The Houston Astros and our partners at Minute Maid came together in 2002 and created Grand Slam For Youth Baseball, a program designed to bring the benefits of the National Pastime to the young people of Greater Houston. Grand Slam For Youth Baseball makes it easier for boys and girls to play, learn about and experience baseball, all while fostering self-confidence, teamwork, respect for others and fun among youth in Houston.
Minute Maid Grand Slam For Youth Baseball's youth outreach is centered in the following initiatives:
Scholarships
In 2005, MMGSFYB announced a scholarship program to assist greater Houston-area high school senior boys and girls with first-year college expenses. Since the program’s inception, Minute Maid Grand Slam For Youth Baseball has awarded more than 330 scholarships and grants totaling over $1,000,000.More than 160 of these scholarship and grant recipients were first-generation college students. Beginning in 2017, the Minute Maid Grand Slam For Youth Baseball Scholarship committee began to annually award 25 - $5,000 scholarships.
City of Houston Parks & Recreation Department's FREE Youth Baseball Program
For more than 16 years, Minute Maid Grand Slam For Youth Baseball has sponsored the City of Houston Parks & Recreation Department's youth baseball, softball and t-ball program for youth ages 4-18. MMGSFYB provides all t-shirts, caps, equipment, instruction, clinics run by the Astros Foundation staff, Astros' current players and alumni along with marketing materials promoting the program. This free baseball and softball program is the only such program in the City of Houston and has been praised by city and state officials, and impacts more than 6,500 youngsters a year. Participants and their families also receive free tickets to Astros homes games providing many with the first-time experience of attending a professional sports game.
