Kyle Schwarber honored local first responders before Tuesday’s game — then hit a home run
The Phillies designated hitter has awarded more than $1.5 million in grants through his Neighborhood Heroes foundation.
Kyle Schwarber made a pit stop before the first game of the Phillies’ current homestand Tuesday: a fire station in South Philly, to honor local first responders.
Schwarber and his wife, Paige, met with firefighters at the station (Engine 60 / Ladder 19 / Medic 37) for lunch, gifted them custom T-shirts, and took his sons for a tour of the inside of a fire truck. The designated hitter also took photos and signed jerseys for the families in attendance.
Later that day in batting practice, Schwarber met with members from Families Behind the Badge Children’s Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the families of fallen and critically injured first responders.
And of course, he hit a two-run home run in his first at-bat of the Phillies’ 7-6 walk-off win.
The couple founded Schwarber’s Neighborhood Heroes to support wellness, education, and crisis needs for police, fire, and military personnel and their families. Schwarber’s father is a former police chief, his mother a former dispatcher, and his sister is a police department employee.
“The baseball thing happened to work out, but now I get to hang out with you guys and see what you guys do on a daily basis,” Schwarber said at the station.
Schwarber’s Neighborhood Heroes foundation has awarded more than $1.5 million in grants to local and national nonprofits, such as the Philadelphia Police and Fire Department Foundations, Families Behind the Badge Children’s Foundation, TAPS, Team Foster, and USO.