Lake Erie Crushers owner Tom Kramig said that owning a minor league baseball team is “a gift.”
To properly make use of that gift, the team has made a point to give back to the wider Northeast Ohio community that has shown them so much support over the years, Kramig said.
This year, the Crushers helped out various nonprofits through the use of Crushers Stadium, 2009 Baseball Blvd. in Avon, and the team.
I Wear Grey For Calvin, a nonprofit for helping families going through hard times, held one of the team’s biggest fundraising events for the past three years, Kramig said.
“I want to say this is the third year that they’ve done this out at the ball park, and it’s a ticketing fundraiser,” he said. “We give them tickets at a discount, they turn around and sell them, and they’re able to keep the profit.
“They also do our 50/50 raffle that night, and it’s a good cause.”
I Wear Grey For Calgin was founded by the Yeager family after their son, Calvin, lost his battle with cancer in 2015.
The organization is “here to make the hard times easier,” they said, and raised over $1,000 in ticket sales for their 2023 fundraiser.
Kramig said the Crushers, as a family-friendly organization, are always looking for new organizations to support.
I Wear Grey For Calvin is one of many consistent annual fundraisers, and nonprofits are connecting with the Crushers all the time, he said.
“We don’t have trouble finding groups; they find us, quite honestly,” Kramig said. “A lot of these groups will reach out to us.
“We have groups that we’ve worked with for quite a long time, some of them were even here before I got here in 2016. Most of them reach out to us because our reputation as a vehicle for fundraising is pretty well-established in the community.”
Keeping that reputation is of utmost importance for what Kramig wants the Crushers to do in the wider community.
He said the team hopes to continue its annual fundraisers as part of its mission statement each season.
“Using the team, and using the Crushers as a vehicle to help the community, is something we need to continue to promote,” Kramig said. “We do that through a lot of different ways, like the (annual) Community Impact Report.”
The Crushers also partnered with Super Heroes to Kids in Ohio this year, Kramig said.
The organization’s mission is to “spread joy to children facing adversity” he said.
This year, the nonprofit hosted Superhero Night at Crushers Stadium.
Kramig stressed that the fundraising is a core part of the identity of the Crushers.
Those looking to get involved with the team for a 2024 fundraiser, can visit lakeeriecrushers.com to contact the team.
“It’s just something we believe in, giving back to the community,” Kramig said. “We live here, our staff works here.
“We are supported by the local community, so we want to support worthy causes that help the community and make Cleveland’s west side a better place to live.”
