Chicago Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster is well known among Cubs fans. He is friendly and outgoing and happy to talk to fans. But there is a Dempster beyond baseball, one who is no stranger to charitable foundations. He has worked to raise awareness and funds for Juvenile Diabetes Research and worked with Garth Brooks in his Teammates for Kids foundation, among other endeavors. In 2006, Dempster and his wife, Jenny, established Dempster’s Dugout, a charitable ticket program benefitting local social service agencies that assist low-income children. But what drives Dempster more than any of these agencies these days is his Ryan and Jenny Dempster Family Foundation. The foundation was started to help raise awareness of a birth defect called DiGeorge Syndrome or 22q deletion that affected Dempster’s daughter, Riley who was born April 1, 2009.
Riley spent the first month of her life in the Arizona hospital where she was born during spring training. She then spent 12 weeks at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago.. According to the foundation’s website, “22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (DiGeorge Syndrome/VCFS) is a chromosomal abnormality that can cause a wide range of health and developmental issues, including heart defects, breathing issues, problems with the gastrointestinal tract, immune and endocrine systems, and differences in the palate, slow growth, and autism and/or developmental delays or learning disabilities in some individuals. Children with this condition may have many or only a few of the symptoms, with varying severity.”
“I want to do something that one day Riley can be so proud of me,” Dempster said in an interview with Examiner.com a few months after Riley was born. “She’s the one who did it all. We’re putting in the legwork but she’s the reason why it’s happening – so we can help not just her – she’ll be fine. Whatever hurdles she’ll have to cross we can handle, but there are so many parents out there who never get the opportunity, never get the diagnosis to get the chance for the opportunity. That’s where we want to be able to do that.
“I’ll do whatever I have to do way beyond just donating my money. I want to donate my time and put passion behind it because it drives me,” he said.
Since the foundation was started, the Dempsters have not only raised money and awareness of DiGeorge Syndrome, they have gained support from other organizations across the US and Canada. Just this week foundation members trekked to Washington to petition Congress to add screening for 22q deletion to screening of newborns.
Fundraisers are held every month at D’Agostino’s Pizza and Pub in Chicago. The 22nd of each month D’Agostino’s Pizza and Pub in donates $1 from every pizza sold at each of its four locations to the foundation. To date, this fundraiser has raised more than $7,000. Fans that turned out for a recent Night of Fun event at D’Agostino’s were able to rub elbows with Cubs players and front office personnel. The next big fundraiser, turning into an annual event, is Casino Night to be held Wednesday, April 9 at the Palmer House. This is a huge fundraiser for the organization.
When asked at the 2012 Cubs Convention almost two weeks ago how Riley is doing today, Dempster’s face lit up as he told Examiner.com, “She’s doing great!”
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