Reds value time connecting with community

CINCINNATI — When a kid meets a Major League player, that player is no longer just a statistic on a website or a picture on a baseball card. And that kid is no longer another face in a crowd of thousands to the player. It becomes more personal.

The Reds Community Fund has raised and utilized millions of dollars for Cincinnati area baseball and softball programs, youth ballfield renovations and community center upgrades. But just as valuable, and perhaps just as long lasting, is the experience for fans — especially kids — to have personal contact with the players, coaching staff and ownership.

Baseball’s Giving Spirit

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Michael Lorenzen, Adam Duvall, Joey Votto and Tucker Barnhart are a handful of Reds players that have given back in the community. Players have made unannounced visits to cheer up patients and parents at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, helped out at the MLB Urban Youth Academy, participated in Make-A-Wish kid visits and more.

“We had a phenomenal year in terms of the numbers of community impressions that our players made,” said Charley Frank, the executive director of the Reds Community Fund. “Culturally, where we’ve come from over the last 10 years speaks well for the players, Dusty Baker to Bryan Price, to Bob and Phil Castellini and Dick Williams. Culturally right now for our guys, it’s …

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