While individuals everywhere spend the holiday giving thanks for family, friends and -- hopefully -- good fortune, more than 1,500 charitable organizations with ties to the Bay Area no doubt give thanks for the good works of their local big league ball club.
The Oakland A's Community Fund in 2005 supported these organizations through monetary contributions and donated auction items in an effort to support them in improving the quality of life for people throughout the Bay Area. Specifically, the A's gave money to fund endeavors to improve educational programs, aid the underprivileged, assist in crime and drug prevention, promote health awareness, and champion children and senior welfare.
In all, the A's Community Fund donated approximately $500,000 to various community programs.
"It's pretty amazing all the community work the team does," said A's center fielder Mark Kotsay, who participated in several team programs and co-hosted an All-Star "Bowling Bash" with third baseman Eric Chavez to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. "It's easy to talk about giving something back, but they really do it here. They do a lot of it."
One of the annual charitable highlights for the A's is their annual Breast Cancer Awareness Day, which on Sept. 25 raised more than $141,000 for the American Cancer Society and Northern California Cancer Center through the sale of special ticket packages, commemorative pins and hats, mystery A's autographed baseballs, an A's autographed quilt raffle, A's player autograph and photograph sessions and pledges.
Over the past seven years, the A's have raised more than $665,000 for breast cancer education and research. This year's Breast Cancer Awareness Day was presented by Longs Drugs Stores/Kimberly-Clark, and additional participating sponsors included AT&T, Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water, Contra Costa Times, Comcast, Diablo Magazine, Ghirardelli Chocolate, John Muir Mt. Diablo Health System, KFRC 610-AM, Ross Dress for Less, Wells Fargo and 24 Hour Fitness.
The team's "Step Up to the Plate for Education" program was a big hit, too, raising more than $160,000 for Bay Area and Northern California schools, with $57,770 going specifically to the Contra Costa County schools through the A's partnership with Mechanics Bank. Schools sold A's tickets to designated games, and the A's donated a portion of the ticket proceeds directly back to the schools.
The Community Fund Golf Classic, held June 27 at the Blackhawk Country Club in Danville, is always among the team's top fundraisers, and in 2005 it generated more than $125,000 through the tournament and silent and live auctions. A portion of the proceeds was donated to the Cure Autism Now Foundation. State Roofing Systems of San Leandro was the title sponsor of the event, and additional sponsors included Union Bank of California and Pepsi Bottling Group.
Another big benefactor of the Community Fund was Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland, which received $100,000 toward its newest clubhouse, the Anna Marie Whalen Branch. In addition, the A's donated a new basketball court floor in the Simpson Family Gymnasium that features the A's logo at center court. This clubhouse is one of three Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland branches and opened at the start of the 2004-05 school year; it will eventually serve up to 2,000 Central East Oakland girls and boys.
The A's went beyond the Bay Area to offer assistance as well. Spurred in part by the plight of third-base coach Ron Washington, a New Orleans native whose home was ruined by Hurricane Katrina, the club raised $103,153 for the American Red Cross Relief Fund to aid the victims of the disaster. The majority of funds were raised through fan donations, in addition to a contribution by the A's Community Fund, a live postgame dugout auction and the sale of A's autographed baseballs sold by A's player's wives.
The players took up a private collection for Washington, but they had plenty more to give wounded American soldiers through Barry Zito's "Strikeouts For Troops." Zito established the program to provide funds for U.S. military being treated at Walter Reed Army Hospital, Bethesda Naval Hospital and other military hospitals. He contributed $100 for each of the 171 batters he struck out in 2005, and similarly structured contributions from teammates brought the total to $54,815.
Some $51,700 was raised at the Sixth Annual MUG Root Beer Float Day on July 27, with proceeds benefiting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Funds were raised through the sale of root beer floats, tips given in exchange for autographs and pictures with the celebrity scoopers, the sale of Chavez-autographed mugs, a silent auction of sports memorabilia, an online auction titled "Be a Celebrity Scooper," and the raffle of a 32-inch high definition television, courtesy of Pepsi. Over the past six years, the A's have raised over $180,000 for various charities through MUG Root Beer Float Day, which was sponsored by Pepsi and Comcast. The ice cream for the event was donated by Berkeley Farms.
Prior to the season, more than 24,000 fans attended the A's annual FanFest, the best fan turnout for this A's event to date. The A's raised more than $60,000 for the Community Fund and the Cure Autism Now Foundation through autograph and photo sessions, batting cage tours, clubhouse tours, and the sale of game-worn jerseys from current and former players. The 2005 A's FanFest was sponsored by 24 Hour Fitness, Aloha Airlines, Central Garden and Pet, Comcast, John Muir/Mt. Diablo Health System, McAfee, Pepsi, Plan-It Interactive, Ross Dress For Less and The Oakland Tribune. Other media sponsors included Action 36 Cable 6, Diablo Magazine and KFRC-610 AM.
Among the other 2005 highlights:
• The Community Fund, in partnership with the Good Tidings Foundation, renovated Bambino Field at the Greenman Field Baseball Complex in Oakland during the season. The primary user of the Greenman Field Baseball Complex is the Oakland Babe Ruth League, which consists of approximately 660 youth who range in age from 5 to 18 years old.
• The Community Fund held silent auctions of various sports memorabilia on all Saturday and Sunday home dates. The Community Fund donated more than $35,000 to designated charity groups, which received a portion of the proceeds as silent auction partners on selected dates throughout the season.
• More than 1,000 runners participated in the Macy's/Oakland A's 5K Fun Run on June 19, which raised $25,000 for the Family Violence Prevention Fund.
• More than 9,200 students in 74 Bay Area schools participated in the A's Home Run Readers program during the 2004-2005 school year. Fifty-nine schools reached their goals and received a visit from a member of the A's front office and the A's mascot, Stomper. Six of those schools received a visit from an A's player or coach. Students who participated in the program attended the game on Home Run Readers Day on May 18 as guests of the A's, Citation Homes and EMC2 Inc.
• The A's designed and distributed more than 24,000 "Mathletics" workbooks, which utilize simple formulas for calculating statistics of A's players and were distributed to students (grades 1-4 and 5-8) throughout Northern California in hopes to promote math skills among elementary and junior high school students. Both workbooks were also available online at oaklandathletics.com. Students who completed their workbooks correctly and submitted the answer sheet to the A's received two free tickets to "Mathletics" Day on June 4. In addition, one school that demonstrated outstanding participation in the program received a visit from an A's player. The "Mathletics" program is sponsored by Ross Dress For Less and FSN Bay Area.
• The A's Amigos program gave Hispanic children the opportunity to speak with an A's player about the importance of education, sportsmanship and hard work. In addition to the pregame visit, each child received a game ticket, meal and an A's hat. A's Amigos is sponsored by the Golden State ScholarShare.
• The A's Pitching Pals program allowed 120 aspiring young players in the Bay Area to receive inside tips from an A's pitcher during a pregame clinic, game tickets and an A's hat. A's Pitching Pals is sponsored by HealthNet, A Better Decision.
• More than 10,000 children from low- to moderate-income families were treated to A's games as part of the Little A's program. In addition to a game ticket, each child received a food voucher and an A's pennant. The Little A's program is sponsored by Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and supported by Clorox, Office Depot, the Men's Wearhouse and Union Bank of California.
• More than 4,000 A's tickets were donated to local charities and non-profit agencies by Kotsay, Jason Kendall and Chavez. The charities and non-profits included Big Brothers Big Sisters of the East Bay, Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland, the YMCA Mt. Diablo Region, U.S. Marines Corps, Travis Air Force Base, Army Fort Hunter Liggett, Veteran's of Oakland, Army San Leandro, Hayward police department and Alameda County fire department.
• A's players and coaches attended the Monte Carlo Classic at the Diablo Country Club on April 30, raising more than $120,000 to benefit the Special Olympics East Bay Region.
• Members of the A's attended the Muscle Team Dinner and Auction on April 27, raising more than $116,000 to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
• In partnership with the A's, Anheuser-Busch donated $10,000 to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund through the Budweiser Homerunazo Program.
• Kragen Auto Parts donated a car seat for every home run the A's hit during the regular season. A check for $5,800 was presented to La Clinica de la Raza, which distributed the 155 car seats.
• Over the course of a 14-year partnership with the A's, the Men's Wearhouse has provided more than $206,000 to the Oakland Zoo through the A's Double Play program.
"It's beyond cool that the team does so much," Zito said. "They definitely talk the talk and walk the walk."
