On Wednesday evening, new Phillies manager Joe Girardi was the guest of honor at the Italian American Baseball Foundation’s fourth annual dinner in Brooklyn. The IABF, a nonprofit charity established in 2016, is committed to developing and promoting youth baseball and softball in the United States and Italy by sponsoring clinics supervised by Major League Baseball players and scouts as well as college coaches.

The foundation also donates equipment to organized youth teams and individual athletes, arranges showcases for high school students in front of top college baseball and softball programs, and even provides citizenship documentation assistance for players to compete internationally.