Major League Baseball (MLB), USAID and local NGOs hit a homerun with an historic alliance that puts baseball to work for at-risk and out-of-school children, fragile community health providers and poor underserved populations in the Dominican Republic.
The Alliance was formally signed on November 19, 2008 by P. Robert Fannin, the U.S. Ambassador in the Dominican Republic, Richard Goughnour, USAID/Dominican Republic Mission Director and Joe Garagiola, Jr., MLB Senior Vice President, during a ceremony held at the Ambassador’s Residence in Santo Domingo. Many Dominican former and active baseball players such as Pedro Martinez, three-time Cy Young winner, and David Ortiz, five-time All Star of the Red Sox of Boston, and key MLB representatives were present.
P. Robert Fannin, the U.S. Ambassador in the Dominican Republic is one of many devout baseball fans delighted with the Alliance. Ambassador Fannin said “This Alliance innovatively channels the baseball-mania culture of the country -- fans, players, teams and sponsors – in the alleviation of poverty through supporter contributions leveraged with USAID funds.”
USAID is committing a one million dollar incentive fund over three years with MLB and the collaborating NGOs committing office space, time, and personnel plus fundraising to launch the Alliance, together with years of experience in grass-roots community based development. The Alliance provides MLB players (over 400 players are signed every year) with an opportunity to give back to their communities and for MLB teams to support poor Dominican communities throughout the country. Thirty MLB teams have player development academies in the Dominican Republic.
Richard Goughnour, Mission Director for USAID/Dominican Republic believes baseball is a powerful catalyst for bringing people together for the general good.
“Baseball is the singularly most popular and influential force in the Dominican Republic – when a ball player participates in any event in the countryside, the entire community shows up; when a team sponsors a cause in the capital city, businesses line up to lend their support,” Goughnour said, “we have been working with MLB and a number of superb NGOs for several months now to develop a mechanism to turn this national passion into a dynamic force for development. The potential for generating resources while bringing players, MLB and its fan base, local communities, the private sector, and USAID and its implementing partners together to address the root causes of poverty in the DR is virtually unlimited.”
The “all-star” non-profit institutions participating in the Alliance are World Vision, Save the Children, Plan International, Esperanza International, Batey Relief Alliance, and the Dominican Institute for Integrated Development (IDDI). Each NGO enjoys tax exempt 501(c)(3) status in the U.S. giving supporters outside of the Dominican Republic an opportunity to make contributions, not to mention the U.S. fan base. In the past decades, these NGOs have been providing community services in the Dominican Republic and have a strong track record of managing USAID resources. The United States Peace Corps is also providing a full-time volunteer to the Alliance.
Joe Garagiola Jr., MLB senior vice president of baseball operation enthusiastically endorsed the Alliance as an excellent and worthwhile way to reinforce MLB’s commitment in the Dominican Republic. Garagiola said "This is an opportunity to make that relationship even better, and that's a wonderful thing."
The press coverage at the signing event on November 19 exceeded all expectations. The principal dailies carried full pages on the event. Major news and sports programs also covered the story and the network that broadcasts MLB games in the Dominican Republic committed to doing a series of public service announcements promoting future projects funded under this Alliance.
The Alliance has an honorary Board of Advisors co-chaired by the U.S. Ambassador in the Dominican Republic and Vice President from MLB. The members of the Board consist of the USAID/Dominican Republic Mission Director, active and former MLB players, the Dominican private sector, MLB teams and Dominican non-profit organizations. Members of the Board serve as spokespeople for the Alliance. They also market the Alliance and identify potential donors.
The MLB-USAID Alliance is truly an exciting and unique example of a public-private partnership positioned to expand and provides an effective and accountable conduit for improving the quality of life for Dominican communities. Through the Alliance, MLB teams, players, and fans can make a difference in the lives of tens of thousands of poor Dominicans. The Alliance partners are hopeful that the U.S. fan base will be a big part of the initiative. "The biggest potential is the fan base," Jeff Cohen, USAID Program Officer said. "American baseball fans love their Dominican players. The more they know about where these players come from and the hardships their communities endure, the more they will be willing to help. Not just the boys looking to play baseball in the Major Leagues, but the communities at large. We're hoping to identify partnerships between communities in the U.S., baseball and those Dominicans dreaming of a better life."
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