Philadelphia Phillies royalty gathered at Citizens Bank Park to help raise awareness and critical funds for homeless youth as part of Covenant’s House National Sleep Out.
“When these kids get out of foster homes, there is no place for them to go, and it’s easy for us to come out here for one night, try multiplying that by 365 days,” Former Phillies player and manager Larry Bowa said.
Covenant House provides shelter, care, and hope to young people, including more than 10,000 children in Philadelphia who have experienced homelessness in just the last school year. Sleep Out at the Ballpark came together through the partnership of two lifelong Phillies fans and club owner John Middleton.
“Homelessness is a near and dear philanthropy to my family; it’s our most important philanthropy, so it didn’t take a lot of convincing,” Middleton said.
More than 300 people will be sleeping out — the largest ever in Pennsylvania.
“Just the unique experience has allowed us to almost double the fundraising we have had for this event in Philadelphia before, so we’ve raised over a million dollars tonight,” Bill Bedrossian, the CEO and president of Covenant House International, said.
This is the first time ever participants will get a chance to sleep on a major league field as part of this event. Those at Citizens Bank Park say they are proud to make history for a very important cause.
Whitney Moore came to Covenant House when she was 18 years old.
“People are flooding shelters,” Moore said. “You see a lot of times they just run out of space even with parents that have young children. There is just there nowhere for them to go.”
For her and all those here, they’re hoping to shine a light on a reality facing so many each and every night.
“You never know what circumstances can come up that you end up in the same position and you would hope someone would be there for you,” Moore said.
