$2 Million in Potential Donations to Cancer Charity if “Hit It Here” Sign is Struck During State Farm®Home Run Derby July 12 on ESPN and MLB All-Star Game July 13 on FOXJuly 9, 2010 – Major League Baseball and longtime official sponsor, MasterCard Worldwide, announced today that Stand Up To Cancer will be the recipient of donations in the “Hit It Here” in-stadium promotion during MLB All-Star Week. The promotion is a component of the Major League Baseball “Going Beyond” initiative, an ongoing commitment to raise funds and awareness for charitable initiatives and to celebrate the importance of community service. The first home run to directly strike one of the MasterCard “Hit It Here” signs in Angel Stadium during the 2010 State Farm® Home Run Derby or the 2010 MLB All-Star Game will result in MasterCard donating $1 million to Stand Up To Cancer. If a sign is hit during both events, MasterCard will donate a total of $2 million.
Stand Up To Cancer raises funds for groundbreaking translational research to accelerate the delivery of new therapies to patients, getting them from the “bench to the bedside” as quickly as possible. SU2C brings together scientists from different disciplines across various institutions to work collaboratively—rather than competitively—at a critical time in the field of cancer research.
There will be two pre-designated MasterCard “Hit It Here” signs at Angel Stadium. The first sign is approximately 13’ x 15’ and will be placed in left field; the second sign is approximately 15’ x 25’ and will be positioned in right center field.
The 2010 State Farm® Home Run Derby, part of Gatorade All-Star Workout Day, will be broadcast live on ESPN, ESPN HD, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Radio in the United States beginning at 8:00 p.m. (EDT)/5:00 p.m. (PDT) on Monday, July 12th. The 81st Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX Sports, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet HD and Le Reseau des Sports, and around the world by Major League Baseball International, with pregame ceremonies beginning at 8:00 p.m. (EDT)/5:00 p.m. (PDT). ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage. MLB Network, MLB.com and Sirius XM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Game coverage. “We’re proud that MasterCard is joining Major League Baseball’s efforts to give back to the community by aligning this promotion with such a worthy cause in Stand Up To Cancer,” said Tim Brosnan, Executive Vice President, Business, Major League Baseball. “The MasterCard ‘Hit It Here’ signs are positioned to be as ‘hittable’ as ever, and everyone involved wants to see them hit – twice, so we can give this money to fund such important cancer research.”
“Stand Up To Cancer’s mission to be an unstoppable movement that ultimately leads to a cure is a cause that ties together our employees, financial institutions, merchants and our cardholders,” said Michael Robichaud, Vice President, Global Sponsorships, MasterCard Worldwide. “’Hit it Here’ during MLB All-Star Week allows MasterCard to use the power of our brand to push this momentum forward, with an exciting platform to build awareness and hopefully result in a significant donation, that furthers the cause.”
“It’s up to all of us to play a role in helping the scientists who are working every day to end cancer. With the extraordinary support of MLB and MasterCard we have been given the wonderful opportunity to drive that message home,” said Stand Up To Cancer Co-Founder, Sue Schwartz, “Congratulations to all of the All-Stars; we hope they will aim for the signs!”
Major League Baseball became the founding donor to Stand Up To Cancer when Commissioner Selig announced an initial contribution of $10 million in 2008. In the span of just a year, Stand Up To Cancer raised more than $100 million due in part to an historic hour-long program simultaneously broadcast on ABC, CBS and NBC, on September 5, 2008. In May 2009, SU2C announced the funding of five multi-disciplinary “Dream Teams”—- researchers from more than 50 institutions, as well as 13 young innovative scientists who are undertaking high-risk, potentially high-reward projects to end the reign of cancer as a leading cause of death in the world today.
About the 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 81st Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be played on Tuesday, July 13th in Anaheim and will feature the best of the American League taking on the top players of the National League. Building up to the excitement of the All-Star Game, Major League Baseball will conduct a wide variety of special events and charitable activities for fans both inside and outside of Angel Stadium of Anaheim. At the ballpark, the events will include Taco Bell All-Star Sunday on Sunday, July 11 featuring the XM All-Star Futures Game and the Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game, and Gatorade All-Star Workout Day on Monday, July 12 featuring the State Farm Home Run Derby on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Radio. Outside of the ballpark, fans will have an opportunity to experience All-Star Summer through a variety of special events including Major League Baseball All-Star FanFest, the five-day interactive fan festival; the All-Star Game Charity 5K & Fun Run presented by Sports Authority and Nike, a charity run/walk on a baseball-themed route to benefit four cancer organizations; and the MLB All-Star Red Carpet Show presented by Chevrolet, a free parade of All-Stars through the streets of Anaheim, which will be broadcast on MLB Network. The Midsummer Classic will be televised nationally on FOX, broadcast on ESPN Radio and will be shown around the world by Major League Baseball International. For more information about 2010 All-Star Summer, visit www.AllStarGame.com.
About MasterCard and Major League Baseball
MasterCard has been an official sponsor of Major League Baseball since 1997 and is the preferred card of MLB and MLB Advanced Media. MasterCard also maintains sponsorship alliances with 9 MLB Clubs: Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals. About MasterCard Worldwide
MasterCard Worldwide advances global commerce by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, businesses, cardholders and merchants worldwide. As a franchisor, processor and advisor, MasterCard develops and markets payment solutions, processes over 22 billion transactions each year, and provides industry-leading analysis and consulting services to financial-institution customers and merchants. Powered by the MasterCard Worldwide Network and through its family of brands, including MasterCard®, Maestro® and Cirrus®, MasterCard serves consumers and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information go to www.mastercard.com. Follow us on Twitter: @mastercardnews.
About Stand Up To Cancer
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C)—a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)3 charitable organization—raises funds to hasten the pace of groundbreaking translational research that can get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives. SU2C was formally launched on May 27, 2008. Major League Baseball was the founding donor to contribute to Stand Up To Cancer. Other major SU2C supporters include Sidney Kimmel, the country’s largest individual supporter of cancer research, Amgen, Bloomberg Philanthropies, GlaxoSmithKline, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Wallis Annenberg & The Annenberg Foundation, Alliance for Global Good, Milken Family Foundation, Philips Electronics, Steve Tisch, The Island Def Jam Music Group, Comcast and many others.
Contact: Jeff Heckelman, Major League Baseball, (212) 931-7878
Tristan Jordan, MasterCard Worldwide, (914) 249-5724