There’s nothing sweeter than checking my email this morning to find something from the Mets regarding a special week of events all intended to support and honor our troops.
It’s so good to see our team is always out in front on things like this. I love the Mets and everyone who knows me knows that, but despite all the ups and downs of the team performance, I’m always proud of how the Mets always remember and honor our brave service men and women. It’s a nice feeling to know they care as much as I do about our military.
TEAMMATES IN THE COMMUNITY WEEK
MEMORIAL DAY, MONDAY, MAY 30
TO PAY TRIBUTE TO TROOPS
Mets Players & Executives to Participate in Week-long Series of Events Honoring Active Military & Veterans
FLUSHING, N.Y., May 12, 2011 – The New York Mets and Citi today announced that the 2011 “Teammates in the Community Week” will launch on Memorial Day, May 30 and honor our nation’s military through a week-long series of events. Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson, who served in the Marines for four years with a tour of duty in Vietnam, Manager Terry Collins, players and front-office staff will join with Citi executives and participate in programs during the week with active military personnel and veterans.
The series of events will include a visit to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, a special ceremony at the Empire State Building, a softball tournament at Citi Field with members of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard, a wheelchair softball exhibition in the Citi Field parking lot featuring veterans, and a visit to a Veterans Hospital. The Citi Veterans Network will be engaging veterans for select events. Further details will be announced in the coming weeks.
The military theme for this year’s “Teammates in the Community Week” builds on the Mets’ ongoing commitment to support our troops through “Welcome Back Veterans,” a national public awareness and fundraising initiative created by Mets Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Fred Wilpon and other private citizens to address the mental health and employment needs of America’s returning war veterans and their families. The Mets raise awareness of the program by saluting a “Veteran of the Game” at each Mets game at Citi Field.
Earlier this month, the team donated 4,000 tickets to military members and their families for the first game at Citi Field following the death of Osama bin Laden, complementing its season-long policy of providing a free ticket to any active service member who presents a valid military I.D. at the Citi Field ticket office.
The Mets and Citi launched the inaugural “Teammates in the Community Week” last year to promote the spirit of service volunteerism in New York. Mets players and executives along with Citi executives worked alongside local volunteers at a community garden in Harlem, a YMCA in Brooklyn, an animal shelter in Manhattan and a neighborhood playground in Corona to bring attention to their selfless work and highlight their impact on the community.
Teammates Week is one of several community-based initiatives developed by the Mets and Citi to positively impact our hometown. In 2009, the Mets and Citi started Citi Field Kids, an educational and motivational program for students conducted before games focusing on the legacy of Jackie Robinson. The Mets Alumni Association Presented by Citi is in its second year of connecting past Mets greats with community projects. The Mets and Citi have also forged relationships with City Harvest, Habitat for Humanity and the Wounded Warrior Project.
