Rainiers, Defiance donating $5 from each hat sale during COVID-19 pandemic to Hero Meals
When professional baseball and soccer will return to Tacoma remains in question due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but fans can still purchase the city’s favorite hats — and donate to a local cause while doing it.
The Tacoma Rainiers and Tacoma Defiance announced Wednesday that $5 from each hat sale the online team store records will be sent to the Hero Meals project, which supports Tacoma restaurants and South Sound essential workers.
“These are unique circumstances, but if you can, head to the online We R Tacoma Team Store, buy a new Rainiers or Defiance hat to rep Tacoma in a time when city pride is so valued, and don it proudly knowing that you did your part to give back to those working to keep R City safe, and fed,” the fundraiser website says.
“This Is R City. Let’s rally together and support a project that truly matters to Tacoma.”
The indirect $5 donations can be made by purchasing Rainiers hats or Defiance hats, while larger donations can be made directly to the participating restaurants through the Hero Meals website.
“Hero Meals gives a handful of exceptional Tacoma restaurants the opportunity to re-open their doors and do so for a deserving cause, which is making the lives of essential workers easier,” Rainiers and Defiance president Aaron Artman said in a release.
Hero Meals was established in April through the Downtown Tacoma Partnership with the goal of delivering 100 meals three days per week to frontline workers — including health care workers, first responders, law enforcement, grocery workers and others — serving the community.
For every $25 raised, three meals are donated from one of the participating restaurants downtown, which include Alma Mater, Happy Belly, Indochine, Pita Pit, Stink, The Swiss, The Koi, Wooden City and Zeeks Pizza.
As of this week, Hero Meals has raised $25,000 from 150 donors, and has delivered 2,000 meals with 800 more already scheduled, the release says.
“It is important to show support to all the frontline workers because we are all in this together, every single person,” Carol Anne McQuade of The Swiss said in a release. “They are carrying some of the heaviest burdens in the fight against COVID-19 because they are exposed to the virus on a more regular basis than the average citizen.”
The Rainiers and Defiance will make incremental donations to Hero Meals as hat sales are made, the release says.
The “R Hat R City” fundraiser is a reboot of the fundraiser the Rainiers started in November, when hat sales helped benefit the solar panel project at Tacoma’s Jason Lee Middle School.
This story was originally published May 21, 2020 at 11:27 AM with the headline "Rainiers, Defiance donating $5 from each hat sale during COVID-19 pandemic to Hero Meals."
