“This is our second Boys & Girls Club that we are doing outside of the United States, the second in Mexico, and the clubs here work very closely with the Boys & Girls Club of America, our official charity, to make sure the programs here mirror their counterparts in the United States,” said Tom Brasuell, vice president of community affairs for MLB. “We want to see kids learn, play and grow. We want them to learn baseball, but we also want them to succeed in the classroom as well.”

The club in San Miguel, which is modeled after Boys & Clubs of America, serves more than 400 children daily. The center will feature new computers, printers, and interactive blackboards.

“You just want to have a positive influence on the children,” Jansen said. “I really enjoy being here with them and inspiring them because I was a kid once, too. It was nice see the kids supporting us and having fun with it, but it was about them and providing a place where boys and girls can learn.”

Jarrin served as the master of ceremonies for the event, which was held in the facility’s library. Brasuell reinforced Major League Baseball’s commitment to serving communities on and off the field and Valenzuela shared a few inspirational words. Jorge Garcia Segovia, president of Boys & Girls Clubs of Mexico, and Monica Sanchez, the Executive Director of the organization, were also in attendance.

“I think it’s important to give back to all people and not to forget people that have always supported you,” Valenzuela said. “What I always try to tell kids is to combine education and sports, because education is a really important part of life. Yes, in sports you can have a career, but you never know when that career will end. You focus on studying and that can help your entire life.”

Eduardo Ortega, the Padres’ Spanish-language broadcaster, and Alanna Rizzo, the Dodgers reporter for SportsNet L.A., were also among the guests present. Jansen and Margot participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony and later signed caps and baseballs for the children. They were among the last to leave the building when the ceremony was over.

“This is real world, being with the kids and giving back to the community,” said Ortega, who is from Mexico and is in 32nd season with the Padres. “To serve the kids, give them these types of spaces is something that makes the communities much better. What Major League Baseball is doing through these initiatives is something the entire world must do to help the children of the future.

This article originally appeared on MLB.com.

The post MLB Teams Up with Boys & Girls Club of Mexico appeared first on Positive Celebrity News, Good Celebrity Gossip, Positive Entertainment News | Good Celebrity.

Last week, the team announced that they would no longer be automatically giving out straws with their stadium food at Guaranteed Rate Field – although biodegradable straws will be available upon request.

Th initiative, which kicked off on Earth Day, is expected to prevent more than 215,000 plastic straws from ending up in the landfill over the course of the season.

The project was also made in collaboration with the Shedd Aquarium’s “Shedd the Straw” campaign to get Chicago businesses and individuals to stop using plastic straws.

Brooks Boyer, vice president of sales and marketing, said in a White Sox press release: “We are honored to be the first ballpark to take the step of reducing our single-use plastic straws for nearly a full season…”

“The entire Guaranteed Rate Field family – the White Sox, Delaware North and Levy (concession partners) – is proud to collaborate with Shedd to share this important message with our fans and hope it will inspire others to do what they can in their own lives.”

This article originally appeared on Good News Network.

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LaRoche played for the Chicago White Sox before announcing to the world that he was leaving the sport. One of the reasons – he was no longer allowed to bring his son to team practices.

“I never took it for granted,” said LaRoche in an interview with ESPN magazine. “One, I get to play a game. Two, I get paid an absurd amount of money to play a game. Three, I can have my son with me while I’m doing it. I was pinching myself all the time, wondering, ‘What did I do to deserve this?’ And I always knew it could get shut down at any point. You could have a manager who just flat doesn’t like it. You can have players complain — Hey, we’re tired of having a kid around. There’s a chance we could have other guys see Drake and think, ‘I’ll bring my kid too.’ Obviously we can’t turn this into a daycare. I get it.”

According to reports, the Sox’s management told the MLB vet that he had to stop bringing his 14-year-old son to the team clubhouse and to practices. LaRoche decided he didn’t want to compromise and as a result, gave up his $13 million salary this season to spend time with his family.

LaRoche’s son Drake started attending practices in 2011 when the athlete played for the Washington Nationals. Previously, Drake and his sister Montana, 12, attended school electronically. Now the 14-year-old is getting ready to attend a high school that has a mandatory attendance record.

LaRoche wanted to enjoy the quality time with his son at work while he could and when his team took that away, his decision to retire was finalized. “I had an idea this might be my last year,” LaRoche told ESPN. “I knew this was probably our last opportunity to share time together at the field and do what we’ve always done.”

“I’m not saying this is the way everybody should raise their kid,” he added. “I’m saying I was given the privilege to raise my kid this way by some awesome teams and managers and GMs … I feel like I’ve spent as much time with Drake as you can, and if he were to die tomorrow, I guarantee you I’d be looking back and saying I wish I spent more time with him.”

According to reports, his teammates were not happy with management when they learned the reason behind LaRoche’s decision to retire and threatened to strike during spring training. The MLB star said that he received a tremendous amount of support from fellow players who didn’t necessarily mind that his son came with him to practices.

LaRoche believes that his poor performance during last year’s season may have been a factor in management’s decision to ban Drake from practices.

“I sucked last year, and the team sucked, “ he told the mag.

In addition to not being able to bring Drake to practices, LaRoche said that he was also inspired to leave baseball after going undercover in Southeast Asia. Along with his friend Blaine Boyer, who is also an MLB star, the 15-year-old vet helped rescue underage sex slaves in the foreign country.

“Something huge happened there for us. You can’t explain it. Can’t put your finger on it … What are we doing?” LaRoche said to ESPN.

“We’re going back to play a game for the next eight months?”

Since his retirement, the former-White Sox athlete is keeping busy with his meat company, two restaurants and show “Buck Commander,” which is stars in alongside “Duck Dynasty’s” Willie Robertson, Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean.

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