Shorebirds Honored For Community Service

SALISBURY -- The South Atlantic League announced this week the Delmarva Shorebirds are the 2011 recipient of the prestigious South Atlantic League Club Merit award, which is presented annually to the team that exemplifies outstanding overall operations.

The Shorebirds hosted 70 regular season games at Perdue Stadium including the centerpiece of the season, the 2011 South Atlantic League “Strike Out Hunger” All-Star Game. Through the “Strike Out Hunger” initiative, the Shorebirds and the 13 other clubs in the SAL executed a unique campaign that raised over a quarter of a million meals for families in need on the Eastern Shore and the other markets around the league.

Local business leaders partnered with the team all season to help the “Strike Out Hunger” campaign. Perdue and the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore made a $10,000 contribution through the “Strike Out” promotion. For every strike out a Shorebirds pitcher recorded in the first half of the season, Perdue and the CFES each donated $10 to the initiative.

In addition to the “Strike Out Hunger” campaign, the Shorebirds also excelled in other areas this season. The Shorebirds also organized many successful community based programs like the “Hit the Books” program, which is a reading program for school-aged children on the Eastern Shore that encourages reading outside of the classroom. In 2011, over 40,000 students from over 100 schools on the Eastern Shore participated.