REMINDER: Oriole Advocates Collecting Used Equipment in August

The Oriole Advocates will be collecting used (but still usable) baseball/softball equipment at two separate venues in August.

The first, on Saturday, August 3, when the Aberdeen Ironbirds host the Brooklyn Cyclones. The game begins at 7:05 p.m. and gates open one hour before first pitch.

The second, on Sunday, August 18, will be at Oriole Park at Camden Yards when the Orioles host the Boston Red Sox. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. and gates open two hours before first pitch.

Collection stations will be set up near all open entry gates to both ballparks. Simply drop your equipment into the provided bins on your way into the game.

Collected equipment will support the Advocates’ Cardboard to Leather program, which distributes donated baseball/softball equipment to organized baseball programs in need.

The Oriole Advocates will also accept financial donations to help offset the costs associated with storage and shipment of the collected equipment. Cash donations will be accepted on site; electronic donations can be made from this secure link:

https://checkout.square.site/merchant/MLVDZVA352BA7/checkout/6WIGUKIDRVAKUQ6E2X5KLGDQ

Arrangements can also be made to collect large equipment donations; please e-mail oadvocates@orioleadvocates.org for assistance.

Along with the equipment collections, there will be a silent auction of sports memorabilia. A display area will be set up on the lower concourse near Home Plate Plaza.

Cardboard to Leather was inspired in 1992 by a John Eisenberg article in “The Baltimore Sun” about kids in the Dominican Republic using tree limbs for bats and making gloves out of cardboard boxes and tape. Since then, the Oriole Advocates’ Cardboard to Leather program has distributed over 100 tons of equipment to baseball organizations run by schools, orphanages, community groups, hospitals, and other civic organizations. The distributed equipment is owned by the recipient organizations and is not distributed to individuals; the intent is for the equipment to be shared and re-used. Locally, the Frederick Douglass High School baseball team was a recent recipient of Cardboard to Leather donations. Other recipients have included baseball supporting organizations in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Aruba, Nicaragua, and elsewhere. Besides the annual events at Camden Yards, the Oriole Advocates will coordinate equipment collections at other locations on request.

“Cardboard to Leather” is a registered trademark of The Oriole Advocates, Inc., an organization dedicated to promoting and stimulating interest in baseball/softball in the Baltimore Metropolitan Area and around the world.