Budweiser’s ‘Walk-off’ Program Donates $2.5M

Each walk-off during Major League Baseball’s regular season has made a difference for a family of a wounded or fallen solider, thanks to Budweiser’s Walk-off a Hero program. The season-long campaign raised $2.5 million for the Folds of Honor Foundation (FHF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing educational scholarships to families of fallen or injured soldiers.

The 205 total walk-off wins during the 2012 regular season will help provide 205 scholarships to recipient families.

“Walk-offs are one of the most exciting ways to win in baseball,” said Rob McCarthy, VP of Budweiser at Anheuser-Busch. “Knowing that each walk-off this season will help support and honor our wounded or fallen heroes and their families made each walk-off even more exciting and meaningful.”

For each walk-off win during the 2012 regular season, Budweiser donated $5,000 to FHF. In addition to the Walk-off a Hero program, Budweiser contributed a portion of all sales from May 20 through July 7, raising a total of $2.5 million for FHF.

“Thanks to Budweiser and the ‘Walk-off a Hero’ program, we can now provide 205 more deserving military families with educational scholarships and incredible opportunities,” said Major Dan Rooney, president and founder of the Folds of Honor Foundation. “The $4.5 million that Budweiser has contributed to our foundation over the past two years has helped us bring these families healing, hope and the opportunity to realize their dreams.”

Budweiser presented the donation to Rooney and FHF on Oct. 3 in front of 42,509 people at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Rooney founded FHF in 2007 to give back to the spouses and children of soldiers killed or disabled in service to our country by providing them with educational scholarships. The non-profit has provided more than 3,500 educational scholarships to military families across the country since its creation.

Since 1987, Anheuser-Busch and its foundation have donated nearly $11 million to military charities.