Jays Care invests more than $1 million in community baseball
May 7, 2021
Official Jays Care News Release
As announced Friday on Sportsnet’s Blue Jays Central, Jays Care Foundation, the charitable arm of the Toronto Blue Jays, will make infrastructure investments of more than $1 million in 2021 to benefit Canadian children and youth through its Field Of Dreams program.
Fourteen organizations across seven provinces will receive funding to build, enhance, and refurbish baseball diamonds where children and youth develop important life skills and learn from positive role models. Jays Care has invested more than $15 million in safe spaces across all 10 provinces and two territories in the last 10 years.
The following communities and organizations have been selected as Jays Care’s 2021 Field Of Dreams grant recipients:
-Bedeque, P.E.I. – Bedeque & Area Minor Baseball Association
-Dartmouth, N.S. – Diamond Dawgs Baseball Club
-Tobique First Nation, N.B. – Mah-Sos School
-La Pocatière, Que. – Association de baseball mineur de La Pocatière
-Blind River, Ont. – Town of Blind River
-Forest, Ont. – Forest Minor Baseball Association
-Gananoque, Ont. – Town of Gananoque
-Kenora, Ont. – Kenora Chiefs Advisory
-Ottawa, Ont. – South Ottawa Little League
-St. Marys, Ont. – Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
-Toronto, Ont. – Variety Village
-Toronto, Ont. – West Hill Baseball League
-Moosomin, Sask. – Moosomin Minor Ball Association
-Beaumont, Alta. – Beaumont Minor Baseball Association
“After a remarkably difficult year, we hope that today’s announcement will provide something for families in these communities to celebrate and look forward to. We are pleased to help organizations across the country build exciting, new spaces for children and youth to reconnect once it is safe to do so,” said Robert Witchel, Executive Director, Jays Care Foundation. “With this year’s recipients spanning from the Maritimes to Alberta, we are excited to continue a legacy of investing in infrastructure to support children and youth across Canada."
The Field Of Dreams program is helped to be made possible by our largest funding partner Rogers Communications, which has provided more than $10 million to support Jays Care Foundation programs over the last decade, including Field Of Dreams projects across the country.
“Every young person deserves a safe space and trusted mentors to help them grow, have fun, and develop life skills,” said Sevaun Palvetzian, Chief Communications Officer and lead for corporate responsibility at Rogers. “We are so proud to partner with Jays Care Foundation, which is working to connect youth facing barriers with critical support for their well-being. Congratulations to this year’s Field Of Dreams communities and thank you for all you do bring the spirit of baseball to young Canadians.”