Portland Sea Dogs and KeyBank team up for KeyBank Assists Program 

PORTLAND, Maine – Portland Sea Dogs and KeyBank, a long-time sponsor, are collaborating on a #KeyBank Assists in-game promotion to support Portland-based nonprofit Cooking for Community. For every assist recorded by the Sea Dogs during ALL home games throughout the entire season, KeyBank pledges a donation of $10 per assist, up to $10,000 total for the season.

“The Sea Dogs are proud to partner with KeyBank to assist Cooking for Community and their mission to feed those in need and support local restaurants,” Said Geoff Iacuessa, the president and general manager of the Portland Sea Dogs. “KeyBank shares our commitment to the community, together we can hit out of the park to help to make a lasting impact.”

Cooking for Community is an all-volunteer organization addressing hunger in Maine by hiring local restaurants and food producers economically impacted by the pandemic to prepare healthy meals for people who are food insecure. The nonprofit’s social service affiliates then distribute these comforting, easy-to-reheat meals to underserved populations. Ninety-eight percent of all funding raised by Cooking for Community goes directly to restaurant and food-producing partners. Since its inception in early April 2020, over 100,000 meals have been purchased to feed the hungry and support local restaurants and growers who are central to our community and the economic viability of Maine’s vibrant food culture.

“We are honored and grateful to be selected by the Portland Sea Dogs and Keybank as the recipient of their #Keybank Assists fundraising efforts. The support raised by this collaboration will fuel our work supporting local restaurants and feeding our most needy neighbors, dishing out nourishment and dignity to many.” Ellie Linen Low, Organizer, Cooking for Community.

KeyBank’s involvement in the Sea Dog’s in-game promotion is part of the bank’s #KeyBank Assists program, launched a year ago to support local businesses and communities impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, #KeyBank Assists has donated more than $550,000 to communities across the bank’s 15-state footprint and supported 38 charities and 105 small businesses. KeyBank’s donation through the Sea Dog promotion will go directly to Cooking for Community to support small businesses in Maine’s food producing industries, as well as help to fight hunger across the state.

“COVID-19 and its impact has touched so many in our community, particularly those already in vulnerable situations, including restaurants and other small businesses that are so important to our local economy,” said KeyBank Maine Market President. Chip Kelley. “We are proud to partner with the Portland Sea Dogs and Cooking for Community to help fight hunger and support a number of local small businesses in this innovative way.”

KeyBank currently has 42 branches in Maine. The bank has been a sponsor of the Portland Sea Dogs since the inaugural season in 1994.

Learn more about the KeyBank Assists at www.key.com/keybankassists.

About Portland Sea Dogs:

The Portland Sea Dogs are the Double-A Northeast League affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. In 28 seasons the Sea Dogs have welcomed over 10 million fans to Hadlock Field in Portland, Maine. The Sea Dogs have been awarded two of Minor League Baseball’s most coveted awards, the John H. Johnson President’s Trophy, Minor League Baseball’s most prestigious award, and the Bob Freitas Award, which is presented by Baseball America for long-term success. The Sea Dogs’ “Strike Out Cancer in Kids” program has raised over 5 million dollars for the Maine Children’s Cancer Program. Over 300 Sea Dogs players have played in the Major Leagues including some of today’s Red Sox stars including Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, and Christian Vazquez. For more information on the Sea Dogs visit seadogs.com. Follow the Sea Dogs on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

*About KeyCorp/KeyBank: *

KeyCorp's roots trace back 190 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $176.2 billion at March 31, 2021. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,100 branches and more than 1,400 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC.

About Cooking for Community:

Cooking for Community, a Portland, Maine-based non-profit organization, formed in April 2020 in response to the local economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 crisis. Restaurants and food suppliers were in trouble, people were hungry and social service agencies were stretched thin. We asked a daring question: What if we created a model that could address these issues – simultaneously? Thus, Cooking for Community came together to raise money to support restaurants to prepare nourishing meals; to encourage them to use locally sourced ingredients whenever possible; to coordinate with our agency partners to get the food where it was most needed. Our success is humbling. Over the past year, Cooking for Community has provided over 100,000 meals. We are an all-volunteer organization, with countless hours logged by a dedicated team of professionals who put this work into motion. As a result, we keep our overhead to near-nothing with 98 percent of monies raised going directly to programming. Combining these leadership efforts with support from hundreds of donors, advisors, organizers, kitchen workers, chefs, harvesters, and creative and nonprofit professionals enables us to achieve goals no single entity can deliver alone. Visit: https://www.cookingforcommunity.org/