Ontario Tower Buzzers, hospital and Girls Inc. distribute sports bras to girls in Santa Ana

The Ontario Tower Buzzers, San Antonio Regional Hospital and Girls Inc. of Orange County held a July 22 outreach event in Santa Ana to give sports bras to school-aged girls and reduce a key barrier to youth sports participation. About 200 sports bras reached roughly 75 girls from low-income communities.

Why it matters: - Girls leave organized sports at higher rates than boys, and cost plus access to athletic apparel are among the barriers. - The donation aimed to remove one of those barriers by providing sports bras at no cost. - The event also connected girls with community partners and sports-focused resources.

What happened: - The Ontario Tower Buzzers, San Antonio Regional Hospital and Girls Inc. of Orange County hosted a community outreach event July 22 at Girls Inc. in Santa Ana. - The event distributed about 200 sports bras to roughly 75 school-aged girls from diverse and low-income communities. - Participants also received Ontario Tower Buzzers posters, stickers and squishy baseballs. - Representatives from all three organizations attended, along with Tower Buzzers mascots Maverick and Hollywood.

The details: - The Ontario Tower Buzzers are the Single-A Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. - San Antonio Regional Hospital is a nonprofit community-based healthcare system serving the Inland Empire. - Girls Inc. of Orange County focuses on inspiring girls to be strong, smart and bold. - Nina-Grace Montes, director of community relations for the Ontario Tower Buzzers, said the team saw the event as a way to make an immediate impact in nearby communities and address unequal access to sports equipment. - Allan Benevides, general manager of the Ontario Tower Buzzers, said the partnership showed what is possible when organizations align around community service and family support. - Marlee Aleman, program coordinator for Girls Inc. of Orange County, said the collaboration helped connect girls with positive resources and role models beyond the organization’s programs. - The Ontario Tower Buzzers’ community programs are supported by corporate partners including ONT Airport, Cardenas Markets, Hershiser Chevrolet, Legends Attic, Morongo, San Antonio Regional Hospital and LiUNA!. - The team said those partners help expand youth programs and community engagement throughout the Inland Empire. - Tickets, schedules and event details are available here.

Between the lines: - The event reflects a broader push by sports teams and local institutions to address non-sports barriers that keep girls out of athletics. - The partnership also extends the Tower Buzzers’ community role beyond the ballpark and into health and youth development. - The focus on sports bras points to a practical, low-cost intervention that can have an outsized impact on participation.

What's next: - The organizations did not announce a follow-up event, but the partnership signals room for more community-based youth sports support. - The Ontario Tower Buzzers plan to continue community engagement through partner-backed programs and local outreach.

The bottom line: - A modest equipment donation doubled as a targeted effort to keep more girls in sports by tackling an avoidable access gap.