Pro Sports Team
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS NAMED “2010 MOST POSITIVE PRO SPORTS TEAM”
photo credit: Jon Willey
As the first professional sports team to win the inaugural 2010 Most Positive Pro Sports Team Award, the
Arizona Diamondbacks, accepted the honor at the sold-out Evening on the Diamond fundraising event at Chase Field in March. The award recognized the organization for positively impacting their community through corporate responsibility. The club was specifically awarded for their work with the
Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC) and the
Boys & Girls Club of Metropolitan Phoenix.
"This is truly a unique honor for our organization to be known as the most positive team in the world," D-backs President & CEO Derrick Hall said. "Giving back to those who are less fortunate in communities throughout Arizona is part of our organization's mission statement. We will continue to develop enriching programs in the community to allow our ownership, employees, coaches and players to help others."
Since forming the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation in 1997 a year before the expansion team took the field in 1998, the organization and the Foundation have made charitable contributions totaling $25.8 million to non-profit organizations throughout Arizona over the last 14 years. The organization's total giving includes $17.2 million in donations from the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation and an additional $8.6 million from the club for sponsorships of local charitable events and cash contributions for multi-year capital campaigns to various organizations. The D-backs, who donated $2.4 million to local organizations in 2010, give back more each year than the combined totals of other the professional sports teams in Phoenix.
True to its mission statement, the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation focuses on three areas of need: homelessness, indigent healthcare and youth education programs of all types. Overall, 24 Grand Slam Awards totaling $2.3 million have been distributed from 2002-10 in addition to more than 800 program grants since 1998 totaling $3.7 million. The D-backs have also been leaders in developing diversity programs in local communities. Since 1997, the D-backs and the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation have donated $8 million to Hispanic-based foundations or community-based programs that serve the Hispanic community. The D-backs have also partnered with the Native American Baseball Invitational (NABI) to host an inter-tribal Native American youth baseball and softball tournament featuring more than 700 children representing 32 tribal nations throughout the country for the past 12 summers.