WOW! What can we say about our World Series Champion NATS!
On Sunday, June 23, 2019, just before the first pitch, The Barker Adoption Foundation stepped out on to the field. In front of more than 33,000 people, Barker received the Washington Nationals’ “Spirit Award” in recognition of our unwavering commitment to supporting children and building families through adoption. Screech, the Nats mascot, cheered along with Board Chair, Gary Diamond, daughter Gerri Diamond, and PWNL families, Eva and Jenifer Wicks, Linda Hunter, Roy Mueller, and their son Matt, and staff member, Margeline Thomas and her son, Nathaniel, as they accepted the award on behalf of Barker and the thousands of families we have served since 1945.
In a series of eight connected “party suites,” more than thirty-nine event sponsors joined Barker families, foundation funders, staff, and Board members to watch the game and support the Barker community. Twenty-two corporate sponsors joined seventeen family sponsors to cheer on the Nats from a perfect perch over the third baseline and learn a little more about Barker and its important mission.
Thanks to the generosity of the sponsors, the 7th annual Barker Goes Nats fundraiser event raised over $117,000 in unrestricted funds, to provide critical support for all of Barker’s important programs, including pregnancy counseling, “cradle care,” international adoption, domestic infant adoption, older child foster youth adoption, and post-adoption services.
Not to be left out, our youngest guests convened in the “family-friendly suites” where they received Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball themed coloring and activity books, wrist bands, “tattoos” and other memorabilia. Two lucky Barker kiddoes had the best view of the hilarious fourth-inning Presidents Race while holding the finish line banner, and dozens ran the bases at games end. It was absolutely a winning day for all of us. It’ll be marked as an unforgettable event for Barker and our community. And one that we’ll come to cherish even more in 2020, given the traumatic COVID-19 pandemic that’s taken a devastating toll on the world at large. However, we’re all optimistic that with the endless support of the Barker community, we’ll see all of you again, or for the first time, at Nats Park in 2021 ready to make new memories on the field!