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In January 2001, the Phillies launched Phillies Phundamentals, an after-school/summer camp program for children 7-12 years old that uses baseball to teach and reinforce academic skills. Through a partnership with the Philadelphia Department of Recreation, Phillies Phundamentals initially launched in five recreation centers throughout Philadelphia.
Since its inception, Phillies Phundamentals has taken place in 30 different locations and reaches approximately 2,000 children each year.
Phillies Phundamentals is broken into two school-year sessions -- fall and spring -- and a summer session. During the school year, Phillies Phundamentals is held at each location one day a week for approximately one hour after school. The after-school programs tend to have children who range in age from 6-12 years old, therefore lessons have to be constructed in such a manner that they can appeal to and educate a variety of ages.
The summer session of Phillies Phundamentals, the program is run in conjunction with the summer camp at each site. Like the school-year session, the summer session runs one day a week for approximately one hour. However, since summer camps are broken into age groups and enroll a larger number of children, lessons are conducted according to age and there are typically a number of sessions at each site.
Any academic subject can easily use baseball as a tool to educate. Phillies Phundamentals lessons have focused on mathematics by using player statistics, reading/literature, history, science, health, geography and art. The 2008 summer session of Phillies Phundamentals focused on the importance of recycling by focusing on the efforts of the Phillies Red Goes Green program and what they can do in their community to help the environment.
On Tuesday, August 25, 14 children from the Phillies Phundamentals summer camp educational program met at Citizens Bank Park and headed to the airport where they boarded a Southwest Airlines flight to Pittsburgh. Upon arrival in Pittsburgh, the children, who were selected because they were an All-Star in the Phillies Phundamentals program at their recreation center, spent the day at The Children's Museum of Pittsburgh where they created works of art in the craft room, put on an impromptu play in the theater and built bridges and learned how to fix cars in the garage workshop. After an action-packed day, the group returned to Philadelphia tired but filled with memories and new friends that they met during their exciting day! The trip was made possible by Phillies Phundamentals sponsor Southwest Airlines who provided seats on the flights to and from Pittsburgh for the group. 
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On July 28, 2009 11 children from the Phillies Phundamentals educational summer camp program met at Citizens Bank Park and travelled to the The Franklin Institute where they explored space in the Star Trek exhibit and Space Command, learned about the functions of the heart, witnessed the dissection of an eyeball and enjoyed the IMAX feature Under the Sea.
Upon their return to the ballpark they received a tour of the ballpark including a special stop in the clubhouse and a viewing of the World Series Trophy.
Phillies Phundamentals Chairman, pitcher Ryan Madson met with the children of Ferko Recreation Center at the ballpark.
He spoke to them about his childhood, the importance of a good education, and also how he became a Major League Baseball player.
He left time for the children to ask questions and, at the conclusion, he gave them each an autograph photo card.
Southwest Airlines became the Phillies Phundamentals sponsor in 2004 and each year offers one child from each site the opportunity to participate in a special day trip. On August 18 thirteen children who were selected by their centers to be part of a special daytrip to Pittsburgh, Pa. The children were called the "Phillies Phundamentals All-Stars" because each child exemplified the meaning of being a good teammate. Early that morning, the All-Stars met at Citizens Bank Park and traveled to Philadelphia International Airport where they were met by Southwest Airlines' Karen Dunlop who guided the group through security. Many of the children had never flown before so this was all new to them. Some had butterflies in their stomachs but once they boarded the plane their apprehension quickly turned to excitement as they saw the objects on the ground become smaller and smaller during takeoff. Once in Pittsburgh they were greeted by Southwest Airlines' Ken Walter who traveled with them to The Children's Museum where they visited various exciting and educational exhibits. The children had made recycled paper, crawled through an elevated maze, and walked around a room with numerous optical illusions. They finished the day with a stop in the gift shop to select a souvenir before heading back to Pittsburgh International for their flight home. When they were reunited with their parents that night they were exhausted but filled with memories and new friends met on their exciting day trip.
Phillies Phundamentals participants from the summer session of the program were invited to attend a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 25.
During the pregame ceremony, a short presentation thanking Southwest Airlines was held on the field. A brief slideshow of the trip to Pittsburgh was shown in the background as Phillies Phundamentals participants presented Southwest Airlines and Phillies Phundamentals Chairman Ryan Madson with a thank you gift.
We are always looking for volunteers to work with Phillies Phundamentals.
If you are interested in volunteering for the program or simply would like to receive more information e-mail fandev@phillies.com or call 215.463.1000.
