Red Sox and Twins Foundations to assist with Hurricane Relief Efforts in SWFL

BOSTON, MA – The Red Sox, in partnership with the Minnesota Twins today announced that each club’s charitable foundation will make $100,000 donation to five non-profit organizations in Lee County to assist with hurricane relief efforts throughout the region. $100,000 of the combined $200,000 donation will be provided to the Collaboratory, with the remaining funds being distributed equally to the Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida, Lee Health Foundation’s SWFL Stronger Together employee relief fund, Foundation for Lee County Public Schools, Inc. and Community Cooperative’s Lee County Strong relief fund. 

“Lee County has been the home of Red Sox Spring Training since 1993 and in that time, we have built a strong bond with countless fans, local officials, and partners in the area. We know how resilient our Southwest Florida community is, and we, along with our neighbors down the road, the Minnesota Twins, will continue to do all that we can to support our community as we recover from the devastation of Hurricane Ian,” said Red Sox President & CEO Sam Kennedy. “We are grateful to the local, state and federal officials, organizations and volunteers on the ground in Lee County who continue to focus on recovery and relief efforts, as well as our Red Sox employees, families and teammates in Fort Myers, who have worked tirelessly everyday to make JetBlue Park available for recovery response teams. As we look to the future, the Red Sox stand ready to support Lee County as we rebuild our community together.”

“Lee County is a special part of Twins Territory, and we – along with our friends and Fort Myers neighbors, the Boston Red Sox – will be there for our Southwest Florida family in this time of recovery, as they have always been for us,” said Twins President & CEO Dave St. Peter. “The Twins have readily given the Lee County Sports Complex to house first responders, stage emergency vehicles and distribute more than 1 million meals through World Central Kitchen; now, we hope these new funds will assist our community partners in their critical efforts to ease the suffering wrought by Hurricane Ian. At the same time, we recognize that much work remains. We are committed to providing our continued support as this beloved region rebuilds in the days, weeks and months ahead.”

Hurricane Ian affected the majority of the state of Florida and made landfall in the Ft. Myers area on September 28, 2022. While the Red Sox and Twins facilities in Ft. Myers experienced minor damage, many areas of Southwest Florida, including Lee County, sustained catastrophic damage, with areas of the county needing to be rebuilt entirely. To assist with recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Ian, the Red Sox opened JetBlue Park as a staging area for local, regional, and national emergency response teams.

Red Sox and Twins fans can participate in the hurricane relief efforts by donating to the Collaboratory via collaboratory.org. Additional information on the other non-profits receiving donations from the Red Sox and Twins can be found in the links below.

Harry Chapin Food Bank
SWFL Stronger Together employee relief fund
Foundation for Lee County Public Schools, Inc.
Lee County Strong emergency relief fund