(Above) – MLB umpires Erich Bacchus, Andy Fletcher, Laz Diaz and Mike Estabrook with The Swingin’ Friar at Rady Children’s in San Diego. Photo by Chuck Hunter
UMPS CARE took flight to Southern California to deliver 200 more Build-A-Bear furry friends to kids undergoing treatment in hospitals.
Major League Baseball umpires Laz Diaz, Andy Fletcher, Mike Estabrook and Erich Bacchus took time out from working the San Diego Padres-Baltimore Orioles series to deliver 100 Build-A-Bear stuffed toys to kids at Rady Children’s in San Diego.
The next day, umpires Will Little and Dan Merzel brought 100 more Build-A-Bear friends to kids at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles.
These events marked our 199th and 200th visits since our hospital program began in 2006.
To date, UMPS CARE has distributed 20,365 Build-A-Bear furry friends to kids in hospitals across the United States and in Canada.
Special shout outs go to photographer Chuck Hunter, who captured special moments during our visit in San Diego, and Nick Carranza, who caught the smiles in Los Angeles.
We also want to thank the staff at Rady Children’s and at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital.
Thanks also go to our partners at Ares Management, whose employees created uplifting cards for kids and packed up goody bags and helped make these visit happen through generous financial contributions to UMPS CARE.
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Umpires Dan Merzel (left) and Will Little (right) with a family at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital (photo by Nick Carranza)
