The non-profit Memphis Redbirds Foundation is the first 501(c)(3) charitable organization in the United States to own a professional baseball franchise (the Memphis Redbirds

Memphis Redbirds

The Memphis Redbirds are the Triple-A minor league baseball affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They play their home games at AutoZone Park in downtown Memphis, Tennessee. The stadium's capacity is 14,320. They entered the Pacific Coast League as an expansion team in 1998, and were owned as a...

) and its playing facility, AutoZone Park

AutoZone Park

AutoZone Park is a minor league baseball stadium located in downtown Memphis, Tennessee and the home of the Memphis Redbirds of the Pacific Coast League, the AAA affiliate of the St...

. The foundation uses its funds to enable children to participate in sports across the Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

 area.

The RBI (Returning Baseball to the Inner-City)

RBI (Returning Baseball to the Inner-City)

TheRBI program is the Memphis Redbirds' implementation of RBI , a program sponsored by Major League Baseball in an attempt to renew interest in baseball in inner-city neighborhoods. The Memphis RBI program helps inner-city children, gives them safe summer activity uniforms, equipment, daily...

 program is an instructional baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 and softball

Softball

Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

 summer program for boys and girls ages 6-15. The children form teams that travel throughout the city to play each other.

The STRIPES (Sports Teams Returning In The Public Education System)

STRIPES (Sports Teams Returning In The Public Education System)

The STRIPES program is a community project supported by the Memphis Redbirds and the Memphis Redbirds Foundation...

program runs during the school year, and helps fund baseball and softball teams for middle and junior high schools in the Memphis City School System.

The foundation provides many things above and beyonds sports instruction. Although some emphasis is placed on baseball and softball skills, the primary function at each site is to teach young people teamwork, how to achieve goals, the importance of an education and how to become productive citizens of the city. These programs have given children a positive alternative to the dangers of drugs, gangs and violence that surround them. RBI also stresses the importance of reading by partnering with the library, Junior Achievement and other area programs. RBI is free to any child age 6-16 who would like to participate. The program provides each participant a baseball uniform and supplies lunch each day they are present at the site.