The 2020 World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers are celebrating our country’s veterans with a week of activations, including the front office sending Letters of Gratitude and care packages to veterans and active military personnel, participating in a veteran-led Town Hall and renovating the outdoor space at a Veterans Center downtown.
“2020 has been a challenging year for all of us and in particular for our veterans who we continue to love and support,” said Naomi Rodriguez, Dodger Vice President of External Affairs & Community Relations. “We miss interacting with our brave men and women in uniform during our nightly Military Hero of the Game ceremony and especially today, Veterans Day, when we’d normally be hosting our annual Veterans Day Batting Practice. We can’t wait to honor and thank our great veterans at Dodger Stadium again once safe to do so.”
With the club’s annual Veterans Day Batting Practice canceled this year, the Dodgers still reached out to thank as many veterans as possible, partnering with The Life Aid Research Institute “No Vet Alone” project to send Letters of Gratitude to military Veterans across Southern California. In addition, the 40th Infantry division from Los Angeles, which is deployed overseas, will receive a Dodger/Life Aid Gratitude care pack. The Life Aid Research Institute “No Vet Alone” project is aimed at suicide prevention by improving whole health and empowering resilience.
The Dodgers also participated in another Life Aid event yesterday, when Dave Roberts (Dodger Manager) and Nichol Whiteman (CEO, Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation) were panelists for a Town Hall Event that sought to build bridges between law enforcement and Los Angeles’ diverse communities. This Veteran-led conversation devoted to empathy leveraged the power of great team players, our Military Veterans, First Responders and sports figures, along with community leaders, to improve race relations in the Los Angeles community.
On Monday, the Dodgers and Major League Baseball unveiled the renovated All-Star Veterans Courtyard at the Volunteers of America Ballington Plaza Apartments of the Veterans Service Center in the Downtown Skid Row section of Los Angeles. The Veterans Service Center, operated by Volunteers of America Los Angeles, is the first point of contact for homeless veterans in Downtown LA. In collaboration with veteran-led organization The Mission Continues, this effort upgraded existing outdoor gathering space facilities in Skid Row/Downtown LA for veterans receiving day services and those in long-term housing on site, with the following: painting and cosmetic repairs to existing structures and new lighting, new landscaping (refreshed green space, garden beds) and meditation garden, new outdoor dining space, upgraded workout equipment, new benches, and additional beautification projects.
