Home Runs For Heroes

There is nothing like the excitement of going to a baseball game and watching your team hit a home run and this season there will be an added reason to root for the long ball at FirstEnergy Park, home of the Lakewood BlueClaws. That’s because the BlueClaws and the OceanFirst Foundation
have announced plans to team up on a program called “Home Runs for Heroes” which will help military-based charities.

Throughout the 2009 season each time a BlueClaws player hits a home run during a home game at FirstEnergy Park the OceanFirst Foundation will donate $1000 to a charity that provides emergency financial help to local soldiers, active and retired and their dependents. Charities that are interested in being consider for this program must agree to use all the donations to provide support to veterans and members of the military and their families that live within the service area of OceanFirst, which is Ocean and Monmouth counties. The grants must be used for basic emergency needs.

The plan is to select 9 charities and match them with a particular position in the BlueClaws lineup. Each time a player hits a home run at FirstEnergy Park, the charity tied in with that position gets a $1000 donation from the OceanFirst Foundation. Charities that want to apply for consideration must do so by Saturday, February 28th. You can call the BlueClaws at (732) 901-7000 and they will direct you to the website for this program application.

The OceanFirst Foundation was established in 1996 and has contributed approximately $20 million to over 600 local charities in their service area.
The priorities of the foundation are Housing, Health and Wellness, Improving the Quality of Life and Youth Development. Last year alone they donated more than $1.6 million to community projects.

Executive Director Kathy Durante said they are “proud to partner with the BlueClaws and provide much needed support to organizations that help local soldiers and their families overcome financial and other unique challenges due to their service or deployment.”

“Home Runs for Heroes” sounds like a grand slam and it will make attending a game this season even more exciting.