The Cincinnati Reds are committed to utilizing our platform to spotlight resources that help our communities. Each month we will highlight a cause or topic and partners working to benefit our community in that area.
Unity in the Community
The Cincinnati Reds are committed to promoting positive initiatives in our community and for fans throughout Reds Country. Below you will learn more about efforts by Reds players and other activities the organization is a part of to help our communities and bring everyone in Reds Country together.
Reds Country Cares
News and Events
Reds & Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Team Up for Players’ Weekend
For the third consecutive year, patients at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center painted cleats for Reds players to wear during MLB’s annual Players’ Weekend.
Nearly 30 Reds players, along with manager Terry Francona, participated this season. The Reds will take the field with the custom footwear during their Players’ Weekend road series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, August 21-23.
Next week, all pairs of cleats will be put up for bid in an online auction with all proceeds benefiting Cincinnati Children’s.
Fantasy Camp for Kids
On August 15, Reds pitcher Luis Mey and catcher Jose Trevino visited the P&G MLB Cincinnati Reds Youth Academy for the annual Fantasy Camp for Kids.
Each year, the Reds Youth Academy hosts kids from the Cincinnati Recreation Commission’s Miracle League program for a one-day clinic. Mey and Trevino helped teach some baseball fundamentals, signed autographs and took photos.
Make-A-Wish Visit
Throughout the season, Reds players and coaches visit with children through the Make-A-Wish foundation. These special guests and their families join the players on the field during batting practice to take pictures and receive signed autographs. For over a decade, the Cincinnati Reds have partnered with Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana to provide a unique experience for children with life-threatening illnesses.
On August 2, Conner Hyitt was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor. When he was in the hospital, he received a Lego set that inspired him to create “Conner’s Comfort Cart.” From August-November, he was able to gather and donate nearly 400 comfort items for other kiddos at Nationwide Children’s and Ronald McDonald House. Since then, he has received additional donated items to give back.
He just rang his end-of-treatment radiation bell in June and celebrated his 11th birthday on August 3.
Families of Reds & Guardians Play in Annual Charity Softball Game
With the Guardians in town for the Ohio Cup series, the families of the Reds and Guardians participated in the second annual charity softball game on July 27 in support of Ohio CASA and the Reds Community Fund (RCF).
Hosted at the P&G MLB Cincinnati Reds Youth Academy in Roselawn, the softball game between the wives, significant others and families of the Reds and Guardians capped this year’s collaboration. Earlier this summer, the Reds Wives hosted a special sale of player autographed items during home games vs. the Mets to help generate funds. Reds fans also had the opportunity to support the cause this season by purchasing or donating a Reds Heads or Reds Rookies Kids Club membership.
Led by Jordyn Pagán, wife of Reds relief pitcher Emilio Pagán, and Samantha Kwan, wife of Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan, the teams raised more than $32,000 for Ohio CASA, which doubled the amount raised last year.
Reds Community Makeover Revitalizes Winton Hills
The Reds, P&G and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden helped lead a transformative “Community Makeover” in Cincinnati’s Winton Hills neighborhood on July 23.
Along with first-year partner Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority, GE Aerospace, Kroger, United Way of Greater Cincinnati, Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Cincinnati Recreation Commission, Playground Equipment Services and many other committed partners gathered for the annual day-long community project that brought together over 600 volunteers to revitalize six sites in Winton Hills.
Now in its 17th year, the Community Makeover returned to the neighborhood where it all started in 2010.
Reds Host Annual Johnny Bench Awards
The winners of the 2026 Johnny Bench Awards presented by MSA Sport gathered at Great American Ball Park on July 7 to be recognized for their catching achievements.
The Johnny Bench Awards honor the top Division I college baseball and softball catcher and the top high school baseball and softball catchers from Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and West Virginia.
All 10 winners were able to attend this year’s ceremony and were joined by their family, friends and coaches for a luncheon at Great American Ball Park. Additionally, notable attendees included: the Hall of Fame catcher himself, Johnny Bench; Reds president and chief executive officer Phil Castellini; Reds catchers Tyler Stephenson and Jose Trevino; Reds catching coach Bill Haselman and Reds bullpen catcher James Keller; and Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs. In town for this week’s series against the Reds, Stubbs won the Johnny Bench Award in 2015 when he played for University of Southern California.
Abbott, Ashcraft Visit Camp Joy
Reds pitchers Andrew Abbott and Graham Ashcraft went fishing with children battling heart disease at Camp Joyful Hearts on June 23.
Hosted at Camp Joy in Clarksville, Ohio, Camp Joyful Hearts is a weeklong camp for kids from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital who have congenital heart defects, heart transplants and other types of heart disease. Abbott and Ashcraft were welcomed by kids as they helped campers set up their fishing poles and demonstrated how to cast and reel.
“It’s always great to see the smiles on their faces and get to enjoy that time with them,” Ashcraft said.
Pitch, Hit & Run
The Reds and Reds Community Fund invited hundreds of young fans for an official Major League Baseball Pitch, Hit & Run competition at the P&G MLB Cincinnati Reds Youth Academy to celebrate MLB PLAY BALL Weekend on June 7.
The competition offered children, aged 7 to 14, the opportunity to participate in hitting, pitching and running stations to showcase their baseball and softball skills.
Reds Players Visit Children’s Hospital
On April 29, TJ Friedl, Rhett Lowder, Dane Myers and Jose Trevino stopped by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
The players spent time with patients inside the hospital’s Seacrest Studios where they held a Q&A, played games, signed autographs and posed for photos. They even made a special visit to the ICU so they could meet a big Reds fan who was unable to make it to the studio.
Reds Host Second Annual “Peanut Butter Jam” Food Drive
The Cincinnati Reds and the Hope Emergency Program food bank teamed up for the second annual “Peanut Butter Jam” food drive on, April 26 at Great American Ball Park.
For each 16-oz jar of peanut butter donated, fans received one free View Level ticket to an upcoming Reds home game.
Last year’s inaugural “Peanut Butter Jam” collected over 600 jars. This year, Reds Country really stepped up, donating more than 3,600 jars.
“These fans have always been amazing. But what they are doing to help us in the community is even more special,” Reds President & CEO Phil Castellini said to WLWT. “We are stewards of a community asset, and our fans all over Reds Country are the ones that own this team, and they make it tick.”
Peanut butter is one of the most requested items at many food pantries because it is a shelf-stable, protein-rich food that has a variety of uses and is popular with people of all ages.
The “Peanut Butter Jam” supports Realizing the Dream, a five-year community service initiative designed to inspire youth, educators, and communities to complete 100 million hours of service by 2029, honoring the 100th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth.
Reds, St. Elizabeth Healthcare Unveil Newest Field Renovation
On a perfect spring day in Versailles, Ind., South Ripley High School officially unveiled the first Reds Community Fund major field renovation in Indiana: Forest G. Waters Field at St. Elizabeth Ball Park.
Twenty years into the Castellini ownership era of the Reds and more than 30 major field projects later, the Reds and Reds Community Fund -- in partnership with St. Elizabeth Healthcare for the fourth time -- reached another part of Reds Country with their baseball and softball field renovation efforts. This year’s beneficiary of an upgraded facility was South Ripley, with the official ribbon cutting taking place on Apri 22.
2026 COMMUNITY ADVOCATE AWARD WINNERS
Each year, PNC and the Reds present a series of Community Advocate Awards to members of our community who make a positive impact in promoting diversity and inclusion.
Please join PNC and the Reds in congratulating the 2026 Community Advocate winners below.
June 14: African American Community – Barbara A. Turner
Throughout her corporate career and community leadership, Barbara Turner has been guided by the belief that everyone — particularly women and individuals from under-resourced communities — deserves access to the tools and opportunities that support financial stability and long-term independence. Through her organization BT RISE, Barbara has invested more than $1.7 million in grants, scholarships, leadership development and entrepreneurship initiatives that empower women and under-resourced communities
June 1: Jewish Community – Jimmy Miller and Corky Steiner
*Award presented posthumously
An engaged and impactful citizen, Jimmy led a charitable life, leading by example through countless volunteer and philanthropic efforts that continue to be felt today. Jimmy is remembered for his leadership and service through the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, Hebrew Union College and the American Jewish Committee.
Corky devoted his life to strengthening the Jewish community and enriching the lives of countless families and young people through organizations including the Jewish Federation and Camp Livingston. Corky believed legacy wasn’t just about buildings or corporations, but about people, the values we pass down, the stories we tell and the love that we show.
May 29: Pride Community – Jacob Hogue
Jacob is a public historian with a master’s degree from Northern Kentucky University and author of Cincinnati Before Stonewall: The Untold Queer History of the Queen City. He serves as History and Legacies Chair for Cincinnati Pride and is the creator of Queen City Queer History, an Instagram project highlighting Cincinnati’s LGBTQ+ past. He is also the founder of Queen City Queer History Tour and lectures throughout Ohio and Kentucky.
YOUTH AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
REDS MAKING AN IMPACT WITH RCF SCHOLARS
The Reds Community Fund (RCF) is focused on developing student-athletes into Major League Citizens, which is the objective of its newest program, RCF Scholars.
REDS YOUTH ACADEMY
The P&G MLB Cincinnati Reds Youth Academy is a state-of-the-art facility that supports thousands of kids and coaches in the Greater Cincinnati area. The academy serves as the home for the Cincinnati RBI (Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities) program, along with year-round baseball and softball clinics and activities for players and educational sessions for coaches. In addition to on-field instruction, academy programs also provide academic tutoring, mentoring and life-building opportunities for the young people who need it most.
MURALS WITH A MISSION
Launched in 2022, “Murals With A Mission” powered by PNC Bank is an initiative that aims to create a mural at high school campuses across Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky that elevates positive social messages relevant to each school’s student body. Local artist Brent Billingsley works with student organizations to develop the message and artwork.
MLB INITIATIVES
The Cincinnati Reds partner with Major League Baseball on a number of programs and initiatives throughout each season that promotes diversity and inclusion.
2026 MLB CALENDAR OF EVENTS
- April 15 – Jackie Robinson Day
- May – Mental Health Awareness Month
- May 10 – Mother’s Day
- May 15-17 - Armed Forces Weekend (Military Appreciation)
- May 26 – Memorial Day
- June 2 – Lou Gehrig Day
- June 5-7 – PLAY BALL Weekend
- June 21 – Father’s Day
- July 10-14 – All-Star Week
- August 14-16 – Players’ Weekend
- September 6 – Childhood Cancer Awareness Day
- September 11 – September 11th Remembrance (25th Anniversary)
- September 15 – Roberto Clemente Day
- October 15 – Spirit Day