The Pittsburgh Pirates today announced plans for a post-holiday equipment drive to take place at PNC Park on Friday, January 14, on Mazeroski Way from noon to 6 p.m. The Club will use this opportunity to collect gently used baseball and softball equipment from community members as part of a larger donation effort that took place around the greater Pittsburgh area throughout 2021.

This past season, the Club learned about a truly inspiring story of local Pirates RBI player, Clark Ehman. The 14-year-old student from the City’s Northside neighborhood collected six shipping containers full of baseball/softball equipment. Clark and his family traversed the Pittsburgh area collecting the equipment for youth players in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. In learning of these efforts, the Pirates stepped in to help ensure the equipment would get to the students and families in need. The Club provided the shipping containers for packaging and coordinated the shipping and distribution of the equipment, with the help of the Pirates Dominican Republic Academy and contacts in Venezuela.

Now, inspired by Clark, the Pirates will host a one-day equipment drive to allow others to join Clark’s effort. Containers will be placed in the PNC Park loading dock area on Mazeroski Way on January 14 and community members are encouraged to donate their gently used equipment throughout the day. Directional signage will be posted along Mazeroski Way to point donors to the drop-off location. All those who donate at PNC Park will receive a voucher for two free tickets to a Pirates game in 2022.

Suggested items for donation include helmets, bats, baseballs and softballs, baseball gloves, cleats, catching equipment and more. The containers will then be shipped to Pirate City where they will then make their way to the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.

In addition to the equipment collected by Clark, two area groups have also collected equipment that will be distributed in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. The Boys and Girls Club of Shady Side and Roberto’s Kids, a nonprofit that collects equipment for distribution to help grow the games of baseball and softball, have collected a total of nearly 10 crates of equipment. Prior to Christmas, Pirates bench coach Donnie Kelly was joined by members of the Pirates Baseball Operations department at the Boys and Girls Club to pack the equipment in shipping crates that measure 45”x45”x44”.

“To see a member of our Pirates RBI family become such a positive influence in the community is a very rewarding feeling for all of us in the organization,” said Jacque Skowvron, Executive Director of Pirates Charities and Community Outreach. “When we heard of Clark’s efforts, as well as the efforts of the Boys and Girls Club and Roberto’s Kids, we knew we wanted to give others in the community an opportunity to join this effort to give back and donate their previously used equipment to players in need.”