Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has captivated fans and elevated our game by breaking records and receiving awards and recognition for his on-field performance. The untold story of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is his remarkable commitment and eagerness to give back and provide necessary support to people in communities close to his heart.
Over the past year, Vladimir, with support from his family, officially launched the VG27 Foundation, which focuses on working with youth and their families to support education, athletics and healthcare programming. While the VG27 Foundation is a new charitable foundation, it has immensely impacted various communities already, primarily focusing on Vladimir’s home community of Don Gregorio in the Dominican Republic and surrounding areas. Vladimir plans to use this foundation to further expand his community outreach and impact as many lives as possible.
One pillar of the VG27 Foundation that Vladimir is particularly passionate about is providing quality healthcare resources to residents in his local community. Vladimir has committed to bringing healthcare professionals from Santo Domingo to his local town regularly to provide basic assessment and treatment to residents. During the offseason, Vladimir organized a medical clinic where more than 500 community members could see a medical professional for various ailments and preventive treatments. The medical professionals treated people of all ages, from newborns to senior citizens, and gave free prescriptions, referrals and vaccinations. Since their first visit to Don Gregorio, medical staff continue to return regularly to check in on the residents and perform necessary follow-ups, all of which are supported financially by Vladimir.
Vladimir makes it a mission to ensure that families in need can have a Christmas during the holiday season. With his family and closest friends, Vladimir spent Christmas Eve handing out meal kits filled with nutritious food and full-sized chickens to more than 1,000 deserving families from the Don Gregorio, Nizao and Sabana Grande de Palenque areas. As a result of Vladimir’s generosity, participating families could enjoy a full holiday meal on Christmas. Vladimir plans to make this an annual tradition, with hopes to expand the number of families he can help over future holiday seasons.
One of Vladimir’s favorite community giveback initiatives is his annual toy drive. This event takes place around Three Kings Day, a Latin-American holiday, an established Guerrero family tradition. Vladimir purchased and delivered toys to more than 500 children from Don Gregorio and its region to ensure that children within these communities receive new toys during the holidays. Vladimir believes every child deserves to experience the joy of receiving a gift and plans to grow this tradition each year.
As an eager participant on the 2023 Blue Jays annual Winter Tour, Vladimir traveled more than 1,800 miles to give back to communities in Toronto. On this tour, Vladimir participated in Challenger Baseball, an adaptive baseball program for children with cognitive and physical disabilities. This visit included a trip to Humewood Community School, an elementary school in the underserved area of Oakwood Heights, where Vladimir spoke to inspire the next generation of baseball players.
While much of the baseball world will always see Vladimir for his record-breaking on-field performances, it is apparent that his impact is bigger than the game itself. By giving his time, energy and financial support, Vladimir is on a mission to help anyone in need. He plans to continue to build the VG27 Foundation to support initiatives for those in Don Gregorio, surrounding communities and beyond.