dreamfield dedication at Jesse Owens Park.
9:00 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. Kidspace Children’s Museum
480 N. Arroyo Blvd., Pasadena
In honor of Jackie Robinson’s birthday, the Dodgers will invite 42 youngsters from Robinson’s middle school, Washington Middle School, to participate in workshops at Kidspace Children’s Museum. Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard and Kidspace Children’s Museum CEO Michael Shanklin will be on hand.
Buss, the Fifes, Gordon, Wilson, Van Slyke and Puig will lead an imagination workshop where participants in a group will be challenged to think creatively about the materials they are given to complete a sculpture/engineering project. Butera, Crawford, the Magills, Baxter, Sellers, Martin and Rosin will lead a physics workshop in the Galvin Physics Forest where Newton’s Three Laws of Motion come to life. Federowicz and Rodriguez will visit the Art Center and Nature Exchange. Ryu and Guerra will visit the Garden and Physics Forest. Guerrero and Valentin will visit the animal Encounter and roller coaster. Players, accompanied by Museum educators, will also partake in various experiments throughout the museum with children who are visiting the museum Friday. Player assignments subject to change.
The Dodgers’ morning at the Kidspace Children’s Museum concludes with the Animal Fitness Challenge in the Amphitheatre. This Kidspace “Explorations” experience aims to teach guests the function of their heart and how most animals maintain an active lifestyle, are not sedentary and how they physically move. A Kidspace Educator will then lead the group to imitate animals, demonstrating these animal movements with a group of volunteers on stage.
12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Homeboy Industries
130 W. Bruno St., Los Angeles, 90012
The Dodgers will be given an introduction to Homeboy Industries through participation in maintenance and refurbishment projects, baking and working in the café kitchen, followed by lunch and conversation with approximately 175 Homeboy trainees. The Time Warner Cable Dodger Dog truck will be on site for Homeboy Industries staff and trainees.
Gordon and Rodriguez will be placed at the Homeboy Industries retail store where they will help sell merchandise, interact with customers and restock items. Guerra, the Fifes, Puig and Martin will be assigned to the bakery where they will help make baked goods. Guerrero, Van Slyke, Sellers and Buss will be assisting with various maintenance projects at the facility. Butera, Crawford, Federowicz, the Magills, Ryu, Wilson, Rosin and Valentin will work in the Homegirl Café and help prepare lunch, shadow servers, hosts and line cooks. Player assigments are subject to change.
2:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. Weingart East LA YMCA
2900 Whittier Blvd., Los Angeles 90023
The Dodgers will visit with students at the Weingart East LA YMCA. State Farm employees will also be on hand. The Weingart East LA YMCA is committed to nurturing the potential of every child and teen, improving the community’s health and well-being and giving back and providing support to neighbors.
Activities will include a Q&A session with high school students and Buss, Federowicz, Rodriguez and Valentin in the Aerobics Room. Ryu, Wilson, Puig, Guerrero, Butera, Baxter, Sellers, Van Slyke and Guerra will lead a group of youngsters in Fitness and Stretching as well as discuss how they stay fit, exercise and keep active during the season. Crawford, Gordon, Rosin, the Fifes, the Magills and Martin will join pre-schoolers in arts and crafts, singing and story time. The Time Warner Cable Dodger Dog truck will also be on site.
4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Dodgers Dreamfield at Jesse Owens Park
9651 S. Western Avenue, Los Angeles, 90047
The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation along with County of Los Angeles, LA84 Foundation and Hollywood Indies Little League will dedicate two Dodgers Dreamfields, the 32nd and 33rd in the program, at Jesse Owens Park and conduct a youth baseball clinic. The Dodgers will be joined by Executive Director, Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation, Nichol Whiteman, Los Angeles County Supervisor, Second District, Mark Ridley-Thomas, Director, County of Los Angeles, Department of Parks and Recreation, Russ Guiney and Vice President, Grants and Programs, LA84 Foundation, Patrick Escobar.
At registration, each child will receive a Dodger cap, Dodger T-Shirt and Dodger #42 wristband in honor of Jackie Robinson’s birthday.
Following the brief dedication, Puig, Federowicz, Van Slyke and Mike Baxter will lead a hitting clinic. Wilson, Guerra, Ryu, Magill and Fife will lead a pitching clinic. Gordon, Crawford, Buss and Butera will lead a base running clinic and Rodriguez, Guerrero, Sellers, Rosin and Martin will lead a fielding clinic.
The Dodgers Dreamfields program is one of the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation’s signature initiatives and its goal is to provide baseball fields where youngsters can learn the game of baseball in an organized program that is administered by the City or County in a safe environment while learning the importance of playing team sports and key characteristics like sportsmanship, ethics and fair play.
More information on the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Community Relations, the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation and the club’s charitable endeavors can be found by visiting www.dodgers.com/community.
Media should contact the Dodgers Public Relations department for more information on the Dodgers Community Service Caravan, Pitching in the Community presented by State Farm and to confirm attendance. All featured guests subject to change.
About the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF)
The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation is the official team charity of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Its primary focus is to support cornerstone programs in sports & recreation, education & literacy and health & wellness benefitting children and families throughout the greater Los Angeles region. By leveraging strategic partnerships, the goal is to harness the power of the Dodger brand and the passion our fans have for Los Angeles into a vehicle for positive change in under-served communities.
About State Farm
State Farm and its affiliates are the largest provider of car insurance in the U.S. and is a leading insurer in Canada. In addition to providing auto insurance quotes, their 18,000 agents and more than 65,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts – more than 79 million auto, home, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is also available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 44 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit http://www.statefarm.com or in Canada http://www.statefarm.ca.
The Los Angeles Dodgers franchise, with six World Series championships and 21 National League pennants since its beginnings in Brooklyn in 1890, is committed to a tradition of pride and excellence. The Dodgers are dedicated to supporting a culture of winning baseball, providing a first-class, fan-friendly experience at Dodger Stadium, and building a strong partnership with the community. With the highest cumulative fan attendance in Major League Baseball history, and a record of breaking barriers, the Dodgers are one of the most cherished sports franchises in the world.
Visit the Dodgers online at www.dodgers.com, follow them on Twitter @Dodgers and like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Dodgers.
