Northwest Arkansas Naturals: Natural Fits in our Community

The Naturals are proud to call Northwest Arkansas and Arvest Ballpark home.

We strive to be an active force in the local communities as much as possible. Whether through charity partnerships, youth baseball, the Knothole Gang kid's club, donations, or appearances, the Naturals look to be a driving presence in all aspects of the community in Northwest Arkansas.  After all, our staff lives and works here, too. We will be invested in our product, giving fans a place to relax and have fun. But we will also be invested in partnerships with schools, charities, and other community organizations.

Here is just some of what we have been able to accomplish so far:

The Naturals increased their giving to local charities, community organizations and schools during the team's 2011 season. The Naturals, with the help of several of the team's corporate partners and its fans, donated a value of more than $200,000 this season in cash, donations and benefits.

The Naturals made donations of tickets and baseball memorabilia to charity fundraising events all over Northwest Arkansas. During the 2011 season 2,000 tickets were donated to silent auctions, and non-ticket donations to those auctions amounted to over $10,000. In addition, through Proctor and Gamble's Bat Brigade program, tickets were donated each weekend to underprivileged youth for them to experience a Naturals baseball game.

The Naturals donated thousands of additional tickets for community-based initiatives. Over 3,000 tickets were donated to Title 1 students so that they were able to enjoy a School Kids Day game in 2011. These are children that otherwise would not have the opportunity to come experience Naturals baseball. Tickets were also donated as part of the Naturals Summer Reading Program. In 2011, over 2,000 tickets were donated to children who met their summer reading goal through their local library. Children who participated in the contest got two tickets to a game and were able to participate in a pre-game parade on the field. The Naturals made visits to several local libraries to kick off this program and get children excited to meet their goals.

The Naturals' Pink in the Park night to benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation was also a success in the 2011 season. Players wore pink jerseys which were auctioned off during the game, raising over $3,000 to fight cancer. The auction winners were able to go onto the field post-game and get the jersey off the back of the player, as well as get it autographed and get pictures with the player. For the fourth year, the Naturals also participated in the summertime CBCO Bleed Blue Thursday Blood Drive. All participants received tickets to a game and a free Naturals CBCO Bleed Blue Thursday t-shirt. Other community awareness days at Arvest Ballpark, such as the Ozark Guidance Teal in the Park Night, Bikers Against Child Abuse at several Sunday games, Bark in the Ballpark, and the American Red Cross which supported Joplin relief, served to increase awareness and give local non-profits a platform to educate the community on their causes.

New in 2011, the Naturals started the Community Partners Program that offered fundraising and free advertising opportunities to local organizations. Just a few of the many organizations that partnered with the Naturals through this program was the Kendrick Fincher Foundation, Children Miracle Network, Victory Walk, and Jonathan's Play Safe. In addition to raising funds, they had a table on the concourse to interact with fans and went on the Naturals radio broadcast all to increase awareness throughout the community on what their organization stands for. The Naturals also offered a Performance Fundraising program for choirs, bands, orchestras, dance, and cheerleading groups through local schools and programs.  In 2011 alone, the Naturals partnered with 106 schools and organizations to raise $101,149. Fundraising opportunities were a huge success within the community in 2011, and are sure to be bigger in 2012!

This past season, Naturals staff, players and mascot Strike were also busy away from the ballpark, with the staff giving more than 300 volunteer hours and the players and mascots chipping in over 250 hours to community service and appearances. The ballpark was also buzzing with community activities on off days and during the off-season, hosting charity functions like the 2011 Mini Grand Prix, Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk,  ADA Tour d'Cure and multiple other events.

For more information about the Naturals efforts with local charities or how you can get your non-profit involved, please call (479) 927-4900 or continue to browse the 'community' tab of our website.