Sun Life and the Royals celebrate 5 years of #StrikeoutDiabetes campaign; raise $50,000 for Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City

WELLESLEY, Mass. and KANSAS CITY, Mo., Sept. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As the Royals approach the close of the baseball season, Royals Charities and Sun Life have closed out the fifth annual #StrikeoutDiabetes campaign, which raises money to support diabetes prevention initiatives with Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City. For each strikeout the Royals make, Sun Life and the Royals donate $23, representing that a diabetes diagnosis takes place every 23 seconds in the U.S. With great performances from the mound, particularly from Brady Singer and Daniel Lynch, Royals pitching raised more than $24,000. In recognition of the fifth year of the program, Sun Life increased the donation to $50,000.

"Many members of our community rely on Boys & Girls Clubs for activities and programs that help them live healthier lives," said Jason Roth, vice president of Resource Development, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City. "With the support of this great program from Sun Life and the Royals, we can continue supporting kids in Kansas City as they learn how to stay active and develop healthy lifestyle habits."

On the field at last night's game against the Minnesota Twins, Sun Life and the Royals presented a giant check for $50,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City.

"We are committed to supporting the Kansas City community in diabetes prevention and healthy living," said Joi Tillman, head of Commercial Dental and Vision at DentaQuest, a Sun Life company. "Partnering with the Royals supports our mission of helping underserved communities in Kansas City and across the country access the health services they need."

"We are pleased to continue this great program with Sun Life in supporting Boys & Girls Clubs, an important institution in Kansas City," said Amanda Grosdidier, senior director Community Investments & executive director of Royals Charities. "With another season coming to a close, we look forward to next year and continuing to work with Sun Life in supporting health and wellness of the people of Kansas City."

Since the beginning of Sun Life's partnership with the Royals, #StrikeoutDiabetes has raised $350,000 for local area organizations. In addition to programs with the Royals, Sun Life partners with the American Diabetes Association to support it's Project Power youth program. Sun Life also offers the annual Team Up Against Diabetes grant program, which supports diabetes prevention, nutrition access, and health service programs that focus on underserved communities of color – populations that are disproportionately impacted by diabetes. To date, Sun Life has given more than $32 million globally to diabetes causes. For more information about Sun Life's partnerships and diabetes programs, visit www.sunlife.com/usdiabetes.

About Sun Life
Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing asset management, wealth, insurance and health solutions to individual and institutional Clients. Sun Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of June 30, 2022, Sun Life had total assets under management of C$1.26 trillion. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

In the United States, Sun Life is one of the largest group benefits providers, serving more than 55,000 employers in small, medium and large workplaces across the country. Sun Life's broad portfolio of insurance products and services in the U.S. includes disability, absence management, life, dental, vision, voluntary and medical stop-loss. Sun Life and its affiliates in asset management businesses in the U.S. employ approximately 5,500 people. Group insurance policies are issued by Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (Wellesley Hills, Mass.), except in New York, where policies are issued by Sun Life and Health Insurance Company (U.S.) (Lansing, Mich.). For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com/us.

About Royals Charities
Created in 2001, Royals Charities strives to support children, education, youth baseball/softball, and military in and around the Kansas City area. With the support of Royals fans and corporate partners, the foundation accomplishes this mission by providing grant funding to community organizations. Royals Charities has donated more than $21 million dollars in grants since its inception. For more information visit www.royals.com/royalscharities. 

About Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City
For one hundred ten years, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City has provided youth, ages 5-18, a fun and safe environment for them to learn, play, meet new friends and grow -- with special emphasis on youth who need us most. From sports, digital arts and media to group activities and tutoring, the Clubs provide caring adult mentors, friendship and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours.

Priority programs emphasize academic success, good character, citizenship and healthy lifestyles to more than 1,000 area youth each day. Whether it is learning how an individual can make a difference in their community or how to swim – the Clubs strive to help youth feel important and put their dreams of a Great Future within reach.

More information about Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City can be found online at www.helpKCkids.org and www.facebook.com/helpkckids.

Media contacts:
Devon Fernald
Sun Life U.S.
781-800-3609
[email protected] 

Sharita Hutton
Sr. Director of Communications
Kansas City Royals
816-651-4576
[email protected] 

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SOURCE Sun Life U.S.