Pitch In For Baseball & Softball works with Major League Baseball teams across the country to support the development of youth baseball and softball leagues.
These partners are instrumental in allowing us to grow our impact by making generous financial contributions, large donations of in-kind product, and connecting us to groups in need of assistance.
PIFBS also serves as an equipment partner for MLB’s Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program, a youth outreach program designed to increase participation, encourage academic achievement, and promote inclusion.
Reds Community Fund
PIFBS and the Reds Community Fund launched a School-Based program in Northern Kentucky in 2017. The organizations have worked together with St. Elizabeth Healthcare to assist 91 baseball and softball teams and more than 1,500 kids in the first 5 years of the program.
Twins Community Fund
PIFBS has partnered with the Minnesota Twins since 2015, when the Twins funded the expansion of PIFBS’ School-Based Program into St. Paul/Minneapolis school districts. From 2017-2020, the School-Based program has impacted 172 baseball and softball teams serving 3,000 kids, with 24 teams also receiving donations in 2021. More than 50% of students who participated in the programs showed improvements in grades and attendance.
Phillies Charities Grant
In 2019, the Phillies made a grant to PIFBS to support the 2020 Philadelphia School-Based program along with Springfield Township Rotary. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 school season, but PIFBS hosted a drive-through equipment distribution for Philadelphia programs who had previously been approved for this grant, and the gear will assist these schools in 2021.
Amazin’ Mets Foundation
The Mets aim to help support youth baseball and softball in every community they’re a part of, and have partnered with PIFBS for projects in New York, Port St. Lucie (FL) , and Boca Chica, Dominican Republic. The Mets have invested more than $350,000 to help support youth baseball and softball. 2021 marks the fourth year of partnership with the New York Mets and the Amazin’ Mets Foundation.
Chicago Cubs RBI
Chicago Cubs RBI received assistance through PIFBS in 2018 and 2019. PIFBS provided gloves, catcher’s sets, and cleats, as well as much-needed softball equipment including bats, helmets, and softballs.
Pirates Charities
In 2019 and 2020, PIFBS led a collaboration with Pirates Charities and the Tull Family Foundation to donate more than $180,000 in equipment and apparel to western Pennsylvania youth baseball and softball programs. This funded program assisted 2,000 boys and girls across 19 leagues in 2020, allowing teams to provide equipment for safe play, assistance for families, and a positive outlet for kids facing challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dodgers RBI
Since the partnership began in 2015, PIFBS has helped Dodgers RBI add more than 1,000 new teams. PIFBS is both the Equipment Partner and Fulfillment Partner for the program, and is responsible for securing and sorting the gear and fulfilling the equipment requests from Dodgers RBI groups.
New York Yankees
In 2016, PIFBS and the Yankees launched a three-year partnership to help increase access to baseball and softball for children in the Bronx. The program impacted 52 baseball and softball teams, serving nearly 1,400 kids. In 2018, the Yankees also donated a suite for a PIFBS fundraising event, which raised $20,000.
Oakland Athletics
In 2019, PIFBS and the A’s partnered for an Oakland School-Based program that helped refresh equipment for 20 baseball and softball teams. They also coordinated on a project in Paradise, California, to help groups rebuild their programs following wild fires that devastated families and communities. In 2020, PIFBS also worked with the A’s to send equipment donations to the Oakland Cal Ripken Babe Ruth league.
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants will be our largest partnership in 2021, as PIFBS is sending gear to 50+ RBI programs that the Junior Giants support. The equipment includes gloves, baseballs and softballs, bats, batting tees, bases, and bags. This partnership is a multi-tiered effort, as the Giants work to ensure that kids in all of Giants’ territory have the resources they need to play ball.