Baseball season is in full swing and the Indians aren't just doing well on the field, they're also doing good in the community.
The Boys And Girls Club in Cleveland has been benefiting from the Tribe's philanthropy and they say the money received is making a difference.
"I love baseball, I've been a baseball fan since I was like 8 years old," said Zayllianny Mojica.
The 18-year-old has already checked it off her bucket list.
“I’ve had this dream since I was little, that I would throw out the first pitch in a game. And then the Indians made that happen," she said.
That special moment last year is just one of the benefits from being named The Boys and Girls Club Youth of the Year.
“I’m the first person in my family to actually go to college for a degree and it's just...it means the world," she said.
She’s also received a $5,000 college scholarship and it's all thanks to the Cleveland Indians.
Nearly 100,000 people showed up at Progressive Field to cheer on the Tribe during the World Series away games, and those watch parties raised nearly $230,000. The team donated that money to organizations they support like the Boys And Girls Club.
“It’s ingrained, it is ingrained in our culture that it's important that we are good corporate citizens and community involvement is very, very important to us," said Bob DiBiasio, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs for the Cleveland Indians.
Alan Smith, Director of Operations at the Youth Center said they are still reaping the benefits.
“They've just been really instrumental in terms of providing our kids with exposures and with opportunities they just would not have independent of the Indians," he said.
As for Mojica, she says the scholarship has given her another reason to stay connected to the sport she loves and the team she admires.
"I think it's special because it shows that there are people out there that care about us and there are people out there that are willing to help us," she said.
The Indians collected about a half a million dollars throughout all of the last year for the charities they support, giving a significant amount of funds also to CMSD schools for their softball and baseball programs.
