Minor League Baseball and Joe Torre
Safe At Home Foundation Partner to Increase Awareness and Education of Domestic
Violence
More than one million fans expected to see campaign in
MiLB ballparks from July 17-24
ST.
PETERSBURG, Fla. and NEW YORK — Minor League Baseball® (MiLB™)
and The Joe Torre Safe At
Home Foundation are
collaborating to generate awareness about domestic violence and helping to end
its destructive cycle. Beginning today, and continuing through July 24, Minor
League Baseball teams are educating their fans about this growing epidemic and
its lasting effects through in-park videos and public address announcements, as
well as online through a social media campaign. Clubs will also provide fans
with information on resources available to those who may be victims of domestic
violence, specifically children. The effort is coordinated by Minor League
Baseball Charities, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit
organization dedicated to giving back to and enhancing the communities MiLB
teams call home.
The partnership with Minor League
Baseball marks the first time The Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation has aligned
with a sports property on a league-wide initiative. As part of the awareness
campaign, each participating MiLB team will raffle or auction off a Joe Torre
autographed baseball to benefit a local organization that supports victims of
domestic violence or the Safe At Home Foundation. Fans attending games during
the promotional period will also receive a Topps card pack, along with a
commemorative card featuring an image of Torre and facts about the Safe At Home
Foundation.
The announcement to partner with
Minor League Baseball clubs complements The Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation’s
integrated, national advertising campaign launched in April. To amplify its
important mission and message, Safe At Home debuted its largest awareness
campaign to date, and its first in nearly 12 years, called ‘End the Cycle.’ The
Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation’s mission is educating to end the cycle of domestic violence and save
lives by providing intervention and prevention programs via its signature
program “Margaret's Place.” As a byproduct of a home where domestic violence
was prevalent, Joe, along with his wife, Ali, founded the Safe At Home
Foundation in 2002 to
reach children who are exposed to violence in their homes, schools and
communities.
“I am so grateful to Pat O’Conner
and Minor League Baseball for the commitment shown in raising awareness of
domestic violence and the Safe At Home Foundation,” said Torre. “With more than
15 million children facing domestic violence every year, these events and
partnerships are critical to educating the public, shedding light on the issue,
and achieving our goals so that every child feels safe at home.”
“Domestic violence is a sensitive topic
that people often don’t want to talk about or bring to the forefront, but we
have an obligation to the children affected to do so,” said Pat O’Conner, Minor
League Baseball President & CEO. “I’ve known Joe [Torre] for many years,
and to be able to support a cause that is so personal to him and his family is very
important to me. We consider our ballparks places where people feel safe, and
having a forum like Safe At Home to address an otherwise taboo subject is
something our clubs are eager to take part in and fully support.”
For more information on domestic
violence and the Safe At Home Foundation, visit www.joetorre.org. If you or someone you know is
impacted by domestic violence, help is available. Call the National Domestic Violence
Hotline at 800-799-7233.
About
Minor League Baseball
Minor League Baseball, headquartered
in St. Petersburg, Florida, is the governing body for all professional baseball
teams in the United States, Canada and the Dominican Republic that are
affiliated with Major League Baseball® clubs through their farm
systems. Fans are coming out in unprecedented numbers to this one-of-a-kind
experience that can only be found at Minor League Baseball ballparks. In 2016,
Minor League Baseball attracted 41.3 million fans to its ballparks to see the
future stars of the sport hone their skills. From the electricity in the stands
to the excitement on the field, Minor League Baseball has provided affordable
family-friendly entertainment to people of all ages since its founding in 1901.
For more information, visit www.MiLB.com.
About
The Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation
Reaching more than 12,000 middle and
high school students annually in L.A. and metropolitan New York, Safe At Home
has reached more than 60,000 students since 2002, through individual and group
counseling, school-wide campaigns, peer leadership, and educational
opportunities. The Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation helps young people
overcome their fears, heal from trauma, and end the cycle of violence that all
too often continues on through generations. For more information, visit www.joetorre.org. Follow
the Foundation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.