MLB-DDA

"Chicago Cubs Charities is proud to support the Major League Baseball Dominican Development Alliance to help in its work to improve the lives of children and families in the Dominican Republic," said Mike Lufrano, senior vice president of community affairs.

The MLB-DDA will work with Mission ILAC to expand a recovery room in the Mission's health clinic.  For the past 38 years, Mission ILAC has worked with over 160 rural communities surrounding Santiago, Dominican Republic, and organizes medical missions with medical school staff from universities in the United States.  The university groups travel to the Dominican Republic to perform surgical operations on a population that would never be able to afford such treatment.  The expansion will allow the medical teams to nearly double the amount of surgeries they carry out during the year.  To make this project a reality, Chicago Cubs Charities teamed up with Loyola University and Creighton University to raise $35,000 to build and equip the expansion of the recovery room.

In addition to the recovery room expansion, the MLB-DDA will work with the Instituto Dominicano de Desarrollo Integral (IDDI) to improve the sanitation facilities in a rural elementary school in Caobete, the hometown of the team's Dominican Academy director.  The current conditions of the student latrines have created a public health hazard for the school.  IDDI will work with the school´s staff to demolish the current facilities and build new bathrooms, improving the sanitation conditions in the school.  IDDI will also fix a local water pump that will channel water to the bathroom facility and educate the school youth about the importance of hygiene. 

The donation for these projects was made in connection with funds raised at the Second Annual Rooters Ball which took place at Harry Caray’s Italian Steakhouse on September 2. Geovany Soto hosted the ball and was joined by West Side Rooters’ Chairman Ernie Banks and several players, including Derrek Lee, Carlos Marmol, Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez and Randy Wells. The original West Side Rooters Social Club, with Cubs shortshop Joe Tinker as Chairman, was the first official fan club of the Chicago Cubs.