Yankees Bring HOPE to CAP Kids at the Garden

Posted in Around the Garden on June 29 2012, by Ann Rafalko

The Bronx’s own New York Yankees wrapped up HOPE Week 2012 (Helping Others Persevere & Excel) today in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden by celebrating the Children’s Alopecia Program (CAP) and the group’s founders, the Woytovich family. The Yankees say that HOPE Week is “rooted in the fundamental belief that acts of goodwill provide hope and encouragement to more than just the recipient of the gesture.” After spending a few hours mingling with the kids affected by this autoimmune disease and the club’s players, my face hurt from smiling, and I left with the opinion that HOPE Week does indeed bring joy to everyone it touches.

Yankees head coach Joe Girardi and former Rutgers football player and HOPE Week 2012 ambassador Eric LeGrand were joined by current and past players including Reggie Jackson, Alex Rodriguez, Ivan Nova, Raul Ibanez, Darryl Strawberry, Freddy Garcia, Andruw Jones, Cory Wade, Dewayne Wise, and David Wells, amongst others. The Yankees–aided by teens from the Garden’s teen Explainers program–joined the CAP kids in completing scavenger hunts, planting terrariums, playing hopscotch, and painting faces (or, in some cases, had their heads painted for them). While the weather was hot, a good time was had by all, and we’re hoping for a Yankees win tonight against the Chicago White Sox, where the CAP kids and their parents will be cheering the Bronx Bombers on at Yankee Stadium!

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