It hasn’t been the best of last few weeks for The Bronx Bombers, but onfield perfomance still does not diminish the vision or impact of their annual HOPE Week celebration. Now a dozen years in HOPE (Helping Others Preserve and Excel) Week remains such a vital part of the Yankees DNA.
For those new to the narrative:
This year’s events were combination of lessons elarned from COVUD engagement as well as the return to normalcy of face to face interraction. Some examples… the team welcomed 11-year-old Blake Wheatley onto the field at Yankee Stadium prior to a game against the angels and spent time on the virtual diamond with 15-year-old Luke Post. They honored young women pushing back on Asian hate, and even fulfilled the wish of a young woman who wanted to be a batboy but was denied the opportunity…60 years ago.
Wheatley, a Little Leaguer from Maryland, was recently diagnosed with the same bicuspid aortic valve condition that prompted manager Aaron Boone to have a pacemaker installed this spring.
A middle infielder and right-handed pitcher who competes on the No. 1-ranked travel team in his home state’s age bracket, Wheatley was rushed to a hospital in February after passing out during practice. Tests revealed that the youngster had a congenital defect where his bicuspid aortic valve had only two cusps to manage blood flow instead of three.
Post, a high school freshman from Virginia, has been hospitalized regularly with t-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma, an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Diagnosed with his condition in May 2019, Post designed a “No One Fights Alone” T-shirt as part of Child Cancer Awareness Month in September 2020.
The fundraiser took off, selling more than 200 shirts to raise more than $6,000. The proceeds were used to stock items in a teen room at University of Virginia Children’s Hospital, providing popular books, games and movies.
In a virtual event last Friday, Yankees players logged on to play video games with Post and other children at the hospital, including showdowns in “MLB: The Show” in which the big leaguers struggled mightily.
Each day the Yankees reach out to a different individual, family or organization worthy of recognition and support. For the Yankees, this event is unique because every player, along with Manager Aaron Boone, his coaching staff and General Manager Brian Cashman, will participate.
While all teams have a responsibility to give back to their fans year-round and the Yankees themselves have expansive foundations run by many players others, what sets HOPE Week apart for the organization is the expansive connections each and every member of the organization makes with so many different organizations during the busiest part of the season. The plan takes every part of the organization and exposes the brand to a wide variety of stories that will have a cumulative ripple effect way beyond the initial meetings. It is Community Relations and outreach to the max, and as a result garnered exposure not just locally but nationally in the social space as well.
Does this mean the Yankees cram all their good will into one week? No. What HOPE Week does is serve as a great example of what the value of sport and celebrity can do for so many charities and causes, and draws attention to all in one concerted effort. There is lots of follow-up, and lots of special events, the team and the players do prior and will continue to do after. However by focusing so many efforts in one week, it serves as a great reminder to all what the team can stand for in the community. Each year the event has grown, and year 12 served as a great look back as well as a look into new ways to engage and build serving as a “Must Do” not just for baseball teams but for every elite team that wins a world title. It should also not end with the pro teams. The most elite of college programs should do the same, and the USOC could handle as well.
No the Yanks are not alone in bringing hope. What they have done first is really use the wide-ranging week, in midseason, to expand the brand and once again convey their leadership, this time off the field. Well done.
