MLB and Girl Scouts of the USA Partner to Encourage Girls to Have Fun and Make New Friends While Playing Baseball and Softball
Special Limited Supply PLAY BALL Kit Features Bat and Ball Sets Gifted to New Daisy Troops That Form This Spring
Partnership Includes Nationwide PLAY BALL Weekend Activations – Announcement Follows Highest SFIA Recorded Numbers for Casual Baseball Participation
Contact:
Girl Scouts of the USA Press Room
media@girlscouts.org
Steve Arocho or Aby Goodman
Major League Baseball
(212) 931-7878
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NEW YORK (March 27, 2024)— Major League Baseball and Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) today announced the launch of a new partnership, starting with a program for new Girl Scout Daisy troops emphasizing fun and friendship, while encouraging girls to play baseball and softball through MLB’s broader PLAY BALL initiative (PlayBall.org). MLB will provide 2,500 customized Girl Scout Daisy PLAY BALL kits to approximately 13,000 participating Girl Scout Daisies, which will include PLAY BALL bat and ball sets from Franklin Sports, a long-standing partner of Major League Baseball and the PLAY BALL initiative, along with other items. Additional supplies will include custom Daisy activity guides with instructional videos for troop leaders to encourage and teach young girls to play the game while getting to know their new troop through a safe, fun and accessible activity.
The newly launched partnership will support new Girl Scout Daisy Troops that form after April 1st, including girls who will start kindergarten or 1st grade in the fall. The Girl Scout Daisy program supports kindergarten readiness standards that prepare students for school while getting acclimated to their new troop. This limited supply Play Ball kit will provide newly formed troops and their families the chance to begin their Girl Scout experience together through baseball activities that promote fun, teamwork and making new friends.
Girl Scouts will also be a part of Major League Baseball’s annual PLAY BALL Weekend, June 14th-16th, which aims to close equity gaps by providing access to the game and encouraging kids, families and communities to PLAY all summer long. Throughout PLAY BALL Weekend, Major League Baseball will activate world-wide and domestically, including with all 30 Major League and 120 Minor League clubs, in addition to hosting a special event in New York City, which serves as the backdrop for the League’s Headquarters.
“To partner with such a well-established organization like Girl Scouts of the USA means that MLB is continuing to grow our game among girls, which is a priority for our sport,” said Tony Reagins, Chief Baseball Development Officer, MLB. “We are poised to develop this partnership as we elevate the PLAY BALL initiative and reach new athletes who will be the future of our game.”
“As a Girl Scout Lifetime Member, troop co-leader and MLB executive, it is a dream to see these wonderful organizations coming together to grow the game and develop young girls into leaders in the world,” said April Brown, Senior Vice President of Social Responsibility, MLB. “It is such an honor to work on both sides of this with MLB and Girl Scouts, and I look forward to a long-lasting partnership between both institutions.”
“We are thrilled to begin our partnership with MLB, an iconic organization that shares our values and is, like Girl Scouts, part of the fabric of every community,” said Bonnie Barczykowski, CEO of GSUSA. “Becoming a Daisy is a special time in a Girl Scout’s journey, and we so appreciate MLB’s commitment to helping our new troops have an amazing first experience together through the Play Ball activities that will introduce them to baseball and softball.”
In 2023 the Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s (SFIA) Topline Participation Report, announced Baseball participation is at nearly 16.7 million in the United States, the highest officially recorded level for the sport by the SFIA. Casual participation in the sport, which is composed of casual forms of play that is championed by the PLAY BALL initiative (www.PlayBall.org), is at more than 8.9 million participants, which is also an all-time high in the history of SFIA’s tracking of this data.
To learn more about the MLB and Girl Scouts partnership and how to receive a limited supply Play Ball kit, visit girlscouts.org/MLB.
We Are Girl Scouts of the USA
Girl Scouts bring their dreams to life and work together to build a better world. Through programs from coast to coast, Girl Scouts of all backgrounds and abilities can be unapologetically themselves as they discover their strengths and rise to meet new challenges—whether they want to climb to the top of a tree or the top of their class, lace up their boots for a hike or advocate for climate justice, or make their first best friends. Backed by trusted adult volunteers, mentors, and millions of alums, Girl Scouts lead the way as they find their voices and make changes that affect the issues most important to them. To join us, volunteer, reconnect, or donate, visit girlscouts.org.
About Play Ball
PLAY BALL is MLB’s signature youth engagement activity that is featured in events all around the United States and Canada. More information on the program, as well as future event updates, can be found at www.PlayBall.org. The PLAY BALL initiative is baseball’s global effort to encourage young people and communities to engage in baseball- or softball-related activities, including formal leagues, special events and casual forms of play. PLAY BALL events have become MLB’s signature youth engagement activity during the professional and amateur baseball and softball calendar, especially on key dates throughout MLB’s Championship Season and through the World Series. PLAY BALL events demonstrate the positive way the game can serve as an outlet for physical activity, fun with friends and learning how to play the sport at its most basic levels. PLAY BALL also serves as the League’s youth umbrella in which all associated programs and events derive from the initiative’s consistent, simple message: However You Play Ball, PLAY BALL! PlayBall.org is the PLAY BALL initiative’s online home and is accessible via MLB.com, USABaseball.com, USASoftball.com and other partner websites.
