Angels hold Strike out Slavery Night at the Big A

Saturday at the Big A, Albert and Deidre Pujols teamed up with the Angels to host “Strike out Slavery” night. The event was filled with 20 different organizations who are combating the spread of modern slavery. It was a family focused event with a DJ, face painting, balloons, and tons of information to be shared.

If you remember, back in August Josh did an awesome write up after the press conference announcing this initiative. Josh was out of town so I had the honor of covering this awesome event.

Other than the press info I received, I really had no idea what to expect at this event. I brought my video camera and my friend Kayla to help with photography. The first thing we noticed was that it was a very fun, and open event. This was by design, as Deidre Pujols wanted this to be family friendly and a very open environment to talk about a very real issues affecting women, children, men, and much to my surprise over 20 million people around the world (some sources say this number is more like 40 million).

I knew modern slavery and sex trafficking was a very real issue, but I was a bit blown away at all the awesome organizations that showed up to this event and the people, like Stacy Jewell Lewis, who have been a victim and was so willing to talk about her stories and help others who find themselves in the same or similar horrible situations.

This event was really something for the whole family. They had a DJ spinning tunes all night, face painting, balloons (and balloon animals, etc), a spot where you could take a pic with the hashtag #strikeoutslavery then go to the booth and pick up a snapshot of your image.

Of course the big draw was the information. Twenty organizations showed up to hand out pamphlets, share about what the mission and purpose is, and give away free stuff like child safety kits.

Strike out Slavery also hosted a contest for those who donated through a web site and the lucky winners (from Kansas City) were flown out to the game, put up at a hotel, given suite tickets and Nick was able to throw out the first pitch to Albert Pujols. The goodies didn’t end there as the couple also received an autographed 600 HR bat, autographed portrait, autographed ball, diamond club tickets for Sunday, and dinner with Albert and Deidre after Sunday’s game. The value of that prize tells you exactly how much this mission means to Albert and Deidre Pujols and how amazing it is for them to put their might and muscles behind this cause.

The money raised for this event went to eight non-profit organizations that Strike out Slavery partners with: OPEN GATE INTERNATIONAL, A21, FREE INTERNATIONAL, INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE MISSION, EXODUS CRY, INTERNATIONAL SANCTUARY, 27 MILLION & AGAPE INTERNATIONAL. In total - $400,000 was raised to help support these fine organizations and their efforts to end modern day slavery. All of these organizations joined Albert and Deidre Pujols on field before the game for the presentation of the check.

After the game, and after the amazing Saturday night fireworks display, Nick Jonas (who was performing on his birthday) put on a show for this special night. The fans who bought the special tickets in Left Field were also given access to be on field for the show.

Here is a list of other participants from the Strike out Slavery event:

The Grateful Garment Project
Rebecca Bender
Saddleback Church
Pathways/Project Renew
International Sanctuary
Together Freedom
Destiny Rescue
Open Gate International
Refuge for Women
Salvation Army
New Day for Children
Action Force

Video coming soon!
Meanwhile, check out this photo gallery of the event:

Grid View

• Photo: Kayla Hodge
• Photo: Kayla Hodge
• Photo: Kayla Hodge
• Contest winners. Nick threw out the first pitch to Albert! Photo: Kayla Hodge
• Deidre Pujols Photo: Kayla Hodge
• Deidre Pujols Photo: Kayla Hodge
• Photo: Kayla Hodge
• Photo: Kayla Hodge
• I missed out on whatever joke this was Photo: Kayla Hodge
• Photo: Kayla Hodge
• The Machine Photo: Kayla Hodge
• Photo: Kayla Hodge
• Deidre and Albert Pujols Photo: Kayla Hodge
• Photo: Kayla Hodge
• Photo: Kayla Hodge
• Photo: Kayla Hodge
• Photo: Kayla Hodge

About Strike Out Slavery

Strike Out Slavery was created by Albert and Deidre Pujols in 2017 with the goal of raising awareness about the existence of modern-day slavery and raising funds for major organizations fighting this insidious crime internationally. Go to www.strikeoutslavery.com for more information.