Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation 2024 Dodgers Dreamteam program to serve 13,000 youth across 99 locations
Dodger Days return to ensure thousands of Angelenos have access to education and health resources, and basic necessities
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) will host the first of seven Dodger Days, presented by ARCO, on Saturday, April 20 at the Dodger Dreamfields complex in Gonzales Park from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. As a part of LADF’s continued commitment to sports-based youth development, the 11th season of the Dodgers Dreamteam program, an affiliate of Nike RBI, will serve 13,000 youth in partnership with 16 affiliate partners across 99 locations, an increase of 18% over 2023.
Dodger Days are community resource events that bring together program partners so that Dodgers Dreamteam players and their families can receive access to health screenings, education programs, and basic essentials. This season's resources distributed at Dodger Days include food boxes provided by LA Regional Food Bank, baseball and softball instruction via Dodgers Training Academy, UCLA Health screenings, eye exams from Vision to Learn, books as a part of LA Reads, transportation resources, including free and discounted fares from LA Metro, STEM activities from LADF’s Science of Baseball curriculum.
To serve more Los Angeles youth, LADF is expanding its affiliate partners for Dodgers Dreamteam, including the addition of the City of Bell and Woodcraft Rangers in Monterey Park, Rosemead and San Gabriel. These expanded partnerships align with LADF’s new strategic plan: Lasting Impact for Los Angeles, which builds upon its successes by amplifying best practices, scaling solutions to reach more Angelenos, growing its capacity, and refining its work to create a lasting impact for Los Angeles.
“In our 11th year of Dodgers Dreamteam, we continue to grow and provide exceptional programs that communities deserve,” said Nichol Whiteman, CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation. “With a goal to serve 25,000 youth annually by 2030, we are ensuring more youth can play ball and have access to vital resources and the basic necessities they need the most.”
Dodgers Dreamteam is a comprehensive sports-based youth development program that uses the power of sport to provide critical resources and services to communities experiencing social injustices. The program aims to provide an inclusive, barrier-free youth development program for underserved communities that otherwise may not participate and train parents and coaches to create a social and emotional learning environment. All participants receive free uniforms and access to baseball and softball equipment.
Stemming from the 2022 All-Star legacy funds, LADF continues its significant coach investment, aiming to train 1,500 coaches by the end of 2025. LADF will host 13 coaches trainings in partnership with Nike and four leading organizations: Center for Healing and Justice Through Sport, Positive Coaching Alliance, Dodgers Training Academy, and Beyond Sport. New for coaches this year is the incorporation of the Dodgers Dreamteam Coaches Playbook - Living Jackie’s Nine, in partnership with Nike, rooted in the nine heartfelt, hard-won values that helped baseball legend and civil rights hero Jackie Robinson achieve his goals.
In addition to the seven Dodger Days and 13 coaches trainings, program elements of the 2024 Dodgers Dreamteam season include 12 college and career accelerators events and four player development trainings (both sponsored by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power), 13 skills training clinics and two field maintenance clinics. High school senior Dodgers Dreamteam participants will also be eligible to apply or LADF’s Legacy Scholarship, a $10,000 college scholarship.
Bank of America is returning as the Dodgers Dreamteam Community Ambassador Sponsor and, in addition, deploys hundreds of its employees to volunteer and support Dodgers Dreamteam programming. ARCO will be the presenting sponsor of Dodger Days. Additional sponsors include Beyond Sport, California Masonic Foundation, Coca-Cola, County of LA Department of Public Works, Dwight Stuart Youth Foundation, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, LA84 Foundation, Nike, SoCal Gas, and UCLA Health. Executing program partners include Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, Center for Healing and Justice through Sport, Dasani, Hello Insight, LeagueApps, Los Angeles Dodgers Training Academy, Los Angeles Library Foundation, LA Metro, Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, Melissa’s, Natasha Watley Foundation, Papa Cantella’s, Pitch in for Baseball/Softball, Positive Coaching Alliance, PRIME, Science of Sport, Shoes That Fit, Topps, USC College Advising Corp, Up2Us Sports, UpMetrics, and Vision to Learn.
For more information about Dodgers Dreamteam and for families and coaches to register, please visit Dodgers.com/DodgersDreamteam.
About the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation:
The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) is tackling the most pressing problems facing Los Angeles with a mission to improve education, health care, homelessness and social justice for all Angelenos. Bigger than baseball, LADF envisions a city where everyone regardless of ZIP code has the opportunity to thrive. LADF was reimagined in 2013 and has since raised over $95 million and is on track to raise $100 million in 2024. LADF has invested more than $60 million in its programs and grants to local organizations and impacted more than 10 million youth. LADF is the proud recipient of ESPN's Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year, Robert Wood Johnson Sports Award, Beyond Sport's Sport for Reduced Racial Inequalities Collective Impact Award, and the Aspen Institute Project Play Champion. To learn more, visit Dodgers.com/LADF, follow them on X, @DodgersFdn, Instagram, @dodgersfoundation, and like them on Facebook at facebook.com/LosAngelesDodgersFoundation.