{"id":810680,"date":"2017-05-19T15:27:10","date_gmt":"2017-05-19T19:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/piratesbreakdown.com\/?p=15019"},"modified":"2017-05-19T15:27:10","modified_gmt":"2017-05-19T19:27:10","slug":"clint-hurdle-pirates-wins-for-kids-charity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/clint-hurdle-pirates-wins-for-kids-charity\/","title":{"rendered":"Clint Hurdle’s 2017 Wins for Kids Charity Campaign In Full Swing"},"content":{"rendered":"
Pittsburgh Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle is known for his daily inspirational emails, which he signs \u201cMake a difference today, Love Clint.\u201d For the sixth year in Pittsburgh, Hurdle, and wife Karla, launched their Wins for Kids campaign, which makes it easy for Pirates fans to make a difference in the lives of \u00a0children across Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n
Wins for Kids allows fans to make a one-time donation or a monetary pledge for each Pirates win \u2013 and receive great swag in return. The donated funds are split equally between Pirates Charities and the Prader-Willi Syndrome Program at the Children\u2019s Institute of Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n
The campaign, in conjunction with Root Sports Pittsburgh, has raised over $360,000 in its history in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy wife and I are completely humbled by the number,\u201d Hurdle said recently. \u201cIt\u2019s $360,000 that was in pockets \u2013 people have just given from the goodness of their hearts and the kindness of their hearts and wanted to make a difference for other people. And they have impacted so many other families.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of those families is the Hurdles themselves. Their daughter, Maddie, has Prader-Willi Syndrome.<\/p>\n
Prader-Willi Syndrome is a rare genetic disorder affecting appetite, growth, metabolism, cognitive function and behavior, according to the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association USA. The trademark characteristic of the disorder is an insatiable hunger, coupled with slow metabolism that can lead to excessive eating and obesity, although people with PWS also may have low muscle tone, short stature, incomplete sexual development, cognitive disabilities and behavioral problems. The Children\u2019s Institute of Pittsburgh\u2019s Center for Prader-Willi Syndrome is renowned for its care of children with the disorder.<\/p>\n
Hurdle’s relationship with the Children\u2019s Institute of Pittsburgh began in 2004, some six years before he joined the Pittsburgh Pirates. Maddie was around two-years-old at the time, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d heard about the Institute, it was the one place that had an in-patient program, the only place in the world, they would bring a kid in for up to six weeks and help them re-establish their nutritional goals, their psychiatric goals, their behavioral goals,\u201d he explained. He was curious as to how they ran such a successful program that offered support for not just patients, but families too. \u201cSo, I started hanging out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n