CHICAGO – There were a handful of events running the week before the week of Thanksgiving providing a glimpse into the range of work coming from Chicago White Sox Charities.
A Holiday Garage Sale took place on Nov. 15 at Rate Field, featuring pieces of club history available for fans to purchase. The proceeds went towards supporting the organization’s commitment to provide “financial, in-kind and emotional support” to a plethora of Chicago-based nonprofits and social service agencies.
Members of the White Sox front office staff read books about gratitude and giving at the Minnie Miñoso Academy, spreading Thanksgiving cheer a few days later. And one week before Thanksgiving, the White Sox brought further holiday joy to kids at Brightpoint’s Mitzi Freidheim Child & Family Center. That's the same nonprofit the organization awarded a $125,000 Diamond Impact Award grant “aimed at improving safety, accessibility and developmental support for local families from Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood,” according to a post on White Sox social media.
Let’s not forget the White Sox Game Changers series, featuring a live taping of Sidelined, the podcast hosted by Brooke Fletcher and Dani Klupenger with Kylen Mills as a special guest, in the White Sox home clubhouse on Nov. 19. And don’t overlook Amira Hondras, a proud and talented participant in the White Sox Amateur City Elite (ACE) baseball program and an infielder for Thornwood High School in South Holland, Ill., selected by Los Angeles in the fourth round during Thursday’s inaugural Women’s Pro Baseball League draft.
“I wish I could say I was responsible for all that planning,” said Christine O’Reilly-Riordan, the White Sox senior vice president of community relations, who also serves as the executive director of Chicago White Sox Charities. “We are not only doing it because it’s the holiday season, but it kind of works out that way.
“This year, we want to start a little early. We found it’s a good thing that, especially with some of the school groups we work with and youth engagement groups, so many individuals, groups and organizations step up to do holiday events [in] the second half of December, starting in the second half. "So, we wanted to really just think about it from the standpoint where Thanksgiving is coming up, we are entering into the season of gratitude and we are so grateful to be a part of the organizations that we support. It’s just our way of saying we are thankful that you are there.”
Game Changers is in its ninth season as an event series “celebrating and empowering underrepresented communities,” according to the organization’s website. Last Wednesday’s program featured three talented women, who are front and center in the broadcast industry, with numerous women and men watching the podcast and able to ask questions.
“Baseball transcends nine guys on the field between the lines,” O’Reilly-Riordan said. “We really feel like we want to be a part of a community and there are so many diverse communities out there looking for opportunities to engage on so many different levels. … It’s kind of cool that there are such diverse opportunities so we can speak to so many people who are looking for a way to jump on and jump in.”
“We are doing an all-female podcast about sports, about culture, in what is typically a male-dominated space. It’s a special moment,” said White Sox vice president of public relations Sheena Quinn of Wednesday’s program. “It’s changing always on the landscape, but you have to make more space for women and make it more normalized until there’s no need for events like this, and it’s just women among the clubhouse normally. You have to keep lifting as you climb.”
Fans certainly would like more wins from the organization on a yearly basis, but they contribute to the White Sox giving back through programs such as the Volunteer Corps -- which began in May 2009 -- and appreciate these charitable endeavors. O’Reilly-Riordan was at a suburban Target recently when a woman who has collaborated in the past with the Volunteer Corps introduced herself and provided thanks for “giving us a vehicle for being a part of making the city better,” according to O’Reilly-Riordan.
“Obviously, we are just so fortunate we get such great fan support that allows us to extend our philanthropy to agencies such as Brightpoint, and then Mitzi Freidheim Center, the ACE program,” O’Reilly-Riordan said. “We do that kind of on the shoulders of our fans.
“I’ve said it once, I’ll say it forever: We are aware, and we are incredibly grateful. Fans are very aware. They are so responsive. I think that’s why we’ve been able to sustain some of our outreach programs for so long.”