Young patients from local children’s hospitals are gifted the run of the Philadelphia Phillies clubhouse on special sleepover night organised by the MLB team and its stadium title sponsor Citizens Bank.
For one offseason evening in late November sees the ballclub host a unique Friday night sleepover at Citizens Bank Park for kids receiving treatment at several local children’s hospitals.
The overnight baseball experience begins when each child is actually signed to one-day Phillies contract by general manager Matt Klentak, before being shown to their own individual locker (complete with personalised name tag and balloons) to put their things in for the day-night experience.
The evening also included an indoor batting-cage session (with the help of a quartet of Phillies ballgirls), a team meal in the clubhouse, movies on a giant projection screen and then a late-night behind-the-scenes tour of the ballpark.
See the 2016 Clubhouse Sleepover video here.
The initiative was promoted across the social channels of the club, the league and local media outlets.
Friday 6 families, w/ kids who were receiving treatment from local hospitals, were able to sleepover in clubhouse! pic.twitter.com/NJ9qock7Zn
— Phillies (@Phillies) November 7, 2015
The @Phillies celebrate the season of giving with a magical experience. https://t.co/se03MrXef4 pic.twitter.com/5fDTeHzlhw
— MLB (@MLB) November 21, 2016
Deserving Kids Get Slumber Party in @phillies Clubhouse https://t.co/ocQdsjfOsZ pic.twitter.com/GK9QUcGmgW
— NBC10 Philadelphia (@NBCPhiladelphia) November 19, 2016
Images from the Clubhouse Sleepover were also posted on the club’s own website at http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/photos/gallery.jsp?content_id=209226394&c_id=phi and on MLB.com at http://m.mlb.com/news/article/156703674/citizens-bank-park-hosts-sleepover-for-kids/
‘When they walk up and they see their name hanging above their locker, or when the Phillie Phanatic comes over to give them a hug, it’s truly special and we just hope it’s a night they’ll never forget,’ says Philadelphia Phillies community outreach spokesman Jameson Hall.
‘It gives the kids a little break from what they might be going through in their daily life, to just be a kid and be around the other kids and just enjoy themselves here,’ adds Michele DeVicaris, the Phillies’ director of community and charity events.
‘The clubhouse is theirs — they can run around here and just enjoy being here all night.’
Comment
A fantastic local cause initiative from a sponsor and a property owner committed to its young community.
Putting kids under contract and treating them to a unique major league experience for the night creates an unforgettable experience for patients and parents alike.
This is the third year the Phillies and commercial partner Citizens have hosted the sleepover event.
It actually began in 2014 when the winner of the team’s ‘Phantastic Auction’ anonymously donated the prize to the local children’s hospital: allowing four patients and their families to spend the night in the clubhouse.
This year’s event gave six families with kids of all ages an experience never to be forgotten.
Links
Citizens Bank Web:
Citizens Bank Twitter:
https://twitter.com/CitizensBank
Citizens Bank Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/citizensbank/
Citizens Bank YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/citizensbank
Philadelphia Phillies Web:
http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/
Philadelphia Phillies Twitter:
Philadelphia Phillies Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Phillies/
Philadelphia Phillies Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/phillies/
