Nationals Receive League-Wide Community Award for First Time

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Major League Baseball announced today that the Washington Nationals have been named recipient of the 2024 “Allan H. Selig Award for Philanthropic Excellence,” one of the signature awards of MLB Together, the league’s social responsibility program designed to improve its communities through baseball’s unique ability to bring people together. The honor recognizes the Club for their work and decade-long investment into D.C.’s most underserved neighborhoods through the “Nationals Youth Baseball Academy,” which has helped more than 6,000 youth since inception in 2014. Through its commitment to the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, the Club has provided the most impact-driven community investment within their market.

The Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, now in its 10^th year, opened in March 2014, initially hosting 40 third and fourth graders who would participate in afterschool enrichment programming. Since then, the Nationals Academy has served more than 6,000 children, ages 5 to 18, through a continuum of programs designed to foster their positive character development, academic achievement, improved health, and access to baseball and softball. Six classes are offered, from third through eighth grade, in the core afterschool and summer program, offering a pathway for its participants to excel, on and off the field, at some of the region’s most competitive high schools and institutions of higher learning across the country.

The Nationals Youth Baseball Academy provides a range of free youth development and baseball and softball programs, from free clinics for beginners to structured programming that includes training, tournament play, and more. In addition, the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy serves as a critical food access point for the neighborhood. Its year-round, holistic program tackles food insecurity by infusing food access, enrichment, and education directly into the community with the greatest need, using the facility as a civic resource.

Snapshot of the impact and progress of the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy:

With the power of baseball as a conduit, Nationals Academy set out to address some of the most intractable challenges facing youth residents of underserved D.C. communities and has since changed the trajectory of more than 6,000 lives.

Nationals Philanthropies delivers 100,000 meals each year through the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy’s weekly produce market, healthy food store, and multiple meal distribution programs.

The Academy’s culture of innovation has yielded a new approach to creating long-term impact. From early childhood through early adulthood, the Academy offers young people a safe place to learn, grow, and give back.

The programming continuum fulfills its purpose, led by a young staff that is representative of the community it serves, with opportunities for alumni to come back as volunteers or staff, ensuring the Academy remains community centered.

Through the power of partnership, the Nationals helps secure investments from the local philanthropies, city government and corporate partners to enable critical capital improvements of the facility and grants to ensure the sustainability of the Academy’s programs and on-field facilities.

“The Nationals Youth Baseball Academy is a terrific example of how our Clubs are making a difference in the lives of young people with opportunities on and off the field,” said Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred, Jr. “I congratulate the Lerner family, the Washington Nationals organization, Nationals Philanthropies, and the entire staff at the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy for this well-earned recognition. We are proud to celebrate their efforts and we look forward to their continued impact throughout the Greater D.C. region.”

“Throughout its first 10 years, the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy has grown into a community pillar, helping children, families and communities thrive through year-round programs,” said Marla Lerner Tanenbaum, founding chair and board member of Washington Nationals Philanthropies and president of The Annette M. and Theodore N. Lerner Family Foundation. “We are extremely honored that the Nationals Academy, the signature program of Nationals Philanthropies, has been selected by Major League Baseball and its fans as this year’s recipient of the prestigious Allan H. Selig Award for Philanthropic Excellence. We are proud of the decade of impact the Academy has made thus far, and we remain committed to serving our neighbors across the District with continued resources and programming for years to come.”

The Nationals were selected by a panel that assessed the Club’s ability to address or respond to an important community need or problem; produce desired community impact and outcomes; and analyzed the efforts that have significantly impacted the community. Club Finalists for the 2024 Selig Award for Philanthropic Excellence (as well as their programs or causes), included the following: Atlanta Braves (“Our Promise to Hank: Braves building equity & access to our game”), Chicago Cubs (“Careers As Sports Executives – CASE”), Kansas City Royals (“Shut Out the Stigma”), and the Minnesota Twins (“Ball for All”). For more information, please visit MLBTogether.com.