Unity in the Community

On January 16, 12 minor leaguers in the Reds organization spent time lending a hand in the Cincinnati community. The dozen prospects, who were in town for that weekend’s Redsfest, split up between Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and St. Vincent De Paul food pantry.

Jay Allen II, Cam Collier, Alfredo Duno, Kyle Henley, Mason Neville and Carlos Jorge spent time at Seacrest Studios inside the hospital where they played a version of Pictionary, answered questions, posed for photos and signed autographs. The activities were broadcast throughout the entire hospital for all patients to enjoy.

“It was my second time going there and it’s always a great experience, always good seeing the kids and interacting with them,” Allen II said. “They look up to us, so it's nice to set a good example for those young kids and show them that this dream is achievable.”

Over at St. Vincent De Paul, Luke Hayden, Luke Holman, Tyson Lewis, Nestor Lorant, Mason Morris and JP Ortiz paired up to shop with residents. Lorant and Ortiz were able to assist some of the Spanish-speaking neighbors with their shopping.

The morning wrapped up with all the players meeting at the Reds Youth Academy for a tour and lunch where they also learned about additional service opportunities in Cincinnati.

On January 14, the Reds Community Fund, St. Elizabeth Healthcare and Pitch In For Baseball & Softball (PIFBS) distributed close to $70,000 worth of baseball and softball equipment to 24 high schools and 14 youth organizations across Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana.

For the 10th straight year, the partners teamed up to help local high schools and youth organizations in the region and presented the gear to the teams during a distribution event at Griffin Elite in Erlanger, Kentucky. In what has now been a decade of working together, with additional Northern Kentucky support from the R.C. Durr Foundation to further elevate the impact for the third consecutive year, the group has provided over $550,000 in equipment to more than 17,000 local student-athletes.

Reds All-Star pitcher Andrew Abbott served as the event’s special guest and was blown away by the scope of the event.

“I’m really proud to be at something like this, because this donation today helps equal out the playing field a little bit it and represents a lot of what I went through as a kid, as well.”