Jeff Francoeur promotes school attendance

Good morning Mets fans.

I’m on the road so if I am slow to reply or the site acts or looks weird it’s because I’m not around to fix it. Media Goon is handling the urgent stuff (go ahead and fix the site if a post spazzes out again MG).

I too got a floating baseball at him, so I will be injoying the floating feeling. That’s not a typo that’s an in-joke for those of you who have been reading all season.

There’s some good stuff lined up for the day, and I will comment on the announcers topic when I get a shot.

First, since I kill the Mets when they are idiots, I like when I can share stories of the Mets trying to make the world a better place:

METS AND PEPSI TEAM UP WITH CITY YEAR NEW YORK
TO PROMOTE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE

Jeff Francoeur Encourages Fans to Vote for City Year in
Pepsi Refresh Project National Campaign Involving 15 Major League Baseball Teams

Winning Project Receives $200,000 Pepsi Refresh Grant;
Vote Now Through August 17 at MLB.com/PepsiRefresh

FLUSHING, N.Y., August 10, 2010 – The New York Mets, Pepsi and outfielder Jeff Francoeur today treated a group of City Year corps members to a day at the ballpark and encouraged fans to vote for City Year New York’s program to promote school attendance in the Pepsi Refresh Project national campaign. The Mets and 14 other Major League Baseball teams are promoting causes they feel passionate about that make a difference in their community for the chance to win a $200,000 grant from Pepsi to fulfill its goals.

City Year’s program will help provide a warm, welcoming and engaging school environment that encourages students to attend school daily, arrive on time and enjoy the learning process. City Year New York relies on volunteers who devote 10 months to serving as tutors, mentors and role models to help students stay on track to graduate.

Winning the Pepsi Refresh Project grant will allow City Year New York to improve educational outcomes for low-income communities by focusing on attendance, behavior, course performance and civic involvement.

Fans have one week left to cast their votes, now through Tuesday, August 17, at www.mlb.com/PepsiRefresh for the idea they believe should receive a grant from the Pepsi Refresh Project. Fans can also text their vote by typing “Mets” to 76462.

Earlier today, Francoeur met with the City Year corps members and gave them pointers during Mets batting practice. City Year teams of high school graduates, college students and college graduates commit a year of their lives to serve full-time in the public schools. The teams provide critical services like tutoring and after-school programs, serve as role models and make the schools a more engaging place to learn.

“The Pepsi Refresh Project is proud to provide the stage to showcase these inspiring team ideas from across the league,” said Jeff Dubiel, Vice President of Pepsi Sports. “MLB fans are some of the most passionate in sports and we expect them to not only get behind their teams, but also see how easy it is to do good and be inspired to make a difference in their own communities.”

The Pepsi Refresh Project is a groundbreaking effort to foster innovation in social good that will award more than $20 million this year to fund great ideas that help impact the world. Throughout 2010, Pepsi will fund ideas that will move the world forward in six categories: Health, Arts & Culture, Food & Shelter, The Planet, Neighborhoods and Education. The Pepsi Refresh Project, which launched January 13, features significant social engagement around people and the power of ideas. People are encouraged to submit their ideas and to cast a vote for their favorite ideas at www.refresheverything.com.