The first Boys & Girls Club of America was created in Hartford, Conn., in 1860. On Wednesday -- 163 years later-- the organization opened its 5,000th club outside Chicago to continue the spread of what the Boys & Girls Club mission stands for -- helping the youth and young teenagers reach their full potential.

This holiday season, MLB is supporting the Boys & Girls Club (BGCA) in Stamford, Conn., which helps more than 3,000 kids in need each year. Over the past several weeks, children from this BGC chapter wrote letters to Santa with their holiday wish lists, and MLB employees donated approximately 115 gifts to fulfill these requests.

For this year's charity auction during Baseball's Annual Winter Meetings, MLB and its Clubs will support the establishment of a new Boys & Girls Club in Uvalde, TX, a much-needed resource for Uvalde youth and their families as they continue to heal from the aftermath of the Robb Elementary shooting.

MLB and USA Baseball announced the launch of “Fun At Bat After School” at the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club in the Bronx. Introduced in partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Fun At Bat After School is an evolution of the landmark program that will continue teaching the fundamentals of bat-and-ball sports to the youth of all ages outside of a classroom setting.