Rays to host PLAY interactive fitness seminar

ST. PETERSBURG -- Rays outfielder David DeJesus, head athletic trainer Ron Porterfield, the Tampa Bay training staff and members of the Taylor Hooton Foundation will help bring the National PLAY Campaign to Tropicana Field on Saturday.

PLAY (Promoting a Lifetime of Activity for Youth) will run an interactive fitness seminar for kids ages 7 to 17 and their parents at The Trop from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET.

The Rays, the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society (PBATS), the Taylor Hooton Foundation, the Henry Schein Cares Foundation and Major League Baseball Charities will combine to host the event.

DeJesus is a charter member of the Taylor Hooton Foundation Advisory Board of Major Leaguers.

Created in 2004, the National PLAY Campaign attempts to raise awareness about young people's health issues and help fight obesity in the United States. It teaches children about making smart life choices and living a more active and healthy lifestyle. Since the program's inception, PBATS has conducted more than 125 PLAY events at all 30 MLB ballparks.

The Taylor Hooton Foundation joined PLAY in 2008 to educate participants about the dangers of performance-enhancing drugs.

This year, PLAY partnered with The Arc -- the nation's largest community-based organization for serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities -- to help increase emphasis on youth with disabilities.

The children participating in MLB teams' PLAY events often include Boys & Girls Clubs, RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) programs and other local organizations.