Over the course of three World Series games, more than 67,000 fans watched from the stands at Progressive Field as their Indians played the Cubs in Chicago.
It was a great opportunity to watch the game among fans in your team’s home and it was an even better opportunity for the Indians to raise a ton of money for local organizations.
“It’s what the Indians do,” said Ron Soeder, President of the Cleveland Boys & Girls Club.
The Indians play baseball really well, but what you may not know is that the Tribe has donated well over $2.5 million to the Cleveland Boys and Girls Club.
“Paul Dolan and the whole group have a heart for this city. They care about urban kids more than any other folks I’ve seen,” said Soeder.
That’s why it was no surprise, when the money raised at three watch parties, from 67,000 fans, paying $5 each, totaling more than $330,000, was all given to local organizations, including the Boys and Girls Club.
“I want to thank the Indians for thinking about the community as they always do, like I said, it’s very consistent for them to think about using this money for the greater good in the community,” said Soeder.
“I was surprised, I absolutely was. It was great to see our fans come out, especially with the colder nights that we had so it was very exciting,” said Rebecca Kodysh, the Executive Director of Community Impact for the Indians.
It wasn’t warm, it wasn’t dry, but brave fans toughed it out in the cold to watch their team in the stands at Progressive. Along with the Boys and Girls Club, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, and the Cleveland Baseball Federation both received a cut of the winnings. Not a dime went towards profits for the team.
Think of it as an investment in potential future Indians players.
“We definitely want to say thank you. We appreciate it so much. It means so much to the organizations but more importantly the kids that are served by the great programs that they offer,” said Kodysh.
The grand total will be divvied up into grants for each of the three organizations.
