Pirates Charities, the official philanthropic arm of the Pittsburgh Pirates, today announced the recipients of the second round of the "Fields for Kids" matching grant program for 2016.
A total of 11 baseball and softball organizations serving nearly 3,500 youth located throughout western Pennsylvania were awarded grants in this round to help ensure their programs continue to thrive.
This season Pirates Charities made adjustments to the program and increased individual allotments in order to assist those organizations in greater need of funds. Thanks to the new guidelines, five of the 11 organizations received matching grants of $10,000 and one organization received a $20,000 matching grant from Pirates Charities to help with their renovations.
The positive impact of the Fields for Kids grants can be seen throughout the region as five organizations in Allegheny County received matching grants. The six remaining organizations are located in Beaver, Clarion, Mercer, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
Throughout Allegheny County alone, organizations will receive grants ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 to help with various projects to ensure the safe participation of nearly 2,000 youth participants.
The largest match of the 2016 second grant cycle will benefit the Pine Richland Baseball Softball Association of Allegheny County. The group will receive a matching grant from the Fields for Kids program to assist in the installation of dugouts for the more than 1,100 youth served by the association.
This cycle, two $10,000 grants were awarded to non-profits within the county as the Kennedy Girls Softball organization will receive help for their plans of installation of new dugouts and fencing and the Deer Lakes Softball Association will work to renovate a field for softball play.
The Borough of Carnegie will receive a $5,000 matching grant for field equipment to provide better maintenance for recently renovated fields and the Brentwood Athletic Association will also receive $5,000 to assist with infield renovations that plan to begin in the spring of 2017.
 
In Westmoreland County two groups that serve an estimated 550 youth will be beneficiaries of nearly $15,000 total from the Fields for Kids matching grants as the Burrell Baseball Association will receive $10,000 to make several improvements including a retaining wall and safety upgrades. The Central Hempfield Baseball/Softball Association was awarded $4,875 to assist with maintenance and infield improvements.
Other counties in Pennsylvania impacted by the second round of grants are:
The Fields for Kids program is one of Pirates Charities' signature programs and provides financial support to improve youth baseball and/or softball facilities through matching grants. Grant funds may be used for the upgrading of essential field components such as sod, infield playing surfaces, fencing, dugouts and irrigation systems. Upgrades to the overall facility, including lights, bleachers, scoreboards and concession stands are also eligible.
Since the Fields for Kids program's inception in 2009, a total of 251 individual grants have been distributed in the greater Pittsburgh region, in addition to 38 total grants in the Pirates Spring Training Home of Bradenton, Florida since the program began there in 2011.
To find out more information on the Fields for Kids program, please visit pirates.com/piratescharities.
Media requesting additional information should contact the Pirates Manager of Business Communications Terry Rodgers at (412) 325-4782 or [email protected].