Wainwright To Host 3rd Annual Fantasy Football Fundraiser at Busch

Ozzie Smith, Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk and Jon Hamm among participants helping raise money for charity

           ST. LOUIS, June 24, 2015 – Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright is once again joining forces with teammates, celebrities and fans to raise money for charity during his 3rd annual Big League Impact fantasy football live draft at Busch Stadium on September 4, 2015.                

As part of the event, participating fans will draft their own fantasy football team, competing against Wainwright or another “big leaguer like Matt Carpenter, Matt Holliday, John Lackey, Lance Lynn, Trevor Rosenthal, Michael Wacha, Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith, St. Louis Rams football legends Marshall Faulk and Kurt Warner, and actor Jon Hamm. Participants will manage their fantasy team throughout a head-to-head-format season, including a head-to-head matchup against one of the celebrity participants. In addition to the live draft, participants will receive photos and autographed items, a behind-the-scenes tour of Busch Stadium, VIP access to batting practice, party suite tickets for the September 4 Cardinals game vs. Pittsburgh, weekly interaction and competition with big leaguers throughout the fantasy football season and more chances to win other great prizes.

All proceeds from Wainwright’s event at Busch Stadium will benefit Cardinals Care, Operation Food Search and Big League Impact’s Global Fund.

“Adam Wainwright is not just a consummate teammate on the baseball diamond but to our community as well,” said Michael Hall, Vice President of Community Relations & Executive Director of Cardinals Care. “Cardinals Care is so proud of the work he has already done in St. Louis and around the world, and we can’t wait to see what he’ll do as a result of this event.”

Over the last three years, Wainwright’s Big League Impact initiative has expanded to include numerous players and causes around the league. Currently, a fantasy football event is scheduled in seven cities with participation from more than 60 big league players including Max Scherzer, David Wright, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Skip Schumaker and more.

For each scheduled event, Big League Impact raises money for local and global charities through contributions from participants in the fantasy football leagues. A portion of the proceeds support the host players’ charity of choice as well as the team’s community fund, while 25% of the net proceeds from all 2015 fantasy football events benefit a transformative international project that brings together multiple charity organizations to provide basic needs around the world. This year, Big League Impact’s Global Fund goal is to provide clean drinking water for 5,000 people through Water Missions International, provide 2,500 mosquito nets to stop the spread of malaria, help 100,000 sick children by removing parasites from their stomachs, and curing blindness in 500 individuals.

“When my brother Trey and I started this event in St. Louis we thought that we could do something really special to raise money for St. Louis and those in need around the world,” said Adam Wainwright. “It has just been awesome to see the support for this idea from the players around the League. We love playing fantasy football, so, what’s better than playing against each other with the fans and then donating all the proceeds to provide relief for those in need?!”

For a full listing of Big League Impact fantasy football draft day experiences or to register for the September 4 event at Busch Stadium, fans can visit bigleagueimpact.org.

Fans can learn more about Cardinals players’ community efforts at cardinals.com/playerscare.

About Big League Impact

Big League Impact, Inc. is a nonprofit organization with the mission to help meet basic human needs like food, clean water, medical care and shelter, in an effort to restore dignity and hope to people in the local community and around the globe. In order to accomplish this, Big League Impact offers fun, exciting and one-of-a-kind experiences that combine America’s two favorite sports – baseball and football. Founded in 2013 by St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright and his brother Trey Wainwright under the name “Waino’s World,” the organization has since grown to include other professional baseball players hosting leagues all across the country. The result is Big League Impact. For more information, visit bigleagueimpact.org.

About Cardinals Care

Cardinals Care was established to give fans a way of teaming up with Cardinals players and the organization to help children in our community – both on and off the baseball field. Since it was established in 1997, Cardinals Care has invested nearly $21 million to support St. Louis area children and built 21 youth ball fields in local under-resourced neighborhoods. 2015 marks the 12th year of Cardinals Care’s innovative Redbird Rookies program, a free baseball league for kids who otherwise might not have the opportunity to play. In addition to providing all the uniforms, gloves, bats, balls and other equipment needed for each team, Redbird Rookies also provides extensive off-field support in the areas of health, education, mentoring and the cultural arts for each of the nearly 4,500 kids who participate in the program each year.

About Operation Food Search

Operation Food Search is a St. Louis-based non-profit organization dedicated to ending hunger in the greater St. Louis metropolitan area. Established in 1981, the organization is the largest distributor of free food in the bi-state region feeding an average of 190,000 people a month. Combining their robust emergency food distribution system with education programs, Operation Food Search gives our struggling neighbors in need a range of coping mechanisms to help overcome the effects of hunger.

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