Proceeds from amateur homerun derby at Ripken Stadium will benefit Harford Family House.
On Tuesday, July 28, Harford Family House hosted the seventh annual Harford Mutual Insurance Company Home Runs for the Homeless fundraiser at Ripken Stadium. The event raised $24,000 to support homeless families in Harford County.
Eighty-four batters representing 21 different teams stepped up to the plate in the amateur home run derby, getting 15 swings each to try and hit a home run. Participants also had the opportunity to purchase five “extra” swings. Each team paid $1,000 to take part, which also gave each team member a full day at the ballpark with the opportunity to change in the locker room, take batting practice in the batting cage, sit in the dugout, see his or her head shots on the giant scoreboard and hear play-by-play commentary on each at bat.
Aberdeen Mayor Michael Bennett threw the opening pitch and provided the opening remarks at the post-derby award ceremony held in the club level of Ripken Stadium. Other local celebrities on hand to cheer for the teams included Miss Harford County, Allison Redman, and Miss Bel Air, Shanice Lewis.
The overall champion of the home run derby was the team from Maryland Mutual Mortgage Company, hitting 12 home runs to earn 2,355 points. Other awards presented included:
- The Silver Slugger Award for the most homeruns was earned by Matt Gianni, a member of the Maryland Mutual Mortgage team. He earned 660 of the team’s points on his own.
- Corporate Champion Award, reserved for teams comprised of players that currently work for the sponsoring company, went to Burris Logistics with a team total of 1,120 points.
- The Officer’s Cup goes to the team of law enforcement professionals who log the most points, and this year went to the Aberdeen Police Department team for earning 1,155 points.
- The female slugger with the most points was Carrie Shapiro of Innovative Insurance Solutions, earning 150 points and the Georgia Peach Award.
- The Golden Arm Pitching Contest was won by BJ Alaimo, playing for the Harford Mutual Insurance team. The cash prize was half of collected registration fees, but BJ donated his winnings back to Harford Family House.
Other fundraising activities during the day included a raffle for a Citizen’s men’s sports watch donated by Saxon’s Diamond Centers.
Harford Family House Executive Director Joyce Duffy says, “We are so very grateful for all who came to spend the day with us, and also very impressed by the athletic ability of the participants! I hope each team member enjoyed the opportunity to step up to the plate and score, but the big winners are really the homeless families of Harford County who will be helped by this event. It costs just $25 a day to provide temporary shelter for a homeless family, so the funds raised at Homeruns for the Homeless mean 960 nights of housing are now possible.”
Duffy adds, “I’d also like to thank our presenting sponsor, Harford Mutual Insurance Company, as well as our other sponsors for making this year’s event possible.” Other sponsors included:
- Target Sponsors: APGFCU, Ferrell Fuel, The Greene Turtle, Jones Junction, Nutrition by Design and Susquehanna Spine and Rehab.
- Grand Slam Sponsors: Innovative Insurance Solutions and People’s Bank
- Home Run Sponsors: Northrop Grumman and Red Brick Station
- Triple Sponsor: Ferrell Fuel and Harford Financial Group
- Refreshment Sponsor: Bob’s Discount Furniture
- Hors d’oeuvres Sponsor: Rosedale Federal
- Jersey Sponsor: Chesapeake Employers Insurance
- Double Sponsor: Harford Bank
- Raffle Sponsor: Saxon’s Diamond Centers – Aberdeen
- Hit the Mitt Sponsor: Jones Junction
- Sign Sponsor: Signs by Tomorrow – Aberdeen
- Second Chance Swings Sponsor: CIMA – Brent Slutzky
- Trophy Sponsor: Future Skies Inc.
About Harford Family House (http://www.harfordfamilyhouse.org/)
Harford Family House is the largest provider of transitional housing for homeless families with children in Harford County. Other programs include Emergency Shelter for families and HUD Supportive Housing for homeless families where one family member has a disability. Clients are provided with a fully furnished apartment or house and receive case management services and referrals to partner agencies to move them from homelessness and hopelessness to hope and independence.
