New York Yankees' Aaron Judge to Make Children's Dreams Come True
New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge will make the dreams of several children come true Tuesday in New York City.
Judge, seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum and other sports icons will grant the wishes of several children at a New York City event Tuesday through the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Fanatics. Fanatics and Make-A-Wish are now teaming up, and Tuesday's event is a celebration of the launch of a new partnership.
At the event, Judge will fulfill the wishes of two kids and interact with seven others on site, as a surprise. Judge will play whiffle ball and catch with the group, whilst sign autographs and merchandise.
It won't be the first time that Judge has granted a wish for a Make-A-Wish child. Each year, ESPN features a collection of stories of athletes that have blessed the lives of children with critical illnesses, called 'My Wish'. In 2018, Judge treated a nine-year old boy to a day at Yankee Stadium and plenty of autographs and memorabilia, before the boy watched the day's game from a suite with Yankees executive Brian Cashman.
Since 1980, Make-A-Wish has granted over 550,000 wishes of children with critical illnesses.
Tuesday, Make-A-Wish and Fanatics are announcing a first-of-its-kind partnership. Fanatics will become the wish-granting organization's "official sports partner". Tuesday's event is an introduction to how Fanatics and Make-A-Wish are committed to enriching and amplifying the many current and future sports-related wishes.
With more than 900 sports partnerships, exclusive contracts with thousands of top-tier athletes, and a brand that is focused on the sports fan, Fanatics is uniquely positioned to create once-in-a-lifetime experiences for wish kids and their families and elevate the broader sports-related vertical that Make-A-Wish is building. This includes supporting life-changing wishes around athlete meet-and-greets, Championship games, All-Star Weekends, Rookie Drafts, and the world's premier, sought-after sporting events.
“Fanatics has been championing Make-A-Wish and its incredible efforts for many years, and this partnership will be an ongoing testament to the power of sports and the possibilities for children to heal through connections to their favorite teams and sports heroes,” Fanatics Chief People Officer Orlando Ashford said. “Fanatics’ relationships and access to thousands of athletes across all sports, a wide-ranging roster of preeminent partners, and expanding sports platform will all be leveraged to give these incredibly brave kids and their families the most memorable, once-in-a-lifetime experiences that we’re honored to deliver.”
The official partnership comes after many years of Fanatics’ support for Make-A-Wish, helping enhance wish kids’ experiences at sporting events, including most recently at the MLB All-Star Game in Seattle and upcoming at the 2023 World Series. Over the years, Fanatics has helped Make-A-Wish chapters elevate wish experiences by organizing meet-and-greets with athletes, providing premiere hospitality during sports events, and gifting wish kids licensed sports merchandise from their favorite teams and players.
