With its success on the field, it’s easy to overlook all the contributions that the Cleveland Indians make off the field.
But when you strip off the exterior — five straight American League Central Division titles, two American League Championships and two World Series appearances in the last five years — what’s left is an organization that is committed to the community that supports it.
“That’s been a double-edged sword,” explains Allen Davis, director of community relations for the Cleveland Indians Baseball Co., about the Indians’ recent success. “We try to toot our horn a little bit, but it often gets buried. The focus is on what the team does on the field, but it overshadows a lot of what goes on elsewhere.
“We are more than just a baseball team. We see ourselves as a community treasure that’s been around for 100 years. And it’s an obligation to be involved in the community and return something to it.”
Involvement is something the Indians and its players know a lot about. In 1989, the Indians founded Cleveland Indians Charities, which provides educational and recreational opportunities to Northeast Ohio youth.
Over the past 10 years, CIC has donated nearly $2.5 million to area organizations, including $500,000 in 1998. Of that half million, the largest contribution was $100,000 to the Cleveland Public Schools (for the fourth consecutive year). The money was used to help defray the cost of the district’s high school boys’ baseball and girls’ softball programs.
CIC also donates money to the Boys and Girls Club, the city of Cleveland Division of Recreation — for the operation of the Rookie League youth baseball program, the United Black Fund — for the operation of the Larry Doby Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) Program, the North American Indian Cultural Center and the Urban League of Greater Cleveland.
But money isn’t the only thing the Indians step up to the plate with each year. Davis says his office is swamped with requests for contributions of memorabilia items and tickets. With 373 consecutive sell-outs, it’s safe to say the Indians are the hottest ticket in town.
Last year, the Indians fulfilled more than 2,500 requests for items — an average of more than 200 each month — all of which help put the Indians’ stamp on the Northeast Ohio community. Davis says the organization’s commitment includes community involvement programs, fan participation programs and youth baseball programs.
Fans are included through the CIC Celebrity Golf Outing, CIC Picnic in the Park with the Stars, Jacobs Field tours, Wahoo World and the Pepsi Corporate Hitting Challenge. They’re given the opportunity to hobnob with their favorite players, tour the ballpark and take their shot at hitting the pros. Money raised from those events is donated through CIC to Northeast Ohio organizations.
The Indians’ greatest commitment to community involvement, however, is by current and former players, the most notable of which is Omar y Amigos, hosted weekly by All-Star shortstop Omar Vizquel. The program, which brings together youngsters from local youth organizations, features Vizquel and an Indians teammate as his guest. Vizquel fields questions from the kids, who are given tickets to a Saturday baseball game, as deftly as he handles routine grounders to short.
Other programs include Burba’s Bunch, hosted by pitcher Dave Burba for at-risk youths; and the Big League Lunch program, where players such as infielder Enrique Wilson visit students in the Cleveland Public Schools and promote good nutrition and healthy eating habits while entertaining them with stories of big league play.
“We have some very committed guys,” says Davis. “And that number is growing.”
How to reach: Cleveland Indians Baseball Charities: (216) 420-4384
Dustin Klein ([email protected]) is editor of SBN magazine.
