Nationals Philanthropies, headed by FC2 Trustee Tal Alter, created the NATS4GOOD Community Response Fund to help during the crisis. It disperses charitable grants to community partners delivering essential food, health and/or human services access programs. Washington Nationals Baseball executives Robert Tanenbaum and Gregory McCarthy are also FC2 Trustees.
Seeded with $100,000 from Nationals Philanthropies, the fund has grown to nearly $350,000. More than $150,000 in donations have been distributed to organizations throughout the region, including:
- Mid-Atlantic Food Access and Resilience Coalition
- Martha’s Table
- DC Central Kitchen
- Inova Health Foundation
- Prince George’s County Public Schools
- Fairfax County Public Schools
- Whitman-Walker
- La Clinica Del Pueblo
Nationals Philanthropies has also convened strategic relationships, including:
World Central Kitchen. Through a partnership between the Nationals, Nationals Philanthropies, Levy and World Central Kitchen, thousands of meals are prepared each day at Nationals Park and distributed to youth, seniors, other vulnerable populations, first responders and medical personnel. As of May 1, the kitchen had produced 15,300 meals. Key Nationals partnerships in this effort include the Ft. Dupont Park Community, as well as the Southwest and Capitol Riverfront BIDS.
Get Shift Done. Nationals Philanthropies and the Greater Washington Community Foundation partnered to bring Get Shift Done to DC. The initiative will coordinate, schedule and pay $15 an hour to laid off workers in the hospitality industry to work shifts for local food access providers.
Lastly, the National Philanthropies’ signature program, the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, continues to operate. The focus at the Academy has been on food access and maintaining connection with its “Base” Program Scholar Athletes. Activities include:
- Daily virtual academic and wellness resources
- Remote mentorship and “home visits” using Zoom and FaceTime
- Supplementary food access to Scholar Athletes and their families (150 hot meals-a-day)
Deliveries of produce bags (70 a week), each of which feeds a family of 4 for 5 days
