Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

MLB Announces Grant to Sesame Workshop, Additional Military VSO Partners

Nov 19, 2020 3:25 PM ET

NEW YORK, November 19, 2020 /3BL Media/ - Major League Baseball today announced a financial grant to Sesame Workshop in support of “Sesame Street for Military Families,” which was established to support military and veteran families with young children through all the milestones of their lives, including experiences and transitions unique to military life. With the funds, Sesame Workshop will expand their resource hub and also build new materials under its COVID-response “Caring For Each Other” umbrella to uniquely address the military population. Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit behind Sesame Street® which serves children in 150 countries with research-based media content, social impact programs and formal education outreach.

Additional financial commitments by the Commissioner’s Office and MLB Clubs is being directed to several nonprofit organizations focused on supporting causes benefiting military veterans, active service members and their families. This support includes extensions of existing MLB partnerships with The Mission Continues, Code of Support Foundation, American Corporate Partners, and SHIFT, as well as funds distributed by MLB Clubs to local military-focused community organizations. In total, MLB has committed more than $1 million to military-related causes in 2020-2021. 

The Commissioner’s Office will renew its overall commitment to the following organizations, all of which received previous funding in 2018-2019:

  • Code of Support Foundation: The grant supports PATRIOTlink®, a search engine dedicated to connecting service members, veterans, caregivers and their families to the resources they have earned through their service and sacrifice.  Funding also provides for front-line Case Coordination services to link active duty military and veteran families in need to Peer Navigators trained to unlock benefits and services. Since 2018 with leading support from MLB, PATRIOTlink has grown to provide nearly 6,000 resources to more than 17,000 users annually. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Code of Support has experienced a 200% increase in requests for Case Coordination assistance and has added thousands of new resources related to unemployment, financial and food insecurity, social connectivity, and virtual mental health support.   
     
  • The Mission Continues: The nonprofit is dedicated to bringing together veterans and innovative community organizations to create transformational change in under-resourced communities across the country. Through unique service opportunities and leadership programs in 50+ cities, veterans build new skills and networks that help them successfully reintegrate to life after their military careers, while also making long-term, sustainable impact nationwide.
     
  • The grants will also support American Corporate Partners, which helps returning veterans find their next careers through one-on-one mentoring, networking and online career advice. More than 20,000 veterans have participated in ACP’s programs since its founding in 2008. As a partner, MLB will continue to engage front-office employees in ACP’s mentoring program, with employees from the Commissioner’s Office and MLB Network pairing with veteran mentees for a year-long commitment to advance the veteran’s goals for professional development and career planning. Since 2019, nearly 75 MLB employees have participated in this program.
     
  • To build upon the existing partnership with SHIFT, MLB will host a “Veteran Accelerator Program” beginning in January 2021 to support personal and professional development for transitioning service members. The 4-week program will be available to military members in the SHIFT network and provide exposure to the multitude of available careers within Baseball and the sports industry. SHIFT is a career advancement company that assists active service members and military veterans from all five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces navigate career changes and connects them with open job positions.
     
  • The Commissioner’s Office has distributed $450,000 in grant funding to MLB Clubs in 2020 to support local nonprofit organizations through the “Military Community Grants” program. In its third year and with a total investment of more than $1.3 million, localized support of the military by each Club through this program has been realized through charitable grants for events and programs that benefit service members, veterans and military families. MLB directed Clubs to focus on one or more of the following pillars: quality of life (morale, welfare and recreation), mental health & wellness, and transition services.

Earlier this week, Major League Baseball and the 2020 World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers unveiled the newly renovated All-Star Veterans Courtyard of the Volunteers of America Ballington Plaza Apartments in the Skid Row section of Downtown Los Angeles. The project, which was completed in partnership with The Mission Continues, took place at the Veterans Service Center, the first point of contact for homeless veterans in this community.