Working closely to support our military and their families with the UMPS Care Charities has been an amazing experience. Giving our heroes an experience they will never forget is truly touching. Thank you UMPS Care and the HOUSTON Astros Foundation!
Thanks,
Speedy
USO HOUSTON
What a phenomenal charity. Amazing how hard these umpires work during the season, how poorly they can get treated in the press from time to time, yet will stop everything they are doing and bring significant blessings to so many kids and families across the country. The hearts they touch, the dreams they make real, the scholarships they provide. Truly an amazing charity. Keep up the tremendous work Umps Care!
Previous Stories
As children, we all had our sports hero's and/or idols, those people we looked up to and admired for all their tremendous accomplishments in their particular profession. But then as we get older, we often lose sight of what heroes really look like. For me, Umps Care Charity takes me back to my childhood and has allowed me to refine my definition of what heroes really do look like and realize that heroes really do exist. The Major League Baseball Umpire’s charity, Umps Care, is having a profound impact on the lives of hundreds of kids and families - each year. It’s because they focus on ‘the why’ they are doing this, that they are having generational impact. The Umpires make it clear, this charity is not about them, it’s about the benefactors they serve. Get involved in Umps Care, allow yourself to be inspired and, once again, be able to appreciate what true hero’s look like.
I am the youth Umpire trainer (and umpire) for a Little League in Nor Cal, and enjoyed the privilege of Umps Care hosting our youth umpires at an Oakland A's game. The great staff of Umps Care and Oakland A's made all the arrangements for six of us to meet umpires Mark Wegner, Nic Lentz, and Stu Scheurwater on the field before the game.
These young men were incredibly warm and generous with their time and showed a genuine appreciation for our young umpires as we talked of the highs and challenges of being umpires at any level. They gave tremendous insights into life as an MLB umpire and advice on techniques for making calls or handling difficult situations. They made our youth umpires feel proud to be umpires. Mark, Nic and Stu demonstrated a strong connection as a team and provided thoughtful comments about the evolving game and impact on umpires.
It was a brief time that we will always remember. Thanks so much to Umps Care and the hard-working umpires that volunteered their time to make our kids feel special!
Umps Care Charities provided an unforgettable experience for the underprivileged youth that we serve in the San Francisco community. A day at the S.F. Giants Oracle park stadium for a home game, field access to meet the umpires, a gift bag with several nice items and a food voucher. This experience is out of reach financially for so many youth in the tenderloin community. It was a memorable and rewarding afternoon for these youth. On behalf of the Larkin Street Youth Services, we appreciate the genuine and generous support of the Umps care Charities organization.
Umps Care Charities is such an amazing organization! I have seen firsthand the work they do to bring smiles to children's faces. Umps Care’s Blue Crew Ticket program provides children with a once-in-a lifetime experience providing them a unique connection to the game of baseball. The umpires are always so involved and you can tell that they absolutely love doing this program! Thank you to Umps Care Charities for all that you do in the community...and a special thanks to all of the MLB and MiLB umpires who make these experiences so unforgettable!
- MacKenzie Hickox
I joined Big Brothers Big Sisters in April 2019 and I had heard that there would be opportunities to do 'fun things' but, I had never imagined that we would be attending a Red Sox game- much less the Sox vs Yankees-! Umps Care had made this possible to BBBS and had made the spot for 3 matches (six people) to attend the game-
But that was not only it- it got better... they gave us goodie bags with: a Hat, Sunflower seeds, Caramel Popcorn, Wristbands, Topps Baseball cards, Umps Care Eyeblack stickers, $10 cash to spend and a Game Ball handed to each of us by the Umpires we met before the game. Then we walked out onto the warning track below the Green Monster while the Yankee players were warming up on the field - it was a total goosebumps moment-!
We had been met at the gate by Kensha Dorneval-Grandoit from the Red Sox and she made us all feel very welcome and had introduced us to the Umpires as she showed us around (she did a marvelous job-!)
We met Umpires: DJ Reyburn and Paul Nauert. Both are great guys with tons of information and we hit them with all the questions we had been thinking about- being decisive, knowing what you want as soon as you see a menu- being able to live with decisions- coping with self doubt- going to umpire school - spending time reviewing tough calls on video- and the benefits of using your keeping your brain sharp. They both enjoyed our questions and were super friendly and cool.
My Littlle Brother had never been to a game and he said "I feel so 'extra'-!" We had a great day and the Red Sox won- which just made it awesome.
We really appreciate the opportunity can attest to the fact that 'Umps Care'
The communication was very good leading up to the event and Umps Care gave us plenty of details and had emailed a very well thought out list of questions and answers - good job guys_
Thanks again- I hope you are able to continue doing this- it is making an enormous impact and by extension, helping to mold our future in a very positive direction.
Umpscare contacted our mentoring organization to invite several of our youth to a VIP experience with our local MiLB team. We were hosted by the umpires who were very personable and friendly with our youth - none of which had ever been to a baseball game! Those youth that attended were able to have a behind the scenes peek at the ball field and left with a great bag of gifts to remember their visit. Umpscare helped us by providing an experience for one of our mentoring matches to share - this helps our clients build affiliation with our agency and encourages mentors to see the youth they're mentoring more frequently. The staff from Umpscare was professional and easy to communicate with and we're appreciative that they asked us to participate in this experience.
I have photographed two events for Umps Care and I’m very impressed with their mission and their actions. The effect that they have on the children who they visit in the hospitals is very positive. They brighten the day of those kids and it is very touching to witness. The Umps are great !
Long Ball players and coaches participated in Umps Care Charities an the coaches were blown away because they had never seen the inside of the Bulls stadium. Two of the players who never considered umpire as a career was very intrigued. This was our second time participating and the two coaches asked if they can go again next year. Of course that won't happen because we have so many more coaches and players to chose from. I didn't go and so unfortunately I don't have any pictures.
Amy - on behalf of the Carolinas Metro Reds, Coach Madden and Coach Davis, and our players/families, we wanted to thank you and UMPS Care Charities (and the Charlotte Knights) for a fantastic night at the ballpark last night….. It was a truly special experience that we will all remember and cherish for a long time… special shoutout to your Umpire crew of Alex Tosi, Ryan Wills, and Skyler Shown; they were (as you probably expected and get tired of hearing) really gracious, insightful, and engaging (they obviously have an important and difficult job, but they were totally focused on our experience during the time we spent with them from the time we met them up nearly until game time)……. attached via this DropBox link are some photos and short video clips (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qp324gh9h3guhjt/AAA6RV1WMDEJGj1bi8h-2eDJa?dl=0 ) and attached below are a few of our personal favorites …….. in addition to hanging out with Alex, Ryan, and Skyler, our players got to take a few cuts in the batting cage, put the bases in place, shout out ‘Play Ball’ just after the National Anthem, and even met Tim Tebow! (we all did some serious consumption at the concession stand also!)…..
a serious congratulations to Umps Care Charities for your work in seeding into the community (a real tribute to the organization and all the umpires that toil tirelessly in support of the great game of baseball); this was really a cool event and should be widely known and publicly known and acknowledged. …….. thanks again Amy, and let us know if we can provide you and the Umps Care Charities organization any more information/feedback…...
Alan Barnes
Through my involvement as a big brother in the "Big Brothers Big Sisters" program, I recently had the pleasure of attending a Cleveland Indians game with my little brother. We got to walk down to the field before the game started and meet with the umpires - what a cool experience! There's so much we didn't know about what it takes to be an umpire in the major leagues. Special thanks to umpire Roberto Ortiz for taking the time to welcome us! Big thank you to UmpsCare for setting up the event - my little and I immensely enjoyed it!
UMPS Cares provided a special experience for three different HopeKids Kansas City families this baseball season! It has meant so much for our organization to be able to work with UMPS Cares and send our families to the games where they can make special memories together that will last them a lifetime! UMPS Cares has truly been amazing to work with and we are so thankful for our partnership with them and the Kansas City Royals!!
For the past 5 years, we have teamed up with UmpsCare to invite them to our hometown in Toronto, Canada for a visit at the hospital for Sick Kids. We are incredibly grateful for the work that this charity puts in every year to bring big smiles and joy to the children of our city. There selfless acts of charity do not go unnoticed by the hospital staff and parents of these children and we are very honored to work with such an incredible group of people!
Every step of the way with Umps Care Charities is as Professional organization as you'll get. Ultimately I was a former professional umpire in Triple-A baseball & flew home for a family emergency. The MLB umpires that are affiliated with Umps Care Charities came to my family's aid when my wife & I experienced a traumatic c-section for our twin daughters who arrived 8 weeks early. Fearing the unknown, my phone was flooded with outpouring love and support from the SAME people who are a HUGE part of this charity. Both daughters hanging on for dear life with their bodies covered in needles and tubes is completely disheartening. You feel hopeless and you don't know what to do or what is going to happen.
Each day I was home for the next 4 weeks, I did not go a hour or a day without people from this organization calling or emailing me. It's their love and their prayers that we were so thankful when our first daughter was able to go home, but the other was still fighting for life. Still, in their busy schedules with games and travel - the calls CONTINUED to pour in! Soon after, we would receive checks in the mail to help offset the cost of my lost wages in umpiring to help pay our bills. We could NOT have done this without the help of Umps Care.
For this, we are for FOREVER thankful & blessed that we have 2 HEALTHY, ATHLETIC and Honor Roll students entering high school. It was our promise that we would make an annual donation to help Umps Care Charities.
It is my humble and distinct honor to serve as an active Board Member. Without Umps Care Charities and the people that make it successful, we may not have been in the position we are in now. We will ALWAYS be an Umps Care Charities family & serve them to our fullest.
Thank you for your time in reading my post. God Bless! - Scott Kennedy (Board of Director)
I entered foster care at the age of 9, and my life was changed forever. My foster mom adopted me at the age of 13, and I got a new start and a bright future. After working hard, I was able to fulfil my dream of attending Butler University, but I couldn’t have done it without my Umps Care Allstar Scholarship. Not only did Umps Care provide financial support, I also received a sponsor umpire. Ted Barrett and his lovey wife Tina sent me care packages at finals to give me encouragement. I was also able to attend a baseball game that Ted was umpiring. Last year, I flew out to Phoenix to speak to umpires about my experience and how Umps Care changed my life. Umps Care has been more than just a scholarship; they’ve been a family.
A BIG shout out to UMPS CARE CHARITIES for providing such an awesome experience for our matches. We are so grateful to be included!
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Decatur County
Taking part in the Umps Care Blue for Kids Hospital visits is gratifying on many levels. The Build-a-Bear workshop let’s the children pick out & dress a new cuddly friend! Some of these very ill children haven’t had much of a reason to smile lately. Seeing these children happy & not thinking about their illness for a few moments is worth more than words can express.
Just as important is seeing how happy the parents are when they see the smile on their child’s face. Having an ill child is as tough on the parents as it is on the child themselves.
The Umps Care Blue for Kids Program helps families dealing with some terrible situations forget about their problems for at least a few hours!
What an excellent example of giving back. This charity not about those involved but is focused on the children and young adults that might not be at the most fun times of thier lives. Just a few minutes a laughter can change a bad circumstance into a day of joy.
Our Bigs and Littles had the time of their lives getting a behind the scenes, exclusive experience with Umps Care Charities. In addition to the once-in-a-lifetime experience, the admin team was super easy to work with and so helpful answering questions!
