Toronto Blue Jays Fans Organize On Social Media To Donate To Pittsburgh Charities
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- PNC Park will not host the Toronto Blue Jays this season after all.
But Canadian baseball fans were pleased with the potential welcome while it lasted. Some fans were so pleased with the Pirates' and PNC Parks' efforts that they opened their wallets to say thank you.
Life-long Jays fan Emily Martin, from Canada, told KDKA on Wednesday morning that she tweeted at her fellow fans, asking them to donate to Pittsburgh charities as a sign of gratitude.
Hey Jays fans!
— Emily is on the IL ???? (@JaysGirlEmily) July 22, 2020
I think we should collectively do something nice for the city of Pittsburg for giving our team a home, and basically taking on 2x the risk.
As a thank-you, I'm going to donate to a Pittsburgh food bank. I encourage you to do the same (if you're able to)
"A pretty obvious connection would be any charity that the Pirates themselves support," said Martin.
The tweet took off, gaining hundreds of retweets, comments, and likes in a matter of hours. The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and Roberto Clemente Foundation were just a couple of the local charities that saw donations.
"The generosity does not surprise me at all," said Martin.
KDKA spoke to some Pirates fans who said they didn't care if the team had company, they just miss summers at the ballpark.
"Maybe you can sneak a peek at a building downtown, but outside of that, I'm not sure the benefit I get," said Zach Lipsitz from Squirrel Hill.
Following the state's announcement that the Blue Jays can't come to PNC Park, Martin said she doesn't believe fans jumped the gun on donating because "fans have always spent their money on far more frivolous things, and giving to charity is not something she will ever regret."