Mariano Rivera speaks during his National Baseball Hall of Fame induction on July 21, 2019. File photograph. Credit: Y2kcrazyjoker4 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0. CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo source.
Mariano Rivera has pledged $200,000 toward recovery from Panama's October 9 earthquake and appealed to baseball fans for support during a World Series broadcast, according to reports published October 27.
The former New York Yankees closer promoted the Panama Strong campaign through his foundation during FOX's coverage before Game 3. La Prensa reported that Rivera made the appeal alongside Derek Jeter, Alex Rodríguez and David Ortiz.
The announced contribution is a pledge. The reports reviewed do not independently establish when the money was transferred or which individual households have received assistance.
Mariano Rivera appeals for earthquake aid
Rivera's campaign seeks help for families whose homes were damaged or destroyed. TVN reported that the effort focuses on communities affected by the earthquake in Panama's interior, including Herrera, Los Santos, Coclé and Veraguas.
La Prensa's account described the $200,000 commitment and Rivera's request for wider assistance. Neither the size of his personal pledge nor the reach of the broadcast establishes the campaign's total receipts.
Rivera, a Baseball Hall of Fame member who won five World Series titles with the Yankees, used the event to bring attention to the housing needs of his home country. The broadcast appearance connects an international baseball audience with a recovery effort still facing work on the ground.
A separate New York fundraising effort
Yankees player José “Chema” Caballero also took part in an earthquake-relief dinner in New York, TVN reported on October 27. The event included an auction of baseball items signed by former and veteran Yankees players.
Caballero's family, Panama's consulate in New York, Roc Nation Sports, All Hands and Hearts and Churrasquería Bairrada supported the event, according to the report. Ticket sales and the auction were intended to assist people affected by the earthquake.
The dinner followed an earlier donation effort for Las Flores in Tonosí, Los Santos, organized with Caballero's wife, Ana Linela, and vice consul Vilma Di Bello.
The two fundraising efforts were separately reported. No common fund or shared administration has been verified, and their announcements should not be combined into a single fundraising total. Neither report supplied an independently checked final accounting of money raised and distributed.