When Chris Bassitt signed a three-year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, he and his wife Jessica agreed that they wanted to give back to the community since they knew they’d be living in Canada for a good chunk of time.
Three years later, the Bassitts want to triple down.
They announced on Sunday that they are bringing back their Bassitts Pitch In, in support of the RBI Summer Edition program with Jays Care Foundation, for a third year. The Bassitts have pledged to donate US$10,000 to Jays Care for each game the Blue Jays win when he pitches this season.
“After year one, we kind of saw like, ‘wow, OK, this is really something special,'” said Jessica Bassitt in the family room at Rogers Centre. “Then it doubled by year two, and so, with this being the final year of this contract, and the third year, we were like, ‘Let’s try to get more people involved so we can raise as much money as we can while we’re here,’ because who knows what’s going to happen at the end of this year?”
“We want to make a lasting impact, and this is our last year to do it.”
In the previous two seasons, Bassitts Pitch In raised a total of C$438,852 for RBI Summer Edition, with the Bassitts generously donating C$414,202. The additional funds were raised through donations by Blue Jays fans.
The third year of the Bassitts Pitch In program got off to a good start on Sunday with Chris Bassitt earning his first win of the season, striking out seven over six innings of work in Toronto’s 3-1 victory over the visiting Baltimore Orioles.
RBI Summer Edition is a free sport-for-development program designed as a complement to summer school to enhance the mental and physical health of kids in under-resourced communities across Toronto. More than 2,300 students at 13 schools across the Greater Toronto Area are participating in the program this season.
The project features inclusive baseball programming, leadership training, field trips and special events. Jays Care is also hiring and training more than 500 youth staff from the community to help lead the program.
“We are extremely grateful to the Bassitt family for their continued generosity and commitment to Jays Care,” said Peter King, acting executive director of the Jays Care Foundation. “We saw firsthand the incredible impact this program had on our community over the past two seasons.
“The Bassitts’ support will give thousands of kids the opportunity to participate in free programming where they will play baseball, belong to a team, and develop valuable life-skills.”
Blue Jays fans can ‘pitch in’ with the Bassitt family and show their support in a variety of different ways.
From April 28 to May 4 fans can bid on game used, autographed items, as well as pieces from the Bassitt family personal collection. All proceeds from this auction will benefit the RBI Summer Edition program.
Then from May 5 to May 22, Chris Bassitt is stepping up as an ambassador for a special Jays Care 50/50 Homestand Jackpot with all proceeds supporting Bassitts Pitch In and the RBI Summer Edition program. Fans can purchase tickets for this jackpot at bluejays.com/5050.
Finally, throughout May, fans who donate $40 or more to Bassitts Pitch In will be entered to win one of two Chris Bassitt-themed prizes.
“I really hope that they can continue to grow the program, and I hope that what we’re doing will bring awareness to people to help support it so it can continue,” said Jessica Bassitt.
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