Buck's Buck-A-Roos coming to Sun Life

By Anthony Fenech / MLB.com | 06/01/11

PHOENIX -- Beginning this week, every Friday night home game will be a Buck-A-Roo night at Sun Life Stadium.

As part of the program, Marlins catcher John Buck will host families living with autism and children in the foster care system for a game.

"People need to become more aware, and I want to use whatever platform I have as a baseball player to create awareness," Buck said.

He said the idea came from his wife, Brooke, who always hears kids say they wished they could go inside and watch a game while she works coat and food drives at stadiums.

"She was like 'What? You've never been to a game but you've been to these coat and food drives?'" he said. "So that's how it kind of started."

Brooke Buck decided to start a program in Kansas City and also worked charitable functions during Buck's two seasons in Toronto.

Each Friday, 30 Buck-A-Roos will receive a bright yellow t-shirt, a voucher redeemable for a hot dog, soda and bag of chips as well as Founders Clubs seats located behind home plate.

"We have a soft spot in our hearts for children with autism and developmental delays," Buck, who has a family member affected by autism, said. "There are thousands of kids in South Florida that don't have a family to call their own."