MLB volunteers pack over 200 backpacks

NEW YORK -- On Tuesday afternoon, there was a distinctly familiar buzz in the air inside the auditorium of Major League Baseball’s Office of the Commissioner.

Music echoed from the speakers and the din of laughter filled the room as employees gathered for a volunteer event, the first one the company has held in quite some time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With back-to-school season in full swing, employees helped fill over 200 MLB backpacks with supplies that would be split between The Promise Academy in Harlem and children of Baseball Assistance Team (B.A.T.) grant recipients.

The Promise Academy, a component of Harlem Children's Zone, is a K-12 charter school system geared toward comprehensively preparing children and their parents for every stage of life. B.A.T., meanwhile, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that confidentially supports members of the MLB family who are in need.

Though markers of the pandemic were still evident -- all volunteers donned masks, while arrows placed on the ground ensured proper social distancing -- the event rekindled a spirit of togetherness that had been missing when offices were closed and remote working became the norm across the country.

“I think it’s a little bit of a return to normalcy, because we had these events pre-COVID every other month,” said John Schwarz, a senior coordinator of community affairs and one of the event’s organizers. “We didn’t want to forget what some of our goals are as a company, and one of those is giving back. … We figured with back to school starting here in New York and all around the country, it was a good time to bring our volunteer events back into the fold.”

Over 70 employees were split into four half-hour shifts -- another lingering effect of the pandemic -- and traveled from station to station around the room, gathering the requisite materials listed on their packing slips to fill each backpack. The basics were all there: Binders, loose-leaf paper, multicolored pencil cases, composition notebooks and writing utensils. But there were some unique inclusions as well: MLB-branded caps and folders, Lysol wipes and even handwritten messages from the volunteers wishing students well in the upcoming school year.

After making their way through the whole auditorium and dropping their backpack off, many volunteers took it upon themselves to go back and repeat the process all over again. Some joked that it was a relaxing break from the workday; others simply stated that they didn’t mind doing more because it was an easy way to help.

While the first pair of volunteer shifts were eventually limited to two backpacks each to guarantee that there would be enough for everyone to contribute, the latter shifts rallied to make certain that all the backpacks were indeed completed, making four, sometimes five, trips without a second thought.

“It’s always tricky because you don’t want people to feel like it’s required or mandatory. We want people to do it just because they want to,” said Kiera Connerty, a director of talent management in the human resources department. “We had our HR team out plugging it when they’re talking to people and John’s group doing the same thing. Just kind of that word of mouth.

“Actually, we had a couple people walk up today because they just see the buzz, and maybe somebody went back to their desk and was talking about it.”

Once all the backpacks were filled, the delivery boxes were taped and prepared to be dollied away. Half of the backpacks will be sent uptown to Harlem, while B.A.T. will ship their share to grant recipients who live throughout the nation. Some of the backpacks will also go international, as B.A.T.’s consultants in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic will drop them off at recipients’ houses.

As for the volunteers, they returned to work with a renewed energy, having experienced something that is only now becoming possible again. A sign, perhaps, of better days ahead.

“One of the things we lost with the pandemic is that opportunity to connect with our colleagues -- other than doing our day-to-day jobs,” Connerty said. “Volunteerism is important to us at MLB, and definitely something we want to encourage with our employees. So finding an opportunity and a cause to be able to rally around and bring it back was really important to us.”