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Xylem, a global water technology company, and its corporate citizenship program, Watermark, donated five acres of land to the Cheektowaga Youth Baseball organization during a dedication ceremony May 11 at Xylem Park.
Xylem, a global water technology company, and its corporate citizenship program, Watermark, donated five acres of land to the Cheektowaga Youth Baseball organization during a dedication ceremony May 11 at Xylem Park.

Xylem donates 5 acres of land to Cheektowaga Youth Baseball on opening day

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Mon, May 13th 2019 09:25 am

Xylem Watermark, the global water technology company’s corporate citizenship program, will provide education on water issues for more than 300 young baseball players and their families

Xylem Inc., a global water technology company dedicated to solving the world’s most challenging water issues, celebrated the Cheektowaga Youth Baseball Inc.’s opening day by donating five acres of land from its Cheektowaga location to the nonprofit. Xylem Watermark, the company’s corporate citizenship and social investment program, helped enable the donation and support the day’s events, which included water awareness education and activities focused on solving water challenges and promoting sustainability.

The announcement was made during a dedication ceremony at the location, which will now be called Xylem Park.

“Xylem is proud to support the Cheektowaga Youth Baseball organization, one of the largest baseball programs in Western New York and a key part of our community,” said Todd Roughsedge, senior director of manufacturing operations for Xylem in Cheektowaga. “It’s exciting to see our efforts to give back to the community come to life on opening day, one of the biggest days for youth in the area. And it’s thrilling to see the strong interest among our younger citizens to learn more about water conservation and the global water challenges many face around the world.”

Dave Camp, president of Cheektowaga Youth Baseball, said, “On behalf of every member of the Cheektowaga Youth Baseball family, we thank Xylem for giving us the ‘home field advantage’ of permanent ownership of our playing fields. Xylem has been a longstanding supporter of our mission to provide a youth athletic program for the boys and girls of our community by providing us with the use of this park for so many years. Through their generous gift, Cheektowaga Youth Baseball will be able to continue its mission for generations to come."

A key element of Xylem Watermark’s mission is focused on providing youth education to local communities on global water issues. To tee off opening day, Xylem Watermark offered public education outreach for the baseball players and their families, including virtual reality headsets spotlighting water conservation and global water challenges, educational displays and merchandise giveaways.

“Our hope is that this donation underscores our dedication to the Cheektowaga community, as part of Xylem’s broader social impact efforts,” said Jamie Saxe, senior director of Watermark and corporate social investment. “We are excited to mark this occasion by bringing together stakeholders of all ages to raise awareness of water challenges. Together we can help solve water and create a more sustainable world.”

Xylem’s heat exchanger business is located in Cheektowaga and has been a part of the wider Buffalo community for over 100 years. A leading supplier to a broad range of markets, Xylem’s Buffalo facility manufactures heat exchangers used for heating and cooling of numerous processes and products to optimize the use of water.

Over the past several years, Xylem employees have conducted a number of Watermark activities in the area, including hosting five different events and committing over 160 volunteer hours to organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and Shoreline Sweep within the Buffalo region.

On Earth Day in April, local Xylem employees volunteered their time to clean up the Xylem Park location to prepare for the baseball season and the dedication. The Xylem Watermark team painted and enhanced the batting cage building, snack stand and fencing; mulched and weeded the garden; and cleaned up around the bleachers, among other activities.

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