05/05/14 – St. Louis Cardinals and Delta Dental of Missouri Team Up to Offer Discounted Ticket Prices as Part of the Tobacco-Free Nation Project

In conjunction with the St. Louis Cardinals, Delta Dental is raising money to improve children’s oral and overall health and promote the importance of tobacco-free lifestyles through the Delta Dental Tobacco-Free Nation project. This initiative includes the opportunity for area baseball fans to take advantage of specially priced, $13 loge-level tickets available for four upcoming home games this season and to be entered into a drawing to win an autographed Adam Wainwright jersey. Tickets are now available for purchase at www.cardinals.com/deltadental.

The specially priced tickets are available for the games on Wednesday, May 21, against the Arizona Diamondbacks; Monday, June 2, against the Kansas City Royals; Tuesday, July 22, against the Tampa Bay Rays, and Monday, Aug. 18, against the Cincinnati Reds. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the work of three local organizations – Delta Dental Health Theatre, Give Kids A Smile and Cardinals Care.

Delta Dental will also hold two in-stadium raffles at the May 14 and June 3 games for a chance to win a signed Adam Wainwright jersey each game.

“Our mission is to improve oral and overall health in the communities we serve, and tobacco use is a major driver of poor oral health,” commented David Haynes, president and CEO of Delta Dental. “In fact, tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death and disease in the United States. We cannot end the tobacco epidemic without focusing our efforts on young people. In addition to furthering the work of local children’s charities, our Tobacco-Free Nation project will sponsor the fourth annual Delta Dental High School All-Star Baseball Game at Busch Stadium, featuring the athletic abilities of graduating seniors who have made smart decisions on and off the field. Each player signs a tobacco-free pledge and advocates for no-smoking and no-chewing lifestyle choices.”

The Delta Dental High School All-Star Baseball Game is set for Sunday, June 8, at Busch Stadium. Gate 3 opens to the public at 10 a.m., followed by a pre-game Homerun Derby at 11 a.m. and the first pitch at noon. This year’s all-star lineup includes high school seniors from St. Louis City and St. Louis County public high schools who will be coached by Cardinals alumni players Scott Cooper and Kerry Robinson. The game is free and open to the public.

To learn more about Delta Dental’s Tobacco-Free Nation project, specially priced St. Louis Cardinals tickets, the supported children’s charities and the upcoming all-star high school baseball game, visit www.tobaccofreenation.org. To learn more about Delta Dental of Missouri, find them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter @deltadentalmo or join the conversation at #TobaccoFreeNation.

Delta Dental is the dental benefits leader in Missouri and the U.S. Ninety-six percent of Missouri dentists participate in a Delta Dental network and 4 out of 5 dentists participate nationally. Delta Dental of Missouri serves more than 1.5 million members in over 1,800 companies, large and small. Nationally, nearly 1 in 3 families with dental benefits choose Delta Dental – 56 million members from nearly 96,000 companies. Delta Dental is also committed to improving the oral health and overall health of the children in our community and therefore proudly supports the Delta Dental Health Theatre, Give Kids A Smile and Delta Dental’s Land of Smiles educational touring theater program.

Cardinals Care was established to give fans a way of teaming up with Cardinals players and the organization to help children in our community – both on and off the baseball field. Since it was established in 1997, Cardinals Care has distributed nearly $20 million to support St. Louis area non-profit youth organizations and built 21 youth ball fields in local disadvantaged neighborhoods. 2014 marks the 11th year of Cardinals Care’s innovative Redbird Rookies program, a free baseball league for kids who otherwise might not have the opportunity to play. In addition to providing all the uniforms, gloves, bats, balls and other equipment needed for each team, Redbird Rookies also provides extensive off-field support in the areas of health, education, mentoring and the cultural arts for each of the nearly 4,500 kids who participate in the program each year.

For more information, contact:

Kelly Harris, The Hauser Group, (314) 436-9090

Monica Green, Delta Dental of Missouri, (314)656-2669