Shane Victorino Boys & Girls Club getting a facelift as All-Star festivities come to Philly
The Nicetown center is getting a fresh look and a nearby baseball field also will get some upkeep. The maintenance "means a lot" to Victorino, who played eight seasons for the Phillies.
There’s a new addition to the list of All-Star events coming to Philadelphia this July.
In partnership with America 250, MLB Together is working to achieve 250,000 volunteer hours pledged leaguewide. It now includes an All-Star week project to refurbish the Shane Victorino Nicetown Boys & Girls Club as it approaches the 15-year anniversary of its opening in September 2011.
April Brown, MLB’s senior vice president of social responsibility, said MLB Together works with the host club during All-Star week to carry out projects within the community.
MLB Together’s legacy projects include work with the Veterans Multi-Service Center, Ashburn Field refurbishment at FDR Park, Tree House Books, Philadelphia Stars Negro League Memorial Park, Miracle League, and Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Garden Mobile.
On July 11, more than 100 volunteers will descend upon Victorino’s Boys & Girls Club.
“We’ll be rolling up our sleeves and painting the teen room, putting together some new furniture, decorating, and doing some internal work, in addition to some external work,” Brown said. “Some planting and some weeding and taking care of the baseball field, which is literally across the street from the Boys & Girls Club.”
The center, which was created to give kids a space to play and grow, originally was a century-old facility that was going to close. With the help of the Shane Victorino Foundation, the building was refurbished to open the Boys & Girls Club.
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The 2008 World Series champion, two-time All-Star, and four-time Gold Glove winner said the day the club opened has remained his favorite moment in its 15-year history, but to now renovate it with the help of the MLB is surreal.
“Having the 250th anniversary [of America] and Major League Baseball All-Star Game, if you had told me that I’d be partnering with MLB, Major League Baseball and their projects, and what they’re trying to do with the Boys & Girls Club, it’s definitely a pinch-me moment,” said Victorino, who played eight of his 12 MLB seasons with the Phillies. “It means a lot to me as far as where it is today.”
Brown said the volunteer outings are a “great opportunity to bring everyone into the fold” and create a community off the diamond when events like the All-Star Game bring attention to baseball. During the World Baseball Classic, MLB Together participated in a beach cleanup in Miami and has been working in New York before heading to Philly in July. Fans can get involved at mlbtogether.com/a250 to volunteer in their communities.
“I think at the end of the year when we achieve the 250,000 hours, it will be about the hours, but it will be about the community that was connected across the country,” Brown said. “Every place where we play our game, all of our 30 major league clubs and our 120 minor league clubs are all a part of this initiative, so that unifying connector of everyone rolling up their sleeves and doing good for others, it will be what’s most important.”
Fifty years ago, the All-Star Game came to Philadelphia as part of the bicentennial celebration. Larry Bowa was among five Phillies who represented the National League. With the Midsummer Classic returning to town next month, Bowa joined Phillies Extra to recall the atmosphere surrounding the 1976 game and being an All-Star at Veterans Stadium, as well as the state of the current Phillies. Watch here.
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