Rays prepare to close out charitable '23 with 'Week of Giving'

This story was excerpted from Adam Berry’s Rays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ST PETERSBURG -- In three weeks, the Rays will take part in their annual “Week of Giving” throughout the Tampa Bay area. This year’s week of holiday donations and events, which goes from Dec. 11-15, will be “definitely the largest one we’ve ever done,” manager of community development Will Wetzel said, spanning everything from sports equipment donations to adoption finalization ceremonies.

But the Rays’ charitable outreach is not limited to the holiday season that’s now fast approaching. The club is active in the community throughout the year, with a focus on youth, education, wellness and social responsibility.

The Rays Baseball Foundation provided grants to more than 75 organizations this year, and the club has worked to make an impact through many different programs, involving everyone from front office staff to players.

Here are just a few that highlight the way they gave back this year:

Reading with the Rays
The Rays Baseball Foundation’s summer reading program has been in place since 2006, encouraging kids from nine local counties to keep reading. About 50,000 kids throughout the Tampa Bay area participate in the program, and players often take part in events by reading with children, as Pete Fairbanks, Jason Adam, Luke Raley and former Rays pitcher Erasmo Ramírez did this year.

Rays Jersey Program
The Rays supply about 10,000 Tee Ball players and coaches with jerseys and caps each year as part of this program, which has been in place since 2014 and reached at least 95,000 people since its inception. The gear is provided at no cost to the leagues, saving them equipment expenses that can be allocated elsewhere and allow more people to access the game through lower registration fees.

The Big Game James Club
In 2010, former Rays starter James Shields and his wife, Ryane, started a program in which they dedicated a suite at Tropicana Field to host foster children and families for all 81 home games. Naturally, it was called the Big Game James Club -- until he was traded to the Royals in 2012, at which point it was renamed the Home Run Club.

On Opening Day, with Shields on the scene, the club’s original name returned as the Rays continued its mission in support of foster children and families, with several adoptions having come about as a result.

“That suite provides a sense of belonging, a sense of normalcy,” said Kim Couts, the Rays’ director of community engagement. “We’re really proud of that program. It’s a really special one for us, and it was very special for us to bring back its original name."

Rays Science of Baseball
A relatively new initiative in its second year, this saw Rays baseball operations staff teaching STEM curriculum to about 100 children through weeklong programs in June at the Academy Prep campuses in Lakeland, Tampa and St. Petersburg.

Baseball ops staffers created the entire curriculum, tapping into their wide-ranging areas of expertise to teach lessons on geometry, statistics, nutrition, mental performance, physiology and more. To cap off the program, all the students came out to Tropicana Field on June 21 for a pregame career day featuring staff from every department.

Magic Monday
For Monday home games, the Rays hosted teams from Buddy Baseball. Players visited with the Rays during batting practice, then stood alongside the team during the national anthem before taking in games from a suite. The expanded program this season was inspired by the club’s Baseball Magic Clinic, which was held for the third time over the summer as part of MLB’s Play Ball Weekend.

Tuesday’s Champion
Partnering with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Children’s Dream Fund, the Rays host a child battling a life-threatening illness before every Tuesday home game. The team invites the kids and their families to watch batting practice on the field and enjoy dinner in the Rays club before throwing out a ceremonial first pitch in a personalized Rays jersey.

“The player engagement on that program is always so special to see, and it really makes the experience so memorable for the kids,” Couts said. “For us to provide that and a break from the heartbreaking treatment or whatever situation they’re dealing with at that time, it’s pretty special for us and we’re just lucky to be able to do that.”