ST. LOIUS (KMOX) - Of the 52 MLB players who are listed as ambassadors that helped raise nearly $1 million in an effort to help prevent childhood hunger amid the COVID-19 pandemic – 13 are current or former St. Louis Cardinals players. And it can all likely be attributed to last year's Roberto Clemente Award nominee, Adam Wainwright.
A league-wide initiative that involved players from all 30 MLB Clubs will help provide over 4 million meals to kids in need. It's thanks to the Home Plate Project, a partnership between MLB, the Teammates for Kids Foundation founded by singer Garth Brooks and Wainwright's charity Big League Impact.
Though the initiative was originally scheduled to launch its second year in the fall, Brooks, Wainwright and Gibson realized the urgency and need for children who are unable to attend school in the face of the pandemic.
"Coming together with Garth and his foundation last year for our Home Plate Project was incredibly powerful," Wainwright says. "We are grateful for the opportunity to help fill their needs in this most crucial time with this great project. Thanks goes out to everyone who made this come together so quickly so we could have an immediate impact – especially to all the players… this isn’t possible without you. We may be competitors on the field, but we are all one big family off of it.”
Earler this year, Wainwright and his wife donated $250,000 to help minor league players during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wainwright and his Big League Impact partner, Texas Ranger pitcher Kyle Gibson, quickly assembled their charity teams and personally called and sent messages to as many of their fellow players as they could, with many of those players reaching out to their friends around the league. With the help of Brooks and on short notice, the network of players and partners was able to raise $937,100 for the effort.
