Cardinals Announce “Teams Unite for Joplin ” Details

The following was released today by Ron Watermon, the St. Louis Cardinals Director of Public Relations & Civic Affairs

Cardinals Care establishes special fund to help the kids of Joplin
Team asks Cardinals Nation to generously support united effort with the Royals, MLB & MLB PA

ST. LOUIS, MO (June 16, 2011) – The St. Louis Cardinals announced details about “Teams Unite for Joplin”, this weekend’s collaborative effort with the Kansas City Royals, Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association to help the Joplin community recover and rebuild after the deadliest tornado in American history.

A number of activities are planned throughout the three-game series at Busch Stadium (Friday June 17 – Sunday, June 19), as well as after the series to help raise money and awareness for the Joplin recovery effort.

“We are committed to being there for the Joplin community as they recover and rebuild,” said William DeWitt III , President of the Cardinals. “The needs of the community are multiple and extensive, and we want to do our part to encourage widespread support for the relief efforts among our fans.”

The Cardinals are directing their fundraising efforts to their charitable foundation Cardinals Care to help the thousands of Joplin area children impacted by the May 22nd tornado.

“We have all been moved by the heartbreaking images and stories coming out of Joplin ” said Michael Hall , Vice President of Community Relations & Cardinals Care. “We’ve also been inspired by the community’s courage, resilience and resolve. We set up this fund to help the many children whose lives have been forever changed by this tragedy. We hope our fans will be generous with their support.”

The weekend’s series will commence with a special first pitch ceremony that includes Danielle Campbell and Mikaila Craig, outfielders from the 2011 Joplin High School Eagles softball team who both lost their homes to the tornado. During the first inning of Saturday night’s game, eighteen members of the Eagles baseball team will also take part in a special tribute to Joplin High School , which was also destroyed by the tornado.

Throughout the weekend, all Cardinals and Royals players will wear a special commemorative “Teams Unite for Joplin” jersey patch. Fans will be able to purchase the patch for $10 at the Cardinals team store at Busch Stadium, at Kauffman Stadium and at both teams’ web sites and MLB.com while supplies last, with all proceeds going to the Joplin recovery efforts.

Fans can donate directly to Cardinals Care’s Joplin recovery fund at www.cardinals.com/joplin or by calling the Cardinals 314.345.9000 charge line. Fans can also donate $10 to the Cardinals Care Joplin Recovery fund by texting the word “ Joplin ” to 32020.

Fans will also have multiple other opportunities throughout the weekend and after the series to assist with the Joplin recovery efforts. Details about the weekend are available at www.cardinals.com/joplin.

Today, the Kansas City Royals opened an on-line auction of “Teams Unite for Joplin” items on the Royals’ web site (www.royals.com/joplin) with all proceeds benefiting Royals Charities disaster relief efforts. Fans can bid on Royals game-used and autographed items that include commemorative “Teams Unite for Joplin” baseballs, game-used bases and lineup cards.

The Royals will also host a jersey day scratch off raffle on Saturday June 25th giving their fans the chance to win an authentic, game-used Royals player jersey from this weekend bearing the “Teams Unite for Joplin” patch. All the proceeds from the raffle with benefit the Royals Charities Joplin disaster relief efforts. What follows are the highlight’s of this weekend’s activities at Busch Stadium.

Friday, June 17, 2011
· Cardinals Care volunteers will collecting donations outside each gate as fans enter the ballpark.

· Beginning at 4PM, KMOX will be broadcasting live outside Gate 3, as they host a live on-air auction of “Once-In-A-Lifetime Cardinals Experiences” to benefit the kids of Joplin . The auction will take place throughout the afternoon, during the pre-game show and during the game broadcast. The “Once-In-A-Lifetime Cardinals Experiences” packages include an Ultimate Day at Busch Stadium, Live the Life of An Owner, Assistant GM for A Game and the Shannon-Rooney Experience. Bids on all items start at $2,500 in honor of Tony La Russa managing his 2,500th game in a Cardinals uniform Friday night. Fans will bid on these once-in-a-lifetime experiences by calling toll free 1.800.925.1120. Auction item details are available at www.cardinals.com/joplin.

· FOX Sports Midwest will host a live telecast auction of “Once-In-A-Lifetime Cardinals Experiences” to benefit the kids of Joplin . The auction will commence at 6:30 PM during the pre-game show and conclude during the eighth inning. The “Once-In-A-Lifetime Cardinals Experiences” include A Tony La Russa VIP experience; a Private Dinner with Hall of Famer Lou Brock; a Pitching Lesson with Kyle McClellan; a Broadcast Experience; a B.P. on TV Experience with Mike Matheny and an Ultimate Game Day Employee Experience which includes the opportunity to be a member of grounds crew, serve as the PA announcer for a ½ inning and shoot t-shirts into the stands with Fredbird. Bids on all items start at $2,500 in honor of Tony La Russa managing his 2,500th game in a Cardinals uniform Friday night. Fans will bid on these once-in-a-lifetime experiences by calling 314.345.9418. Auction item details are available at www.cardinals.com/joplin

· The Cardinals plan a variety of in-stadium and in-broadcast education and fundraising efforts, including encouraging fans to donate directly at www.cardinals.com/joplin and at the Cardinals 314.345.9000 charge line. Fans can also donate $10 by texting the word “ Joplin ” to 32020.

· Fans can purchase the commemorative “Teams Unite for Joplin” patch for $10 at the Cardinals team store at Busch Stadium while supplies last, with all proceeds going to the Joplin recovery efforts.

Saturday, June 18, 2011
· The Cardinals will launch a special on-line auction at www.cardinals.com/joplin . Fans will have the opportunity bid on Cardinals game-used and autographed items that include commemorative “Teams Unite for Joplin” baseballs, game-used bases and lineup cards. The auction will close on Sunday, June 26th at 8:00 P.M. Central Time.

Sunday, June 19, 2011 – Cardinals Care Jersey Day
· Fans may purchase a $1 scratch off ticket for a chance to win an autographed game-used jersey from the weekend series autographed by the Cardinals player. Proceeds from the sale of the scratch off tickets will benefit Prostate Cancer research, Cardinals Care and the Joplin Recovery effort.

The May 22nd twister that hit Joplin was classified as an EF-5 tornado, the most powerful tornado possible. The storm left 153 persons dead, put more than 500 people into shelters at its peak and destroyed 6,953 houses, buildings and schools.

Cardinals Care is dedicated to caring for kids. Since it was founded in 1997, Cardinals Care has distributed over $17 million to area non-profit youth organizations, built 19 youth ball fields in local disadvantaged neighborhoods and currently serves over 4,500 kids in the Redbird Rookies program.

Ron Watermon
Director of Public Relations & Civic Affairs
St. Louis Cardinals, LLC
314.345.9464 / rwatermon@cardinals.com

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