Read the official press release here

Thursday, April. 1st -- For the third year in a row, The Hamels Foundation and Philadelphia Baseball Tournaments are teaming up for charitable efforts. As we continue to adjust to living our lives through a pandemic, there are still parts of the world lacking the valuable resources to adjust. Malawi, Africa is one of them. 

Malawi is home to the Namunda Primary School, established by The Hamels Foundation in 2012, which provides education and resources for 400 students each day. Due to the spike of cases in Malawi, the school was forced to operate at a limited capacity after being shut down completely for an extended period of time. The school not only provides education to the students but also a safe environment that protects them from external issues like youth pregnancy and human trafficking. It’s pretty clear the presence of the Namunda Primary School is essential for the children in Malawi. Recently, the vaccine has been made available in Malawi with 360,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine under the Covax agreement, with another million expected by the end of May. More will be needed to protect the population of 19 million, but this is a significant step in improving the country's well-being and relieving the healthcare system.

At the beginning of March, Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera, received the country’s first vaccination against COVID-19. 

“I have volunteered to be the first one to be vaccinated so that you can see the vaccine is safe.” - President Lazarus Chakwera, Zomba Vaccination Site. 

"We must take this vaccine to ensure that everyone is protected from COVID-19. We must take this vaccine to protect health workers who risk their lives to care for COVID-19 patients. We must take this vaccine to protect teachers from infection so that they can continue the work of educating tomorrow’s leaders.”

Our focus this memorial day will be “Back to Baseball” to share in celebration of Malawi receiving vaccinations and discuss the positive impacts of uplift developing countries in this way and highlight the importance of education. In addition to shining a spotlight on our frontline workers for their sacrifice and courage during the pandemic to be able to get back on the diamond again and enjoy baseball safely. Safety is our #1 priority as we return to the diamond this summer. The Philadelphia Baseball Tournaments staff has implemented new ground rules to best assure the safety and health of our players, coaches, and parents. We ask everyone in attendance to please follow our new COVID-19 Ground Rules. Other COVID-19 safety precautions include sanitized and pre-packed Cole Hamels & The Hamels Foundation donation items, maintained social distance at The Hamels Foundation booth, and credit card transactions instead of cash.

The Hamels Foundation will be on-site to learn more information, donate, purchase official THF apparel along with awesome Cole Hamels memorabilia with all proceeds going towards a great cause. The winner from each age bracket will be presented with a check containing the dollar amount being donated to The Hamels Foundation.

Each Age Bracket Champion will donate $500 towards The Hamels Foundation & COVID-19 Relief in Malawi.

Follow our mission on social by engaging with The Hamels Foundation and Philly Baseball Tournaments:

Twitter:  @TheHamels - @PBTourneys

Instagram: @thehamelsfoundation - @philly_baseballtournaments

Facebook:  @hamelsfoundation - @PhillyBaseballTournaments