LOS ANGELES -- On Friday, as part of the 2022 All-Star Legacy initiative, the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Major League Baseball provided over 175,000 basic essential items for families living in poverty. 

Together with Baby2Baby, the All-Star Legacy project impacted over 5,000 students and families in schools in the Los Angeles area. Dodgers players Clayton Kershaw, Max Muncy, Evan Phillips, David Price, Will Smith and Chris Taylor were accompanied by their wives. They helped assemble Baby2Baby basic essential kits, which included hygiene items, soap and PPE supplies. 

“It was awesome,” said Dodgers catcher Will Smith. “We went down to Baby2Baby’s warehouse and we packed supplies from household essentials like toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap and all that. School supplies for kids. It was just really cool to see the amount of work they’ve been doing here in Los Angeles and the U.S. … We were able to contribute a couple hours of our time and help them out a little bit.”

Through the All-Star Legacy initiative, LADF, the Dodgers and MLB will address root causes of homelessness by supporting an ongoing program to provide 4 million meals and thousands of basic essential items.

The program will support Los Angeles students and their families who will receive these items weekly during the 2022-23 academic year. The weekend kit also includes nutrition education and handouts for the children and their families that stress the importance of maintaining a balanced diet while facing food insecurity.

Recent studies have showed that one in four children in the Los Angeles area live in poverty and one in five Angelenos do not know where their next meal is coming from.

“The Dodgers have always been a team that has given back to the L.A. community,” Smith said. “For me personally to be a part of that, contribute to that and just help that tradition keep going, it means a lot. I think it really means a lot for the people that we’re helping.”