Wainwright's charitable efforts helped Canadian families in need during pandemic

St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright is this year’s Roberto Clemente Award winner for his efforts with the Home Plate Project, a charity that helped Canadian families in need during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here he is shown with his Clemente Award. Photo: St. Louis Cardinals

December 21, 2020

By J.P. Antonacci

Canadian Baseball Network

Canadian families struggling to put food on the table during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic got a helping hand from MLB pitcher Adam Wainwright.

Wainwright spearheaded the Home Plate Project, which brought in enough charitable donations from MLB players and outside organizations to provide more than four million meals for kids and families in need throughout the league’s 30 cities, including Toronto.

Wainwright’s leadership, and his long track record of philanthropy through his Big League Impact Foundation, earned the veteran pitcher the 2020 Roberto Clemente Award.

The award, presented by MLB, honours the player whose dedication to giving back to the community best reflects Clemente’s legacy.

“This is the crown jewel of any award I have ever received,” Wainwright said in a statement issued by his charitable foundation, which he founded in 2013.

“But, to me, it’s more than just an award. What Mr. Clemente stood for, and the way he lived his life on and off the field, goes beyond what any award could fully embody. Even being mentioned in the same sentence with him is an incredible honour. I feel very blessed to receive the Clemente award, and I will continue to try and live up to his standards as long as I live.”

The Home Plate Project responded to millions of family suddenly facing food insecurity due to income loss, social isolation and limited mobility, and interrupted access to school nutrition programs curtailed by the pandemic.

Blue Jays players Chase Anderson and Randal Grichuk were among 53 MLB players whose donations – matched by the Home Plate Project – helped meet this need. In Toronto, the project worked with the Jays Care Foundation to provide meals to families living at or below the poverty line, and to individuals with physical or cognitive disabilities.

The donations – augmented by financial support from Teammates for Kids, country star Garth Brooks’ foundation – paid for Sobeys gift cards that were distributed to vulnerable families through the Toronto Community Housing Rookie League and the Challenger Baseball program.

Sobeys also contributed $45,000 and Jays Care covered the balance to make the total donation $100,000 – which worked out to $100 gift cards for 1,000 Toronto families.

Canadian participation in the program was “enthusiastic,” said Mike Rains, operations and media manager with Big League Impact.

Gift card recipients in Toronto included essential workers, parents of children with disabilities, and out-of-work single parents who felt the financial pinch of the pandemic.

This was the second year for the Home Plate Project, which Wainwright’s foundation initially conceived as a way to address food insecurity in schools. With the pandemic closing schools and exacerbating hunger at home, players and supporters of the project quickly stepped up to raise almost $1 million and deliver 400,000 more meals than they had the previous year.

Keith Brooks, executive director of Big League Impact, said the Clemente award recognized Wainwright’s longstanding support for public schools, anti-poverty initiatives, access to clean water and health care in Haiti, and earthquake relief in Puerto Rico.

“We are incredibly excited for Adam to receive this prestigious honor and are proud to have the privilege to assist in the work he is doing to save lives, restore dignity and instill hope around the globe,” Brooks said.

“This is a fitting recognition for the tireless work Adam has done and inspired over many years, and more importantly, a tribute to the man he is. We celebrate with and for this tremendous man of faith.”

Wainwright shared the credit for the Home Plate Project with his fellow players.

“Big leaguers from every MLB team felt compelled to jump in with us so we can help feed kids right now when they need it most in their cities. We are grateful for the opportunity to help fill their needs in this most crucial time with this great project,” he said.

“Thanks goes out to everyone who made this come together so quickly so we could have an immediate impact. Especially to all the players – this isn’t possible without you. We may be competitors on the field, but we are all one big family off of it.”