Earlier this afternoon the Mets announced their plans to honor the heroes and volunteers who responded to Hurricane Sandy. On Opening Day, (Monday April 1st) the Mets will host an on field ceremony before the first pitch to recognize those who put their own lives on the line to help others. Five hundred first responders will be honored in the ceremony from over ten different organizations including the Army National Guard and the New York Police and Fire Departments.
In addition to the on field ceremony itself, the Mets have donated one thousand tickets to volunteer citizens and actual victims. Those who received tickets include a a Habitat for Humanity group that is currently helping families rebuild. In addition, singer and actress Emmy Rossum will sing the national anthem along with a fifty member choir from the Scholars’ Academy in Far Rockaway. The Mets hosted children from this very organization at their annual holiday party in December.
Not only is this ceremony designed as a reminder that the volunteerism must continue, the Opening Day ceremony kicks off a season long campaign by the Mets the encourage fans to help each other in the community. The Mets have plans to announce even more programs to honor Hurricane Sandy Heroes in the future.
Even Mets’ players have been jumping in to help on their own time, as David Wright, Johan Santana, Jonathan Niese, Dillon Gee, Bobby Parnell and Daniel Murphy have all volunteered in the relief efforts. In December, David Wright and the Mets Foundation donated $250,000 towards the efforts. Mets’ prospect Gavin Cecchini also gave ten thousand dollars of his signing bonus to the relief efforts.
Overall, the Mets have been doing a fantastic job helping the city of New York recover and rebuild. The ceremony itself will serve as a special tribute and reminder to all of us. It is nice to see everyone on the team helping out too, and it is a fine example to the fans that any assistance can make a big difference. I can not think of a better way to honor these heroes than an Opening Day Ceremony with the first responders present. Hopefully the Mets can come through with an Opening Day victory with all of the volunteers and first responders present.
