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PHILADELPHIA -- Roughly 5,000 miles from Citizens Bank Park, Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino and other athletes and celebrities played Wailea Golf Club's Gold Course in Hawaii on Saturday to benefit the Shane Victorino Foundation.
Not a bad place to hold a fundraiser.
"It's about giving back to the community," said Victorino, who launched his foundation in June with a $900,000 pledge to renovate Nicetown's Boys & Girls Club. "It's a good opportunity for people to come out, play a round of golf and enjoy a wonderful dinner for a good cause. It means a lot."
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The Phillies have hosted numerous events for numerous charities this year -- including Victorino's fashion show in August to raise money for the Nicetown facility -- and those events will continue during the holiday season.
Jimmy Rollins will serve as the honorary chairman this Saturday at the Constitution Center for "Philly's Men are Cookin," which benefits scholarships for Philadelphia public school students through The Ivy Legacy Foundation.
Phillies wives will unveil a new cookbook, which benefits Covenant House, the Pennsylvania shelter for homeless youth. There is the Phillies Charities holiday party Dec. 13 to honor those who represent the organizations who serve those in need. Grants will be awarded to dozens of local non-profit organizations and charities in the Delaware Valley.
There are other events throughout the community next month, including Dec. 17, when the Phillies' front office prepares and serves dinner to the homeless at the annual Bethesda Luncheon.
But well before the holiday season, people were at work.
Some of the events included:
• The "Get in the Game" bowling tournament on April 18 at North Bowl in Philadelphia, which raised more than $160,000 for Philadelphia Futures' Sponsor-A-Scholar Program, which helps low-income city students go to college.
• Chase and Jen Utley held All-Star Casino Night at Electric Factory on April 29, which raised $284,000 for the Etana Fund to stop cruelty against animals. Jen Utley made other appearances throughout the year for animal advocacy.
• The annual Phillies Phestival raised more than $800,000 to beat ALS. More than 6,800 fans showed up at the ballpark for the event, which was a record. Since the Phillies adopted ALS as their primary charity in 1984, they have raised more than $11.8 million to fight the disease.
• Rollins hosted his annual celebrity "BaseBOWL" tournament on June 3 at Lucky Strikes, where more than $174,000 was raised to benefit the Rollins Family Foundation and the Arthritis Foundation.
• Cole and Heidi Hamels awarded Alexander Wilson Elementary School $50,000 through the Hamels Foundation, which has awarded more than $90,000 in grants to local schools. Hamels also hosted a pitching clinic in August, which raised more than $44,000 for grant winners.
• Phillies ballgirls participated with Habitat for Humanity and collected thousands of toys at the ballpark for local charities during "Christmas in July."
• Ryan Howard held his celebrity servers event at Morton's Steak House in Philadelphia, which raised more than $115,000 for the Ryan Howard Family Foundation, which focuses on helping disadvantaged youth and families in Philadelphia.
• The popular annual Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Halloween Party, which more than 250 CHIP patients attended with their families, treated kids to giveaways, backpacks, food and games.
Phillies fans who arrive to the ballpark early might notice various groups watching batting practice behind home plate. Many times those groups are underprivileged youth or patients hosted by Utley, Rollins, Victorino, Raul Ibanez, Brad Lidge and Roy Halladay.
Several players, including Howard and Utley, also granted the wish of children participating in the Make A Wish Foundation.
Todd Zolecki is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
