Giving HOPE

Like most Major League Baseball teams, the New York Yankees often assist various charities and organizations by donating money or arranging for player “meet and greets” before a game.

But recently they took it to a new level.

HOPE Week (Helping Others Persevere & Excel) was created by Yankees public relations director Jason Zillo, who wanted the team to give back to the community in a more direct way. From July 20-24, players and coaches hosted a Little League clinic which included kids with cerebral palsy, shared a meal with the family of an Army paratrooper suffering from A.L.S., and surprised at-risk neighborhood kids by dropping in for lunch.

The most incredible event was on Thursday night, when a bus full of people from Camp Sundown arrived at Yankee Stadium to see a game. Every summer, the upstate New York camp hosts kids who suffer from light-sensitivity diseases such as xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), a rare congenital disorder that prevents skin cells from repairing damage caused by ultraviolet light.

XP makes any amount of sunlight dangerous and forces those with the disease to live nocturnally and indoors — isolated from the rest of the world. Most don’t make it to adulthood.

The group, including XP sufferer Kevin (below), got to watch the game from a luxury suite at the stadium.

(Nikon D3, 70-200 lens, 2500 ISO, 1/125 sec, f/4)

Then they got to high-five Yankees players on the field after the win over the A’s.

(Nikon D3, 70-200 lens, 1000 ISO, 1/500 sec, f/4)

The fun really began after the game when a carnival with jugglers, magicians, and an inflatable moon bounce was set up in the outfield for the campers and their families.

(Nikon D3, 14-24 lens, 2500 ISO, 1/320 sec, f/2.8)

Yankees players including starter A.J. Burnett threw whiffle balls, kicked soccer balls, and signed autographs into the early morning hours.

(Nikon D3, 70-200 lens, 4000 ISO, 1/500 sec, f/2.8)

We photographers were told we could use our flash to make pictures, but we had to turn off the pre-flash, red-eye reduction feature because the extra light might be too intense for the campers. I didn’t want to take any chances and worked using only available light.

The Yankees turned off most of the stadium lights so that it wasn’t too bright.

(Nikon D3, 14-24 lens, 2500 ISO, 1/400 sec, f/2.8)

Katie Mahar, whose parents created Camp Sundown, got a hug from catcher Jorge Posada.

(Nikon D3, 14-24 lens, 2500 ISO, 1/200 sec, f/2.8)

Simply standing on the field at Yankee Stadium is a memorable experience for anyone. I can only imagine how special it must have been for the campers to play like “normal” kids – even for one night.

The carnival went until 4 a.m., when they had to board the bus for the two-hour ride back to camp before the sun came up.

Donations can be made to the Xeroderma Pigmentosum Society.

| Leave a comment