Chris Davis, Adam Engel, Wil Myers, Nick Ahmed and NY Mets Coach Dave Jauss Hit a Homerun for Children in Crisis
March 29, 2021
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Virus-linked hunger is tied to 10,000 child deaths each month. Although they’re not the face of the pandemic, many children are COVID-19’s biggest victims. That is why Baltimore Orioles Chris Davis; Chicago White Sox Adam Engel; San Diego Padres Wil Myers; Arizona Diamondbacks Nick Ahmed and NY Mets Coach Dave Jauss,along with over 40 other professional athletes and national leaders, have joined the Fill The Stadium initiative to help save children in crisis in the developing world during the COVID-19 pandemic with Compassion International.
Over $24 million has already been raised in the first half of the Fill The Stadium effort, which has aided more than 47,000 children and their families living in extreme poverty in the wake of COVID-19.
When Chris Davis visited the Dominican Republic with Compassion International, he knew that this was an initiative he wanted to pursue. “When we heard about the Fill The Stadium initiative, we were all in,” said Davis. “We want as many people as possible to join us. We wanted to do everything we could to help and assist in any way possible. I can’t think of a better organization to be involved with and a better group of people to be surrounded by.”
For Adam Engel, the choice was also an obvious one. “As parents, my wife and I couldn’t see the faces of the kids affected or hear their stories and not get involved. God called on us to do this. Being on this team has become our passion.”
Shortly before COVID interrupted spring training last season, NY Mets Coach Dave Jauss traveled with Compassion International to see programs they helped launch in the Dominican Republic. This past winter he returned to the Dominican for the winter ball season. He was shocked by the unemployment and insecurity caused by the lack of tourism during the pandemic. “Teaming up with Compassion International’s Fill The Stadium was an easy decision for Billie and me,” explained Jauss. “The initiative is providing much-needed assistance at a time when children need it the most.”
Compassion International’s Fill The Stadium has a clear goal: to provide life-saving aid to 70,000 children in Compassion International’s programs who missed out on relief this year due to gaps of support created by the COVID-19 crisis. The target of 70,000 is the average capacity of stadiums across America. Fill The Stadium leaders hope that fans who typically would have spent money on professional sports games this year—but couldn’t—choose instead to support children and their families at risk of starvation.
Fill The Stadium team leaders—Santiago “Jimmy” Mellado, CEO and president of Compassion International, and Steve Stenstrom, president of Pro Athletes Outreach—have already received vital assistance from 40 standouts including Nick Foles, professional football MVP quarterback; Alyssa Naeher of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team; Carson Palmer, former professional quarterback; Devin and Jason McCourty, defensive backs of New England; Nate Solder of the New York Giants; Jaccob Slavin of the Carolina Hurricanes; Brock Huard, FOX Sports Broadcaster and former professional quarterback, and many others.
The Fill The Stadium team notes that $500 will help provide 12 months of life-saving food, nutritional supplements, hygiene essentials, and COVID-19 medical screenings for children and families in crisis. The cost is approximately the same amount most Americans would spend for a family of four to attend a pro-football game.
In this era of coronavirus, “We are all experiencing the reality of empty stadiums,” says the Fill The Stadium team. “It’s why this effort so desperately needs a caring, prayerful and thoughtful community to join together in this needed relief.”
To learn more, visit the Fill The Stadium website, and Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Founded in 1952,Compassion International is a Christian child development organization that works to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Compassion revolutionized the fight against global poverty by working exclusively with the Church to lift children out of spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty. Compassion partners with more than 8,000 churches in 25 countries to deliver its holistic child development program to over 2 million babies, children and young adults. Its child sponsorship program has been validated through independent, empirical research.
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To interview a representative from Fill The Stadium, contact Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, Jeff Tolson, 610.584.1096, ext. 108, or Deborah Hamilton, ext. 102.
