Covidien, Red Sox Foundation team up to assist communities across New England

BOSTON, MA – The Red Sox Foundation and Covidien today unveiled a comprehensive, five-stop, four-state community service program focused on refurbishing distressed community facilities in cities and towns located in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

Covidien employees, Red Sox Foundation members, Red Sox Legends and civic-minded volunteers will team up to improve these facilities through a number of activities including painting, cleaning, refurbishing, landscaping, and trash removal. Volunteers are invited to join Covidien, the Red Sox Foundation, and the five participating communities in the September 8 projects. For details, visit the Red Sox Foundation website at www.redsoxfoundation.org.

“Covidien and the Red Sox Foundation will improve facilities serving our citizens in five different communities with the help and overwhelming support of Red Sox Nation and local volunteers,” said Teresa Hacunda, Vice President, Civic Affairs, Covidien. “We are proud to partner with the Red Sox Foundation for this important day of service.”

“We are inspired by the selfless work of Covidien staff and proud to have the support of a strong partner that allows us to make a difference in communities across New England,” said Red Sox Senior Vice President and Foundation Executive Director Meg Vaillancourt. “By volunteering their time and talents to improve the quality and function of facilities used by at-risk families and our nation’s wounded veterans, Covidien employees, families and friends demonstrate the strength and compassion that marks the best of Red Sox Nation.”

Connecticut

The VA Connecticut Healthcare System in West Haven will welcome the Red Sox Foundation along with more than 50 Covidien employees for the second straight year. With the help of community members, they will spruce up the grounds, clean wheelchairs, repaint and reorganize the patients’ recreation room, as well as assemble hygiene kits for long-term care patients.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts will offer two sites for community clean-up programs: Boston and West Springfield. In Boston, the Covidien crew and YouthBuild will weed and mulch the grounds of The Dimock Center – which provides residents of Boston with access to quality health care and human services, and a cornerstone program of the Red Sox Foundation – and paint the walls of several rooms. Workers will also be on hand arranging hygiene kits for the shelter’s residents. In West Springfield, volunteers will help beautify YMCA Camp Weber. The services will include painting the camp’s snack shack, nurse’s station, nature shed and rope shed, as well as weeding and cleaning leftover brush from recent storms.

Rhode Island

Central Falls, Rhode Island community members will work with Covidien and Red Sox volunteers to improve the Central Falls High School’s curbside and classroom appeal. Crews will groom the school grounds and paint the interior of select classrooms to create a more inviting learning environment for students.

Vermont

Following the devastation of Hurricane Irene, Proctorsville, Vermont longed for the volunteer support the community will offer on Saturday. On Greven Field, Vermont Red Sox Nation Governor Glen Jardine and community workers will weed the grounds, lay new infields, and paint two brand new dugouts and Vermont’s replica of Fenway Park’s iconic Green Monster.

ABOUT THE RED SOX FOUNDATION

The official team charity of the Boston Red Sox, the Red Sox Foundation harnesses the power of Red Sox Nation to support select programs serving at-risk children and families across New England. The Foundation’s efforts are primarily focused on our cornerstone programs including the Red Sox Scholars Program, which provides tutoring, mentoring, enrichment programs and a college scholarship to academically talented but economically disadvantaged Boston public school students and the Red Sox Foundation's RBI and Rookie League youth baseball program serving more than 2,000 inner city teens each summer. The team charity also supports health initiatives such as the new Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with combat stress disorders and traumatic brain injury, The Dimock Center in Roxbury and The Jimmy Fund in support of Dana Farber Cancer Institute. 

A 501c3 nonprofit, the Red Sox Foundation raises most of its funds through special events and charitable donations. Founded and initially funded by Red Sox Principal Owner John Henry, Chairman Tom Werner, President/CEO Larry Lucchino and their partners, the Red Sox Foundation has won numerous awards for the impact of its innovative programs. In 2010, the Red Sox Scholars program was recognized by Major League Baseball with the first-ever “MLB Commissioner’s Award for Philanthropic Excellence.” In 2009, the Red Sox Foundation was also honored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Sports Philanthropy Project with the Patterson Award as the nation’s “Best Team Charity in Sports.” The Executive Director of the Red Sox Foundation is the team’s Senior Vice President for Corporate Affairs, Meg Vaillancourt. For more information about the Red Sox Foundation, please visit www.redsoxfoundation.org.