ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The Lehigh Valley IronPigs’ Strike Out Cancer Night in June raised $25,000 to help Lehigh Valley cancer patients and their families, the team announced Tuesday.
The money goes to Cancer Support Community – Greater Lehigh Valley, an Allentown organization that runs support programs for people affected by cancer, and the Prager Patient Assistance Fund, which helps patients at Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute with day-to-day nonmedical expenses while they are in treatment.
The game was June 16 at Coca-Cola Park. The total was just finalized and includes all of the night’s fundraising, Sam Jellinek, the team’s manager of broadcasting and media relations, said in an email. It is split between the two, he said.
Over nine years, Strike Out Cancer has raised more than $160,000 for cancer charities, the team said. Before this year’s game, the team put the total from the first eight years at more than $135,000.
The IronPigs played the Worcester Red Sox that night. Players wore jerseys carrying the names of more than 50 people who have battled, survived or are fighting cancer, gathered from Lehigh Valley residents on social media. Every jersey carried the same names.
The jerseys were auctioned off, and the money was combined with the night’s 50/50 drawing for Cancer Support Community and the Prager fund. The team also sold Strike Out Cancer T-shirts in its Clubhouse Store, with all proceeds going to the two, and said sponsorship sales for the night benefited them as well.
A $5,000 donation from the Tri-State Toyota Dealers Association, which presented the night with the Topper Cancer Institute, is part of the total, Jellinek said. The team announced the gift in June.
Kurt Koch, the association’s treasurer, said this was its third year backing the event. “We’re proud of what was accomplished this year and grateful to have played a role in such an important cause,” he said.
During the game, fans held up placards with the names of people close to them who have been affected by cancer for a moment of silence. Sponsors helped the team give complimentary tickets to hundreds of cancer survivors and people who help fight the disease daily, the team said.
The Topper Cancer Institute is part of Jefferson Health. The IronPigs announced in September that, under a partnership with Jefferson, their ballpark will be renamed Jefferson Park beginning with the 2027 season.
