KANSAS CITY, MO. (August 11, 2020) -- Royals Charities and Price Chopper are committed to growing youth baseball in Kansas City and have partnered with Nike to purchase cleats for athletes from the KCMO RBI and Kansas RBI programs.  

Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) is a Major League Baseball initiative with a mission to increase urban and inner-city interest and participation in baseball and softball by re-introducing, reviving and rebuilding America's pastime in underserved communities.

Cleats will be distributed to the Kansas RBI at the Kansas City Urban Youth Academy on Wednesday, August 12 at 4 p.m. 72 pairs of cleats will be distributed to athletes ranging from 8 to 18 years old, which will benefit players on six different Kansas teams. 

“The less fortunate youth who will be blessed with a new pair of cleats represents the positive impact within the urban core when organizations such as Royals Charities, Price Chopper and Kansas RBI collaborate for the betterment of the community and the youth we serve.” said Cle Ross, Executive Director of Kansas RBI. “Due to the current pandemic, some of the families in our program have experienced extremely hard times this summer. But we are hopeful that a new pair of Nike cleats will give the players who receive them a reason to smile, feel good about themselves and continue playing the game of baseball.”

A hundred athletes from KCMO RBI will receive the Nike cleats throughout the week at their already-scheduled programming.

“The support that the Kansas City Royals and Royals Charities has provided to our RBI program for more than two decades has been unparalleled,” said Dr. Dred Scott, President & CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City. “This gift is another example of the tremendous partnership that is in place. We are thrilled that so many of our youth will benefit from this generous contribution, which fortifies our efforts to provide the youth who need us most with access to positive engagement.”