Mission
The Toronto Blue Jays are working to fix the opportunity gap that exists in underserved communities in Canada in which many children step up to the plate with two strikes already against them. Their overall vision is to have a level playing field for all children and youth across Canada.
Primary Focuses
Girls
At Jays Care they believe in gender equity for all children and youth. This means creating programs that support girls across the county to overcome the current barriers to fair and accessible sport and recreation opportunities. They believe girls need sport and more female role models coaching them in sports to ensure that they live long and healthy, active lives. Research has shown that active children have the ability to concentrate much better and that exercise decreases anxiety, reduces depression and improves mood and outlook in children.
To tackle this issue, they have implemented the following programs:
Girls at Bat and James Bay Girls at Bat
Indigenous Children and Youth
At Jays Care they believe in on-going collaboration and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. This means working with Indigenous communities to create inclusive programs that promote the health and well-being of children, youth and families. They use baseball to engage hard to reach children and youth through inter-generational events and tournaments that involve elders, partners and community leadership.
To tackle this issue, they have implemented the following programs:
Rookie League and James Bay Girls at Bat
Children and Youth Living with Disabilities
At Jays Care they believe in equity and accessibility for all children and youth. This means creating programs that are adaptive and accessible for children and youth living with cognitive and physical disabilities. In Ontario alone, there are an estimated 235,000 children and youth living with disabilities. Over one quarter of youth living with physical and cognitive disabilities had not taken part in any sport either in or out of school in the last year, compared to only 6% of young people in the general population.
To tackle this issue, they have implemented the following programs:
Challenger Baseball
Children and Youth living at or Below the Poverty Line
At Jays Care they believe that every child is unstoppable no matter what their socio-economic background. This means creating programs that remove barriers to sport and recreation opportunities and that level the playing field for all. They know children in underserved communities experience troubling opportunity gaps starting from the moment they are born. These gaps include low birth weights, hunger, physically and emotionally unsafe environments and sub-standard after-school programming.
To tackle this issue, they have implemented the following programs:
Rookie League, Home Run Scholars, and RBI
