What the Rays are doing to support the community after Hurricane Irma

The Tampa Bay Rays return home to Tropicana Field on Friday following the relocation of the three-game series against the New York Yankees to Citi Field due to Hurricane Irma.

The Rays host the Boston Red Sox (September 15-17) and the defending World Series Champion Chicago Cubs (September 19-20) in the five-game homestand.

Rays distributing Food at Tropicana Field

The Rays will also be distributing food tonight, Thursday September 14th, at the stadium for those in need.

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway, officers from the St. Petersburg Police Department and front office staff from the Rays and Feeding Tampa Bay will be on hand to help distribute food to the public.

Read more here.

Hurricane Relief Fundraising

The Tampa Bay Rays and Rays players are asking fans to help with hurricane relief efforts.

Fans wishing to donate funds to benefit the victims of Hurricane Irma in the Tampa Bay area may do so at youcaring.com/RaysIrmaRelief. The team has a goal of reaching $500,000 in donations.

Feeding Tampa Bay Food Drive

The Rays will be hosting the Feeding Tampa Bay Food Drive, supported by First Class Moving, all weekend long, in an effort to continue Roberto Clemente's legacy of care and compassion.

Friday, the Rays hold their Roberto Clemente Day celebration to honor the life and career of the Hall of Famer as part of Hispanic Heritage Month. Rays third baseman Evan Longoria will be honored in a pregame ceremony as the club’s Roberto Clemente Award nominee.

All fans who donate unopened cans and non-perishable food items will receive a voucher for two complimentary tickets to a 2018 Rays home game (some exclusions apply).

Items of greatest need include canned, ready-to-eat items with pull-tops (e.g. vegetables, fruit); protein in pouches or pull-top cans (e.g. tuna, beef stew, chili, canned chicken); snacks (e.g. protein bars, granola bars, etc.); peanut butter; toiletries, paper goods, diapers; and cleaning supplies (e.g. mops, mop buckets, brooms, bleach wipes, bleach, garbage bags, bug spray).

Donations can be dropped off to collection areas outside of Gate 1, inside Gate 1 and inside Gate 3. Rays Season Ticket Holders will also have a special collection area inside the Republic Bank Draft Room. Season Ticket Holders who donate in the Draft Room will receive Rays Rewards Points.

As a special offer for Friday’s game, fans can purchase Press Level tickets (the best seats in the house) for $21 online at raysbaseball.com/Clemente.

Ticket exchange for relocated games

As previously announced, fans holding tickets to the relocated Rays-Yankees games (September 11-13) may exchange them for an equivalent number of complimentary tickets to any one of the Red Sox games (September 15-17) or Baltimore Orioles games (September 29–October 1).

When electing to exchange tickets to any of the games listed above, the Rays will donate the value of the exchanged Yankees series tickets to a local Hurricane Irma Relief fund in the name of the ticket purchaser. Refunds are also available upon request. For details, see visit raysbaseball.com/irma.

Other community outreach events

The series finale with the Red Sox on Sunday, September 17 is the second Dog Day at the Rays of the 2017 season. Dog Day tickets can be purchased at raysbaseball.com/dogday. In conjunction with Dog Day, the Rays Wives will host their fifth annual pet food drive benefitting Pet Pal Animal Shelter.

Pet food donations will be collected at gate 1 and gate 6 from 10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Fans who donate pet food will receive a voucher for two (2) complimentary tickets to a 2018 Rays home game (some exclusions apply).

From September 11-17, the Rays Wives are also hosting a charity auction, featuring autographed items from some of the most popular players in professional sports. All proceeds from this auction benefit Pet Pal Animal Shelter.

Fans may bid online at raysbaseball.com/auction from September 11-17, or on the tbt* Party Deck during Dog Day.

Additionally, the Cubs series on September 19 marks the start of the annual “Shirts Off Our Backs” fundraiser, hosted by the Rays Baseball Foundation.

Fans can donate to the Rays Baseball Foundation in exchange for scratch-off cards with the chance to win game-worn jerseys from the final game of the season on October 1, tickets to a 2018 Rays home game or other prizes.