Crew celebrates Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s “On Our Sleeves” movement for children’s mental health

May 20, 2022

COLUMBUS – Columbus Crew today announced several initiatives for this weekend’s contest against LAFC at Lower.com Field on Saturday, May 21 [3:30 p.m. ET / UniMas, TUDN (Spanish), Twitter (English) / 97.1 The Fan (English), ColumbusCrew.com (Spanish)]. The match will serve as a celebration of On Our Sleeves Day in partnership with Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Tickets for the match are available at www.columbuscrew.com/tickets.

The Nationwide Children’s Hospital movement to break stigmas around children’s mental health, On Our Sleeves, will be represented on the pitch, with a select number of Crew players donning custom-designed cleats. The Crew’s jerseys will feature specially designed numbers while the captain’s armband for the day will also sport special On Our Sleeves design elements. Following the match, the customized cleats and jerseys will be auctioned with proceeds benefitting Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Last October, the Crew and Nationwide Children’s Hospital launched the Wrap Them in Support fundraising campaign, supporting On Our Sleeves. As part of the campaign, a limited amount of Wrap Them in Support t-shirts are available, with all proceeds from the t-shirts sold in the Crew Shop going to benefit On Our Sleeves. Additional information on the fundraising campaign can be found at onoursleeves.org/crew.

Just last week, fans and partners from the Crew, Nationwide Children’s Hospital and On Our Sleeves wrapped the Lower.com Field pitch on May 11, setting the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for longest chain of sports fan scarves, to draw attention to childhood mental health. The record-setting ceremony was celebrated at Lower.com Field. The prized scarf tied together a community wide commitment through the Wrap Them In Support campaign, where all proceeds benefit On Our Sleeves to provide free mental health educational resources to every community in America.

In support of the campaign, the Crew launched a special On Our Sleeves ticket, available here. As part of the celebratory offer, $5 from every purchase of these special tickets will be donated to On Our Sleeves.

In advance of the match, Crew fans of all ages are invited pre-game to join the lively and inclusive March to the Match on Saturday. In a Black & Gold showing through the downtown Arena District and ending in Astor Park, the march provides an opportunity to capture the intense build-up to each home matchday at Lower.com Field in a new tradition. Supporters are encouraged to meet up at Battelle Plaza (200 W Nationwide Blvd., Columbus, OH 43215) – the main rally point – beginning at 2 p.m. ET and departing for the stadium at 2:30 p.m. ET. Supporters curious about the March to the Match are encouraged to click here.

All fans in attendance on Saturday are also invited to the Community Plaza beginning at 2 p.m. ET to take photos with Crew mascots Crew Cat and S.C.; enjoy lawn games such as Giant Jenga, Connect 4, Cornhole and Soccer Pong; and try their luck at a raffle to win an autographed goalkeeper glove. Fans will also have the opportunity to take their photo with the Wrap Them in Support scarves that set the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS.

Pre-match events on Saturday are set to include the Ceremonial Goal Kick taken by a Nationwide Children’s Hospital Patient Champion. U.S. Marine Corps Sargent Jeremiah Horton will serve as the Hometown Hero while the Honor Guard will be representatives from Grove City High School’s NJROTC. The national anthem will be sung by local artist MaryLee Melendez. The Crew will distribute thundersticks, courtesy of Nationwide Children’s Hospital and On Our Sleeves, to the first 10,000 Crew fans at Lower.com Field on Saturday.

Saturday will serve as a full day of professional soccer at Lower.com Field with a single-ticket, doubleheader event. All ticketed supporters attending the First Team match against LAFC are invited to remain in the stadium to watch the MLS NEXT Pro contest between Columbus Crew 2 and Toronto FC II [7:00 p.m. ET / MLSNEXTPro.com (stream)]. Club and premium spaces will close 60 minutes after the conclusion of the First Team contest.

Supporters interested in experiencing the Crew’s state-of-the-art venue, Lower.com Field, may do so by purchasing flexible partial plans or single-match tickets. Partial plans for the remainder of the 2022 MLS regular-season season are available via this link, while single-match tickets may be purchased here.

COURTESY COLUMBUS CREW COMMUNICATIONS