The Marlins Foundation today announced the 2017 Marlins Charity Partners: Best Buddies Florida, Educate Tomorrow, South Florida After-School All-Stars, Inc., Special Olympics Florida - Miami-Dade County. The four organizations will each receive a $25,000 contribution from the Marlins Foundation, thanks to contributions from Marlins owner Jeffrey H. Loria, and Marlins players Wei-Yin Chen, Dee Gordon, Martín Prado, Giancarlo Stanton, Junichi Tazawa, Edinson Volquez, Christian Yelich and Brad Zeigler. The new Marlins Charity Partners will be honored during a pregame ceremony with check presentations on Wednesday, April 12th, at 6:30 p.m. at Marlins Park.
"Marlins Charity Partners are a signature example of our commitment to philanthropy in Miami," said Marlins President David Samson. "These impactful organizations do great work in our community, and we are honored to support their efforts."
In addition to financial support, Marlins Charity Partners activate specific programming aligned with the mission of the Marlins Foundation. These partnerships are celebrated with Charity Partner Days at Marlins Park for each organization. Below is a brief description of how the Marlins will support the newly announced Charity Partners: 
Best Buddies - The Marlins and Best Buddies Florida will bring together over 4,000 students with and without Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) in learning activities that encourage positive social interaction. Their teaching strategies include civic engagement, leadership training, recreation and sports, and public awareness activities.
Educate Tomorrow - The Marlins will partner with Educate Tomorrow to build a bridge to higher education for foster and homeless youth.
Special Olympics Florida - Miami-Dade - The Marlins will serve as the official sponsor of Special Olympics Softball in Miami. The partnership will provide a higher threshold of opportunity for training, competition, personal growth and community engagement for the athletes in the program.
South Florida After-School All-Stars (SFASAS) - The Marlins and FS Florida will continue the Jr. Broadcasting Program partnership with SFASAS. This program is a life-changing, career inspiring STEM & Performing Arts-based initiative that develops real-world skills for students as future broadcasters, radio announcers and production professionals.