Matz donates to NYC COVID-19 first responders

NEW YORK -- Mets pitcher Steven Matz announced Friday that he is donating $32,000 to New York City first responders and hospitals fighting COVID-19 on the front lines.

Matz’s TRU32 charity began in 2016 as a way for him to honor local firefighters, police officers and military members by inviting them to Mets games at Citi Field. It has since expanded to include an annual fundraiser in conjunction with the FDNY Foundation, allowing Matz to finance scholarships for children with a parent killed or severely injured in the line of duty.

Now, in a time of need for New York City, Matz is expanding the scope of his operation once more.

“Taylor [Matz’s wife] and I continue to be inspired by the countless selfless acts of our first responders, doctors, nurses, & medical staff in the war against COVID-19,” Matz wrote in a tweet. “Thank you for your bravery and dedication serving our community & your patients!”

The first portion of Matz’s donation went to Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, one of the epicenters of the coronavirus in New York, just two miles from Citi Field.

Matz, the Mets’ Roberto Clemente Award nominee each of the past two seasons for his off-field philanthropy, won the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s Joan Payson/Shannon Forde Community Service award in January.