HISTORICAL OVERVIEW Dave Winfield was one of the first active athletes to establish a charitable foundation.  From its humble beginnings in 1975, to an internationally acclaimed substance abuse prevention initiative, the David M. Winfield Foundation, with its $4 million endowment (funded primarily by Winfield himself), provided the following services to underprivileged youth and families in need. PAVILION PROGRAM (1975-1991) In 1975, Dave began buying blocks of tickets to Padres baseball games for children in San Diego.  The program was expanded throughout National League cities, and to American League cities when Winfield joined the Yankees in 1981. In 1978, Dave planned to bring 500 kids to the All-Star Game, hosted in San Diego that year.  In a radio interview the day before, he inadvertently invited "all the kids of San Diego" to attend.  Over 10,000 showed up -- and Dave brought them all into batting practice.  The sponsors brought in more food and souvenirs, and a dozen athletes (including then baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn) were on hand to sign autographs.  It was the first open All-Star batting practice. The Foundation staged similar All-Star events for the next 6 years.  Major League Baseball has since opened All-Star batting practice to the community -- raising funds for local charities -- as a result of this Foundation program. SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS (from 1976) Dave gave back to his hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota, by creating the Winfield Student-Athlete Award in 1976 -- and continues to this day.  It recognizes and provides financial awards to outstanding high school graduates.     This program was brought to New York City (1981-1986), where $40,000 was awarded annually to students from public schools.  Additionally, the Foundation provided scholarship awards to the winners of the citywide Spelling Bee, Art Expo, Orchestra, Chorus, Science and Golden Hoops competitions. Over 400 Winfield Scholarship recipients have attended Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Julliard, Morehouse School of Medicine, NYU, Pace, Princeton and Yale. HEALTHFAIRS/CLINICS (1977-1987) In conjunction with the Scripps Clinic in San Diego, the Foundation introduced H.O.P.E.  (Health Optimization Planning and Education), a program that combined proper diet, exercise and full medical and dental checkups. Prior to a Pavilion game, clinics were conducted at the stadium parking lot.  When the program was expanded to Minnesota and New York, the Foundation utilized on-site at hospitals and community centers in under-served areas.  Over 50,000 kids have benefited from these healthcare services. HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS (1981-1986) By far everyone's favorite program, the Foundation distributed toys, clothing and complete holiday dinners to over 12,000 families-in-need at Holiday Celebrations in New York and New Jersey. SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION (from 1985) In 1985, the primary focus of the Winfield Foundation became substance abuse prevention.  When research revealed that kids began experimenting with drugs at age 10, the Foundation spearheaded early intervention. In conjunction with such notable children's advocates as Sesame Street, the Foundation introduced TURN IT AROUND! -- a lifeskills development program for children 8-12.  The 22-minute video, 32 page activity guide, and full-day training seminar was adopted by such major corporations as Merck and General Foods.  TURN IT AROUND! was translated into Spanish and became a leading prevention tool in public schools in Puerto Rico. WIN WITH WINFIELD (1992) When Dave joined the Toronto Blue Jays, he created Win With Winfield -- a season-long fundraising campaign to benefit the children of Toronto.  Over $80,000 was raised for Children's Breakfast Clubs in public schools.