The stadium club at Dodger Stadium is typically an exclusive area for select ticket holders, but on Tuesday night, it was host to hundreds of children celebrating their birthday with a party as part of the 2025 Dodgers Love L.A. Community Tour.
Since starting in 2019, it has become an annual tradition for the Dodgers to partner with Worthy of Love to put on the event. This year, it featured more than 250 children and their families from the Salvation Army in Westlake Village, Hope Gardens, Angeles House and Union Rescue Mission.
The party also provided some extra relief to the families staying at Hope Gardens as they were forced to evacuate for two weeks due to the Los Angeles wildfires.
“Tonight is a night where they can let loose, forget about the worries and just have a really fun time at Dodger Stadium,” Worthy of Love founder and CEO Mary Davis said.
“And the cool part is the Dodgers and Bank of America show these children they truly are worthy of love. That they’re special, they’re important and they care about them. And that’s huge, especially when you’re going through the hardest times of your life. So to be here tonight is so special and unbelievable.”
The special event at Dodger Stadium had numerous activities for the kids and their families to partake in, including a DJ and dance party, face painting, balloon animals, cartoon sketch artists, riding animatronic dinosaurs and a photo opportunity with the 2024 World Series trophy.
One of the most popular attractions was the exotic petting zoo, which brought out a deer named Beep Beep, a sloth named Pretzel, baby alligator named Purse, a snake named Chardonnay and kingfisher bird named Lord Farquaad.
In addition, the party had chicken tenders, macaroni and cheese, Dodger Dogs and rainbow birthday cake for everyone in attendance.
Former Los Angeles Dodgers players Billy Ashley and Dennis Powell were in attendance to celebrate with the kids. They were both busy posing for photos and signing autographs throughout the night, but they also made some time to visit the petting zoo.
“It’s been an event that has touched a lot of people here,” Ashley said. “These people need all the love they can get. We’ve just been through something very terrible with the fires and the Sylmar bus just came in not too long ago with some of the kids that had to be displaced from their shelter. So my heart goes out to them, the Dodgers hearts.
“We open up our place for anybody who needs help anyway, and the Dodgers just know how to give love and spread love. And I think doing this every year, it means a lot to these people.”
The Dodgers capped off the night with a $10,000 donation to Worthy of Love.
“Homelessness is at an all-time high, and right now, we celebrate 2000 family members per month,” Davis began.
“And honestly, the donation tonight just really made me cry tears of joy because we want to keep going. We want to keep doing the work that we do, and we can’t do it without support from the Dodgers, without our partners, and what an incredible partnership.
“This is bucket list, dream come true, amazing birthday to have a private party here at Dodger Stadium. So everyone who works for the Dodgers, they have showed us that they really care, that they’re there for us, and more importantly, they’re there for the kids who are unhoused in the city. They’re not invisible to them, they see them, they’re not alone and that they really care.”
About Worthy of Love
Worthy of Love is a non-profit organization focused on hosting birthday parties for groups experiencing homelessness.
Families experiencing homelessness often lack the resources needed to celebrate their children on their birthdays. Worthy of Love provides all-expenses-paid birthday parties for children and families facing homelessness in Los Angeles County & Houston, Texas and provides them with food, entertainment and gifts.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
