LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) announced today that it has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the My LA2050 Grants Challenge in support of the Dodgers Dreamfields at Gonzales Park in the City of Compton. LADF was one of five organizations selected as a PLAY category finalist in the My LA2050 Grants Challenge and took second prize based on a community vote.
LA2050 is a community-guided initiative driving and tracking progress toward a shared vision for the future of Los Angeles. The My LA2050 Grants Challenge is an open call for ideas to make LA the best place to learn, create, play, connect, and live. A total of $1,000,000 has been awarded to 25 organizations to implement their proposals. The four winning organizations joining LADF in the Play category include the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, Los Angeles Maritime Institute, Public Matters, and the Urban Warehouse.
“Thank you to LA2050 and the Goldhirsh Foundation, and to all who voted throughout the My LA2050 Grants Challenge campaign in support of our Dodgers Dreamfield project,” said Nichol Whiteman, LADF Chief Executive Officer. “Compton, despite growing revitalization efforts, continues to be one of the most economically underserved communities in the Unites States. They need our support and deserve spaces like these, when we can all gather again. Gonzales Park will be more than baseball and softball fields, it will be an outdoor classroom and safe haven.”
Grant funds will support LADF as they set out to unveil three Dodgers Dreamfields at Gonzales Park, which honor Jackie Robinson and revive baseball and softball play in the area, as youth develop from T-ball to high school and college athletics. With a multi-million-dollar investment, the Dodgers Dreamfields renovation will continue LADF’s partnership with the City of Compton and provide safe park access to 28,000 local youth under 18 (29% of residents).
Gonzales Park is set to be the future host of three Dodgers Dreamfields. Specfically, Field 42 will be designed for baseball and softball players ages 5-8, Rachel Robinson Field will be designed for baseball players ages 9-12 and softball players ages 9-18, and Jackie Robinson Stadium will be designed for baseball players ages 13+. The project will also include features that further benefit the local community, such as Fitness and Training Zones (named for Kershaw’s Challenge), solar elements on scoreboards, PV carports and EV charging stations in the parking lot, and the LADF Science of Baseball curriculum for grades 3-8, that uses baseball as a fun STEM textbook.
LA2050 joins Dodger Dreamfields at Gonzales Park sponsors Kershaw’s Challenge, City of Compton, Security Benefit, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark-Ridley Thomas, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, Water Buffalo Club, LA84 Foundation, Annenberg Foundation, and Leon Lowenstein Foundation.
The project launched earlier this year with a community groundbreaking event in February 2020 and a grand opening ceremony is planned for spring 2021.
About the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation:
ESPN’s Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year, the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation is bigger than baseball with ambitions to be the city’s premier charity. We envision a city where everyone regardless of zip code has the opportunity to thrive. We are tackling the most pressing problems facing Los Angeles with a mission to improve education, health care, homelessness and social justice for all Angelenos. Since 1995, we have invested more than $30 million in programs and grants to nonprofits, and fundraising has increased by 1,000% since 2012. That growth has enabled us to do more.
Visit LADF online at www.dodgers.com/ladf, follow them on Twitter, @DodgersFdn, Instagram, @dodgersfoundation, and like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LosAngelesDodgersFoundation_. _