C’s reaching out to community
Jays’ World Series manager Gaston headlines hot-stove event for Canadians’ charity foundation
Vancouver Canadians president Andy Dunn is forever quotable.
The man who brought us such talk as “a season of sellouts” as a goal early in his tenure with the short-season, single-A club, and later said that the C’s were “one of the topfive franchises in all of minorleague baseball” once they started packing in crowds at Nat Bailey Stadium, was at it again this week.
He was speaking about the franchise’s charitable arm, the Vancouver Canadians Baseball Foundation (VCBF).
“If you have an organization or a group that’s trying to help in the community and we’re not at the top of the list of people to call for more help, we haven’t done our jobs,” Dunn said.
The VCBF holds one of its major fundraisers this Friday, with the ninth annual Scotiabank Hot Stove Luncheon set for the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.
Former Toronto Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston is the guest speaker. Blue Jays president emeritus Paul Beeston and Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins, who have become Hot Stove staples, also are slated to attend.
It’s easy to suggest that events such as the Hot Stove and the VCBF’s other initiatives help keep the C’s in the spotlight throughout the year, which in turn has to help at the turnstiles. The C’s averaged paid crowds of 6,292 last season at The Nat, which was a higher per game attendance than 13 of the 30 triple-A clubs.
The Nat’s listed capacity is 6,413, so the C’s sold tickets at a 98.1 per cent clip last season — meaning they’re just shy of that season of sellouts Dunn discussed years ago.
“We should be helping out youth groups and not-forprofits. We enjoy shouldering that load,” Dunn said.
“There wasn’t a whole lot of community involvement before we got here and now have a foundation. There are all kinds of positives. It’s good for the community. It’s good for our staff. It makes you feel good.
“We’re proud of what we’re trying to do.”
Created in 2010, the VCBF has paid for more than 2,500 children aged 7-13 associated with The Boys & Girls Clubs of South Coast B.C. to play in a youth baseball league run at The Nat. The VCBF provides transportation to and from the ballpark, a warm meal each night and a full set of baseball equipment that includes a helmet, personalized jersey, glove and sports bag.
Also, the VCBF has donated more than $200,000 to scholarship athletes with UBC Thunderbirds baseball, and also teamed with Jays Care, Variety and the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation to build the Challenger Baseball Field of Dreams that’s adjacent to The Nat.
As well, Jeff Mooney and his wife Suzanne Bolton created a scholarship program last year.
It’s designed to help highschool students within the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Coast B.C. continue with post-secondary education.
The C’s will open the 2019 Northwest League campaign June 14 at home, taking on the Spokane Indians. A portion of the team will come from Blue Jays’ selections in the June 3-5 amateur draft.
Former Montreal Expos infielder/outfielder Casey Candaele, 58, will be the C’s manager this season. The team has been a Blue Jays’ affiliate since 2011.
The C’s will also have six games broadcast on Sportsnet Pacific television this season. That comes along with a switch with their radio broadcasts, which went from TSN 1040 AM to SNET 650 AM.
Sportsnet is owned by Rogers, which also owns the Blue Jays.