If you are like me, you read about and see film of the tragedies occurring around the world and while feeling compassionate, wonder what you could do to help.
The St. Louis Cardinals are making it easy for everyone to get involved as they step up to the plate in support of the victims of the earthquake in Japan and Tsunami in the Pacific. As part of a joint effort with Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association, the team will conduct an on-line ticket auction, collect fan donations at the gate before a game and make a sizable donation.
Cardinals Care, the club’s community service arm, is making a $5,000 donation to Save the Children, an organization focused on helping children impacted by this and other disasters. The team is also enabling us to get involved and show our support in several ways.
One is by participating in a special on-line auction with another to make a donation at one of Busch Stadium’s six gates as you enter the ballpark for the team’s April 23rd game against the Reds.
Even if you aren’t in St. Louis, you can help. The Japan Earthquake/Tsunami Relief Auction will begin 10 A.M. Monday, April 18 at mlb.com. You can then bid on an exclusive ticket package for four Cardinals tickets, good for any Monday through Thursday home game, complete with a pre-game field visit and an opportunity to get your photograph taken in the Cardinals dugout.
All proceeds from the stadium collection and on-line auction will go to UNICEF to assist the people of Japan recover and rebuild.
This is a great and worthy set of initiatives, so let’s get behind them! If you can’t participate, click on the links to be taken to SaveTheChildren.org and UNICEF.org to donate directly.
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Thanks to Brian and the Cardinals for calling attention to the terrible tragedy that has befallen our friends in Japan, a great nation for baseball and democracy.
No one has posted as yet in this thread. Its not surprising, because this is a very difficult tragedy, beyond comprehension. Its understandable to be speechless. The earth’s crust can unleash terrible forces. Sympathies, words, and generous contributions can still seem wholly inadequate, in relation to the suffering and challenges.
The misfortunes borne by others helps put the petty frustration of losing the occasional Cards game in reasonable and trivial perspective.
Very well put, Jumbo.
I havn’t looked into on UNICEF but I always try to check an organization before donating to make sure that the funds I donate are going to get the most bang for the buck. Many orgs use up a lot of their donations in overhead. In our local Rotary club we have been helping collect donations. Your comments are pretty thoughtfull Jumbo, and I think it is good that MLB is helping create awareness and raise funds for the folks hard hit by the disasters (even though one of the savvy marketing gurus at MLB probably came up with the idea).