The Pittsburgh Pirates, along with Major League Baseball and all MLB Clubs, will participate in a league-wide effort to raise childhood cancer awareness by dedicating a special "Childhood Cancer Awareness Day" at PNC Park on Friday, September 2.
The Pirates have partnered with five local non-profit pediatric cancer support organizations (Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Pittsburgh, Lending Hearts, CCChampions, Our Clubhouse and the Emily Whitehead Foundation) to invite 25 children who have been affected by cancer for a special superhero-themed night at PNC Park.
Each child is currently battling the disease or has won their fight against cancer and they will have the opportunity to take part in a special "Pirates Head Shaving" event in the Press Conference Room, a "caping" ceremony on the field pregame and a superhero-themed V.I.P. (Very Important Pirate) Party.
The day will begin at 5 p.m. in the Press Conference Room as the Pirates partner with St. Baldrick's Foundation and Sport Clips to host a "Pirates Head Shaving" event. As the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants, St. Baldrick's funds are granted to some of the most brilliant childhood cancer research experts who are working to find cures and better treatments for all childhood cancers. Kids need treatments as unique as they are - and that starts with funding research just for them. The celebrity head shaving event will include the Pirates VIP guests having the opportunity to shave the heads of some Pirates players and coaches to raise awareness for childhood cancer.
Following the "Pirates Head Shaving" event, Pirates VIP's will take part in a special "caping" ceremony during pregame on the field at PNC Park. During the ceremony, each guest receive their very own Pirates superhero cape, presented to them by players, coaches and their wives as well as front office, executives.
From the pregame on-field ceremony, the group will head to three special Pirates World Series Suites for a superhero-themed V.I.P. party.
The V.I.P. party is a fun-filled event packed with many exciting surprises throughout the evening, including special visits from Pirates mascots and superheroes, balloon twisting, airbrush tattoos, caricature artists and much more. The party will also include great views of the night's game as well as ballpark menu items provided by Levy Restaurants, through their Levy Cares program.
In partnership with Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), MLB has encouraged Clubs to support this new initiative in commemoration of childhood cancer awareness month through a variety of special activations. On September 2, all Major League players, coaches, umpires and grounds crew members will wear gold ribbon decals and wristbands to further promote awareness for childhood cancer, which is the leading cause of death by disease in children aged 15 and under in the United States. In Canada, more than 1,500 children will be diagnosed with cancer this year. Every year, an estimated 250,000 new cases of cancer affect children under the age of 20 worldwide.
All Clubs were able to choose to partner with local nonprofits, including hospital partners or organizations focused on childhood cancer, for their Childhood Cancer Awareness Day activations.
MLB Advanced Media will coordinate a digital effort to increase exposure of this effort by placing information and editorial features on MLB.com, Club sites and MLBCommunity.org.
MLB and Clubs have supported the fight against cancer over the years. As Stand Up To Cancer's founding donor, Major League Baseball has provided both financial support (nearly $40 million) and countless opportunities to build the Stand Up To Cancer grassroots movement by encouraging fans around the world to get involved. MLB has recognized SU2C for the past six years during the World Series. Recent Club activations have included special gold pediatric cancer awareness batting practice t-shirts, online campaigns to empower fans to become fundraisers for pediatric cancer research and donations to local children's hospitals. Previous league-wide efforts included a $1 million donation to the CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation.