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Back in 2021, TalkNats started an initiative to collect items from the RCR program and donate them to the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, which supports young scholar athletes from Wards 7 and 8 in DC. You can see our very first post about the effort here:

Donate Your Unused Red Carpet Rewards Points to the Nationals Youth Academy).

The initiative has continued and grown each year. Last year we made our biggest contribution ever to the YBA — 164,214 points. Your efforts and generosity have brought a huge amount of attention to Nationals Philanthropies (sometimes referred to as Nats4Good) and to the Academy. And of course, they have brought joy and fun to the kids. You can see pictures of the swag delivered to the YBA from previous RCR points drives at the following links.

Shoutouts Attached to Swag Make for Good Vibes.

Final Update to 2023 RCR Points Drive

The Kids Will Really Love it (2022 Points Drive)

This year, your RCR points expire earlier than ever before, at 11:59 pm on November 1. Once again, instead of letting the points vanish, we humbly ask that you donate your unused points to a worthy cause — The TalkNats RCR Points Drive for 2025, which begins today.

WarningTrackPower, who has volunteered his baseball and mentoring skills to the YBA since 2017, is the engine behind this effort, with help and support from DonH and Section222. It’s also important to note that this is a collaborative effort of TalkNats and two Facebook groups: Nationals RCR Codes and DIEHARD NATIONALS FANS.

We are fortunate that the Nats’ RCR Team has again agreed to a streamlined process for donations, similar to what we had last year. Their staff will handle the points transfers and obtain the swag for us, which greatly simplifies combining all of our points and picking items to be donated to the YBA.

If you’d like to donate, simply send an email by no later than October 29 to TN.RCR.Points.Drive@gmail.com. Include the following information:

1. the email address associated with your account, and
2. the number of points you want to donate.

We, and the Nats’ RCR staff, will take it from there.

For those of you who do not have points to contribute, the Youth Baseball Academy, will, course, happily take your cash donations. Here’s the link for doing that. If you are at least 70 1/2 years old, you can make a tax free/deductible contribution from your IRA. And if you are even older (as some of us are…), those donations count toward your RMDs (Required Minimum Distribution).

Many of you know that WarningTrackPower has been both a mentor and volunteer coach at the Academy for almost nine years. As he has described, the Academy is much more than a baseball and softball venue for kids (both boys and girls). It provides tutoring, a quiet space for getting homework done, nutritional meals for kids who face food shortages at home, and more.

As part of the program, Academy staff gives special recognition every so often to the scholar athletes, not for athletic achievement, but to reward them for exemplary behavior. Things like helping a younger player learn a new skill or being friendly and welcoming to a new arrival who doesn’t know anyone and feels out of place.

The kids appreciate the praise and encouragement for good deeds just as much as for a good swing or a web gem in the field. And the items we provide as a result of your donations are a tangible supplement to that recognition.

Here’s one example WarningTrackPower shared concerning items your points have previously purchased.

Before practice starts the scholar athletes warm up by throwing soft mushy balls back and forth with coaches and volunteers. Often we are throwing to several girls and boys concurrently. I’m often impressed when someone forgoes their turn and gladly hands a ball off to another participant. Small but simple acts of kindness build lasting foundations for individuals and communities. When giving shout outs at the conclusion of practices I’ve mentioned the selflessness I’ve witnessed. Recently we’ve been rewarding such acts with those goofy but warm Curly W winter hats, which your RCR points helped procure. Warm heads and warm hearts are a great combination.

We are certain that this year’s points drive will once again bring a lot of holiday joy to these very impressive young people and deepen the ties between TalkNats and the Youth Baseball Academy. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send us an email at the address above. And thank you so much, in advance, for your donations!

A final note: When the three of us (along with Section 222’s and WTP’s Nats ticket rep) delivered the swag earlier this year, we learned that a few YBA graduates may very well be selected in the MLB draft within the next few years! They added, of course, that they could not share any details. But we will definitely share that news when it comes.