Regions Field will turn purple and gold Friday, July 22 in honor of Sid Ortis.
Sid, who garnered national attention during his fight with cancer, died Oct. 31 following a 14-month battle with osteosarcoma. On Friday, members of his “Sid Squad,” a group of Sid’s closest friends, will officially launch the Sid Strong Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in his honor.
Kristi Walters, one of its founding members, is the mother of Grayson Walters, Sid’s best friend.
“We lost Sid too,” said Kristi. “As a parent, I didn’t know what to do to help my child deal with that kind of loss.”
Determined to give their children something to hold on to, something to help them cope, Kristi and the parents of the other “squad” members organized the Sid Strong Foundation.
“Our mission is to carry on Sid’s legacy,” said Kristi, “what he did for the Mountain Brook community and the nation.”
To this day, she said, strangers will stop Sid’s Squad members and their parents in the street to share stories about how he helped reignite their faith. Before he died, Sid led a prayer with his family and friends. In it, Sid asked that his friends live prosperous lives and remain close to the Lord. The foundation, said Kristi, will help both carry on Sid’s legacy and help raise funds for pediatric cancer research.
On Friday, the Barons will play the Montgomery Biscuits beginning at 7:05 p.m. Mountain Brook resident and pediatric cancer patient Sam Hodnett will throw out the night’s first pitch. SuperSam, as he is known in the community, is 4 years old and was recently diagnosed with glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer. Much like the Mountain Brook community adorned their mailboxes and houses with purple and gold bows for Sid, it is now using red bows in support of Sam.
Kristi said that at unlike other events, the VIPs at Friday night’s game will be pediatric patients, doctors, nurses and their families from Children’s of Alabama. Thanks to sponsor donations, she said, the event’s VIPs will have special access to the Baron’s conference room as well as complimentary drinks and snacks during the game.
“We want to be different,” said Kristi. “We are the ones who run the foundation and we want to make sure donors know their donations are going to either fund medicine or the patients.”
To further honor Sid, the massive Birmingham sign outside the stadium will be lit in purple, said Kristi. Occasional videos on the jumbotron will celebrate Sid and provide the audience with the opportunity to donate to the Sid Strong Foundation right from their seats.
Squad members, decked out in the Sid Strong Foundation t-shirts, will help man booths the night of the game. Friday night’s event, said Kristi, will help prepare the young squad members to eventually take over the foundation themselves.
To donate to the Sid Strong Foundation, visit www.sidstrongfound.org. To purchase tickets to the July 22 game, click here.
