Barry Zito visits with Cpl Jared Hodl at the Strikeouts For Troops appreciation dinner in Arizona.

Strikeouts For Troops was founded by Barry Zito in April 2005 and since that time, some of the biggest names in baseball have joined our cause to pledge money to support our injured American service members and their families at the most critical times in their lives.

In 2011, Strikeouts For Troops will continue to build on the success of its previous years by developing new programs and activities to raise money for our wounded veterans. Today, Strikeouts For Troops grants are assisting troops recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC, National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, TX, and Naval Medical Center, San Diego, CA.

The importance of the Strikeouts For Troops fund can be most directly seen in the support it has meant for loved ones who now can travel to be near their family members during the most difficult of times and to help with the most immediate needs, including air flights and lodging, adaptive equipment for an easy transitions at home, help at the Gold Star Family Support Center at Fort Hood, or backpacks filled with toiletries and other necessities to those who arrive at the hospital with often just the clothes on their back. Other funds have been dedicated to support morale building events nationwide, the purchase of holiday gifts for military children, Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, telephone and gift cards, and even paid for baby sitting so families can stay close.

This effort is funded by contributions to the Strikeouts For Troops Fund, a 501 (c) 3 donor advised fund housed at The Community Foundation For the National Capital Region.