The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a non-profit public charity dedicated to dramatically increasing the adoptions of the more than 140,000 children in North America's foster care systems. Wendy's Wonderful Kids is the signature program of the Dave Thomas Foundation to move children from foster care into permanent, loving adoptive homes. Learn more at http://www.davethomasfoundation.org/

GUEST COMMENTS

"We had fun and our seats were great! Everyone was so kind. We enjoyed the tour and the umpires because they took time to explain a few things to us. We want to thank BLUE for Kids, Beth Paladino of the Phillies, Ms. Gwen and Ms. Delores for taking us to the game, but especially the umpires for their time. We hope to get another chance to go and this time we know the Phillies will win. Go Phillies!!" - Jonathan and Mario

"We had a wonderful time accompanying Jonathan and Mario, and we enjoyed the game ourselves. We feel the beauty of it all is the "collaborative effort" the agency workers put forth to share this opportunity with Wendy's Wonderful Kids. We salute BLUE for all that they do to enhance the lives of children." - Gwen and Delores

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

• Beth Paladino and the entire Phillies Community Relations team for assistance at the ballpark.
• Delores Brown and Gwendolyn Tunnell for taking Jonathan and Mario to the game.
• Tabor Children's Services, Inc. in Philadelphia and The Dave Thomas Foundation for working with us to provide experiences for children in foster care awaiting adoption.

Labels: crew, diaz, mlb, phi, welke, wwk

MLB Umpires Laz Diaz and Bill Welke welcome Matt, Trinidad, Michael, and Jose to AT&T Park as a part of the BLUE Crew Tickets Program. Matt, Trinidad, Michael, and Jose are mentor/youth matches with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area.

GUEST COMMENT (Michael Sanchez) - "Many thanks to Laz Diaz and Bill Welke for hosting Jose and me and Matt and Trinidad (Big Brothers Big Sisters Bay Area) at the Giants vs. Rockies game on Sunday. Jose was wide-eyed as Laz and Bill greeted him and escorted him to the field to watch batting practice. The sound of the ball hitting a wooden bat was unique to Jose as Laz explained that big leaguers use a different type bat than little leaguers (aluminum). Then the umpires created a special meet and greet with Steve Finley of the Rockies and he introduced himself and gave hitting tips to the boys...he was great with the kids and it was unique to experience the professional relationship between player and umpire. Needless to say, they were excited to meet a big league player and we when returned to the umpires' room for a final goodbye, the umpires gave sound advice to the boys to stay in school, do their homework and work hard. To cap off the day, Steve Finley pinch hit in the later part of the game and hit a foul ball which I caught and presented to Jose as a memento of our day and capped off celebrating the one-year anniversary of our "Big" and "Little" relationship. Thank you for the wonderful experience!"

Want to make a difference in your community? Be a mentor like Matt and Michael!

THANK YOU! - Erin Reilly/Bobby Baksa (Giants Community Relations) and Neepa Patel/Dawn Kruger (Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area) for your role in making this a wonderful experience for everyone.

MORE Photos: 2007 BLUE Crew Ticket Photos
ABOUT Big Brothers Big Sisters: http://www.bbbs.org/

Labels: bbbs, crew, diaz, mlb, sf, welke

MLB Umpires Laz Diaz, Bill Welke, Wally Bell, and Mike Muchlinski welcome Julio, Samuel, Joseph, and Julian to Angel Stadium as a part of the BLUE Crew Tickets Program.

THANK YOU! - Julio Leyva-Sainz and Lisa Marie-Kaye of the Los Angeles County Department of Children & Family Services for getting Julio, Samuel, and Joseph the chance to catch an Angels game!

THANK YOU! - Lindsay McHolm of Angels Baseball. You truly went above and beyond in support of the umpires. The pictures are fantastic and we'll see that each guest receives an 8x10 to remember their Angels game experience!

MORE Photos: 2007 BLUE Crew Ticket Photos

Labels: bell, crew, diaz, laa, mlb, muchlinski, welke

MLB Umpires Laz Diaz and Bill Welke welcome Matt, Gabe, John, and Rachaad to Kauffman Stadium as a part of the BLUE Crew Tickets Program.

Want to make a difference in your community? Be a mentor like Matt and John!

THANK YOU! - Ben Aken (Royals Community Relations) and Jonathan Hile/Michelle Petersen (Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Kansas City) for your role in making this a wonderful experience for everyone.

MORE Photos: 2007 BLUE Crew Ticket Photos
ABOUT Big Brothers Big Sisters: http://www.bbbs.org/

Labels: crew, diaz, kc, mlb, welke