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General  | Press Release  | 2/1/2022

PG Cares Grows the Game at Boombah

Sydney Ford     
Photo: Stacey Johnson Photography
The Perfect Game Cares Foundation continued its efforts to provide baseball and softball playing opportunities to children everywhere, when the non-profit arm of Perfect Game partnered with Seminole County to host its first free youth baseball and softball camp of the 2022 calendar year on Saturday, January 22 at Boombah Sports Complex in Sanford, Fla. 

The camp provided a one-of-a-kind baseball and softball playing experience for over 300 area youth under the tutelage of local high school athletes from Hagerty and Seminole High Schools and a combined 120+ years of Major League Baseball experience, including former Major Leaguers Luis Alicea, Johnny Damon, Ben Ford, Tom “Flash” Gordon, Luis Gonzalez, Clint Hurdle, Charles Johnson, Tim Redding, Michael Tucker and current players and Perfect Game Alumni Nick Gordon, Blake LoubierRyan Mountcastle
and Christian Robinson.


Pictured above: Charles Johnson, Blake Loubier, Ryan Mountcastle, Christian Robinson and Johnny Damon pose with Seminole County youth.



Many of the players joined Perfect Game Cares for a caravan visit to Midway Elementary School prior to the camp, where they interacted first-hand with many of the school’s 1000 students for games of wiffle ball and kickball. 

The Perfect Game Cares Foundation teamed with its partners Rawlings and Augusta Sportswear to provide free gear and equipment to every child present, including a glove and camp t-shirt. Each child received a swag bag with a Rawlings baseball signed by every player present, a wiffle bat and ball set and a resource guide of local youth baseball and softball programs.
 
These events are made possible with the support of multiple partners who share Perfect Game and Perfect Game Care’s commitment to grow the games of baseball and softball, including Seminole County, Boombah Sports Complex, A-Game, Chianti’s Ristorante Italiano and Firehouse Subs.

“Anyone with a heart can’t help but love the hundreds of young kids we see when holding our Grow the Game camps,” said Perfect Game President and Founder, Jerry Ford. “These children are extremely talented and very innocent. They truly deserve every opportunity to become successful in life. That is our mission at Perfect Game Cares. It takes a small army to make this happen. We can’t thank everyone involved in making this happen enough.”

Perfect Game, became the anchor event organizer at Boombah Sports Complex in July 2020, hosing over 30 baseball events annually. "In 2021, PG's events brought in over 85,000 visitors and generated over a $27 million dollar economic impact for Seminole County," said Danny Trosset, Director of Sports Tourism for Seminole County. "Some of the kids that attended the camp had never had the opportunity to play the game before, so it was really special to see how excited they were to participate in this event. Seminole County looks forward to working with Perfect Game on growing the game and providing more opportunities like this in the future."

“Being involved in such a special event is a fantastic experience,” said PG National Scouting Director Jered Goodwin. “The PG Cares family gets to see the bigger picture firsthand with the amount of community involvement including the City of Sanford, Seminole County, local collegiate coaches and players and Seminole County residents all coming together to produce a massively successful day. The number of first-time players enjoying the great game was unbelievable. The impactful day was just the start, the follow up is the game changer.”

"Great things happen when likeminded people come together to help. The commitment of those working in the youth space of Seminole County is awe inspiring,” said Perfect Game Cares Executive Director, Jennifer Ford. “We cannot wait to get started implementing long term support of programming for these wonderful kids. We look forward to continuing to Grow the Game in Seminole County."

The Perfect Game Cares Foundation’s Grow the Game Fund is made possible by generous donations from MLB players and PG Alumni, Trevor Story and George Springer, corporate partners and contributions from others passionate about removing barriers that stand between children from underserved communities and their chance to fall in love with the sports of baseball and softball.

To learn more about Perfect Game Cares and its Grow the Game Fund, please visit
www.perfectgamecares.org.