Blue Crew Ticket Program
Blue Crew Ticket Program
Summer is about baseball — the crack of the bat, the cheer of the crowd, and the smell of hot dogs. There are some kids, however, who live in the shadow of the ballpark and have never been to a baseball game. Our Blue Crew Ticket program aims to change that! Through this program, children battling chronic illness, kids in foster care, kids in youth baseball and softball programs and military families in every major league market across the country receive a “big league” experience. You see, the Blue Crew Ticket program is more than a ticket; it’s a smile when kids need it most, a bonding experience, a memory for families they would never dreamed possible.
Each Blue Crew Ticket VIP experience includes great seats to the ballgame, a goody bag of “all things baseball”, and the unique opportunity to step onto the field for a souvenir baseball and photo. A special day at the ballpark is magical for kids who are battling illnesses, are in the foster care system or are aspiring umpires themselves. It’s also a fantastic way for the MLB Umpires to salute the service of military members and their families.
The program started in 2006 when MLB Umpire Marvin Hudson invited his former umpire partner from the minors, Samuel Dearth, and his “little” brother from Big Brothers Big Sisters to a ballgame. That one visit in Baltimore evolved into a program in which UMPS CARE now hosts visits in all 30 Major League Baseball ballparks and all 30 Triple-A markets. We will introduce the program at a handful of Class AA ballparks this year.
To date, MLB umpires have welcomed more than 8,000 guests to games!
This year will mark the third consecutive season in which UMPS CARE Charities has invited participants from a partner organization, the Wounded Warrior Umpire Academy, to games. The WWUA trains wounded veterans to become umpires, and from Memorial Day through the Fourth of July, UMPS CARE will be sending veterans from this program to games across the country to salute their service.
participants have enjoyed a VIP baseball experience thanks to MLB UMPIRES
Partner Agencies
BLUE Crew Tickets are available to the following partner agencies:
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption (DTFA)
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Most Valuable Kids, Inc. (MVK)
Casey Cares Foundation
United Service Organizations (USO)
Bounce Children’s Foundation
HopeKids
Tickets For Kids
Kids Up Front Foundation
Larkin Street Youth Services
The Tomorrow Fund
The Miracle League
Baltimore Urban Baseball Association (BUBA)
Reviving Baseball In Inner Cities (RBI)